Matthew

Golden

Golden appeared to be on pace for a historic performance after the first quarter. The second-year receiver hauled in two receptions of 40-plus yards, along with a five-yard touchdown, and ended the quarter with a 6-126-1 receiving line on six targets. Golden obviously didn’t sustain that pace for the remaining three quarters, but fantasy managers won’t be mad with the one highly productive quarter he offered up. Golden continues to dazzle in his second season and has now gone for 100-plus yards in four different games this season. He’s both a target hog and an air-yards king, which makes for a deadly combination as far as fantasy football is concerned. He will be a fringe WR1/WR2 next week against the Vikings.

Golden is rarely boring, that’s for sure. He dropped two passes, and one of those was a wide-open touchdown in the second quarter. The good news for Golden, Jordan Love and fantasy managers was that he was wide open again on the next play, and he was able to bring that pass in. Golden’s athleticism and ability to get down field is unquestionable, but to say the efficiency isn’t there is an understatement. He’ll be back at it in Week 9 against the Patriots.

Golden got in a lone limited session in preparation for the team’s Week 8 meeting with the Panthers on a short week, ultimately able to go as he looks to continue his recent hot stretch in fantasy production. No limitation in expected role has been passed by the team, meaning Golden should be good to go for a normal workload against the Panthers. Fantasy managers can confidently insert him into Week 8 rosters as an upside WR2. Inactive for the Packers are TE Jonnu Smith, RB Kaleb Johnson, LB Zaire Franklin, G Donovan Jennings, C Sean Rhyan, and G Travis Glover.

Golden was estimated as a DNP for two walkthroughs this week before being limited in the Packers’ only real session. The short turnaround to Thursday Night Football likely forced the Packers to take an extra cautious approach with him in practice. While he almost certainly isn’t at 100 percent, Golden looks like a good bet to play in a sneaky shootout with the Panthers tonight. He will be on the WR1/2 border if he gets the green light.

The Packers held two walkthrough practices to start the week. Golden was estimated as a DNP for both. He was limited in the team’s final practice before being hit with the questionable tag. Fantasy managers should treat him as a true game-time decision for tomorrow’s game. Savion Williams has been operating as the team’s No. 3 receiver over the past two weeks. He would presumably be the next man up if Golden can’t go, though Williams would still be a high-risk FLEX bet for Week 8.

ESPN’s Rob Demovsky relayed LaFleur’s noncommittal response to questions on Golden’s status. LaFleur said the team hopes Golden plays, but the 23-year-old has been an estimated DNP for the first two practices of the week due to shoulder and foot injuries. With the Packers playing on a short week against the Panthers, Golden’s status will likely rely on the final practice report before a Week 8 Thursday showdown against Carolina.

This does not have us optimistic that Golden will play on Thursday night. If he’s sidelined, Savion Williams will be a candidate for more work on offense and perhaps a worthwhile FLEX streamer, while Tucker Kraft will likely ascend to the No. 2 role.

Golden has been dealing with the shoulder injury since last week, but the foot injury is a new one. While this is only an estimated injury report, the DNP is still mildly concerning for Golden, with the Packers playing on a short week. His status will be one to monitor in the coming days, but hopefully this is a minor issue. Golden played the entirety of the game in Week 7’s loss to the Lions and didn’t appear to be hampered by any nagging issues. We’ll see if he get upgraded to a limited participant on Tuesday.

Golden’s 12 targets led all Packers receivers, but the speedster was unable to convert them into anything meaningful. Of the 12 targets Golden saw, four came on passes of 20-plus air yards. He managed to secure one of those passes for a 22-yard gain, but that was all he could manage in what ended up being a relatively low-scoring game despite the two teams combining for over 700 offensive yards. The 39 yards Golden posted on Sunday were good for his second-lowest total of the season, but he’s an air-yards king who is seeing the kind of volume we expect of a true WR1. He’s primed for a bounce-back in next week’s game against the Panthers.