Analyze Matthew Golden's matchup for week 9
Despite a plus-on-paper matchup with Carolina’s shaky secondary, Matthew Golden is averaging a handful of targets, was buried further by Christian Watson’s return, and logged a 3-4-0 line last week; he’s a clear sit who belongs on waivers in redraft formats.
The Panthers have bled points to wideouts all year, but that only helps players who actually see the field. Golden’s snap share has fallen under 40% since Watson came back, and Jordan Love is funneling work to Watson, Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs and even Dontayvion Wicks first. Unless Green Bay scripts a breakout package specifically for him, Golden will once again run mostly decoy routes while the primary targets feast on the vulnerable Carolina corners.
Golden’s rookie year has been a ghost: zero top-36 weeks outside of a fluky WR-24 finish in Week 7, target totals of 2-3 in four of his last five games, and a 4-yard clunker on only three grabs in Week 8.
Fantasy football rewards opportunity over talent, and Golden is currently starved of both. Drafted to stretch the field vertically, the first-round speedster has instead watched the Packers lean on veteran precision and Watson’s contested-catch prowess. Offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich has all but admitted the scheme is too crowded, using Golden almost exclusively as a clear-out deep threat who needs one broken coverage to pay off—an impossibly thin floor for lineups. Carolina’s middling corner duo of Jaycee Horn and C.J. Henderson can be beaten, but only if the ball is actually thrown your way; Golden’s 11% targets-per-route rate ranks dead last among Green Bay skill players with 50+ routes. Even in 14-team leagues where bye weeks create desperation, comparable streamers like Josh Reynolds or Darius Slayton offer safer snap counts and red-zone juice. Dynasty managers can keep stashing on the faint hope of a post-bye role expansion, but redraft rosters are too valuable to devote a spot to a player whose median outcome is 1.3 catches for 16 yards. Bench him, cut him, and don’t look back until the target share climbs above 15% for multiple weeks.