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Is Jayden Reed or Matthew Golden the WR1 for the Packers? Should you draft Reed or Golden in 2025 fantasy football drafts? Andrew's expert draft analysis and advice.
How will snap counts shake out for one of the most crowded wide receiver depth charts in the NFL?
That's just one of the questions the fantasy community is asking when analyzing the Green Bay Packers' pass catchers. Can Jayden Reed maintain a sizzling yards per target rate and do more with less? Can first-round pick Matthew Golden become the first go-to receiver in Green Bay since Davante Adams moved to Las Vegas? Will Romeo Doubs continue to siphon opportunities while simultaneously being a fringe roster player for fantasy football?
It's a messy depth chart, but there are fantasy points to be mined. The Packers averaged the eighth-most points in the league last year and project to put up points in bunches again. So, who is the top Green Bay wide receiver and one to target in fantasy football? Let's talk it out.
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Jayden Reed Fantasy Football Outlook
Two things can be true: Reed doesn't see the most playing time among Packers wide receivers, but is utilized the most and finishes as the top-scoring fantasy receiver in Green Bay.
That's the exact scenario that played out last season. Reed led Green Bay at the wide receiver position (WR29, 197 PPR points) and was the WR25 or better on six occasions. However, with every big game came a dud. He was below seven PPR fantasy points six times, sputtering to the finish line of the regular season.
Reed was incredibly efficient, finishing third in yards per target (11.4), 11th in yards per reception (15.6), and 15th in yards per route run (2.35), according to PlayerProfiler. That, and some bonus touches in the rushing game, are the only reasons why Reed was fantasy relevant—his target share (20.6%, 60th), snap share (63.7%, 73rd), and routes run (364, 61st) read like a waiver-wire receiver.
Why didn't Matt LaFleur deploy his most explosive receiver more often? It seems like the coaching staff didn't think he could win consistently on the outside. 416 of Reed's 685 snaps came from the slot. That was good for a 60% rate and the 10th most slot snaps in the league. So, when lined up in two-receiver sets, Reed was watching from the sidelines. He totaled 33 snaps in two-receiver sets during his first two professional seasons.
The worry is that the trend would continue into his third campaign, relegating him to a part-time, boom-or-bust wide receiver. However, recent alignments during training camp have the fantasy community salivating over the prospects of Reed's increased usage.
Starters
Love
Jacobs
Kraft - Fitzpatrick
Reed - Doubs
Walker - Morgan - Rhyan - Monk - TomGary - Wyatt - Clark - LVN
Simmons - McDuffie - Cooper
Nixon - Hobbs
Bullard - McKinneyEvan Williams was in very next play at S.
— Andy Herman (@AndyHermanNFL) July 28, 2025
Reed is currently undervalued in drafts, primarily due to Golden's presence, Tucker Kraft's emergence, and concerns that he will slow down on his torrid fantasy points per target rate (2.63). But he's off the board as a low-end WR4, well below his WR25 and 29 finishes. If he's getting work in two-receiver sets, he's highway robbery at that point in the draft.
Matt said it shouldn’t be difficult to get Matthew Golden and Jayden Reed on the field at the same time (we may or may not have seen that at practice yesterday). Said we could see more Jayden Reed outside or in two WR sets as well depending on the situation.
— Andy Herman (@AndyHermanNFL) July 29, 2025
It's also hard to ignore his touchdown production (17 over two seasons). Widely regarded as a run-after-catch, big-play savant, five of Reed's six receiving touchdowns came in the red zone.
Matthew Golden Fantasy Football Outlook
The Green Bay Packers' front office selected Golden with the team's first-round pick, a move they never made during the Aaron Rodgers era. In fact, he's the first first-round receiver drafted by Green Bay since 2002. His addition couldn't have come at a better time, as the roster is lacking an alpha, and starting receiver Christian Watson is recovering from a torn ACL.
However, there is still a significant logjam for playing time. The depth chart is littered with quality receivers, but few that excel in certain areas of the game. That's why the Packers haven't had a 1,000-yard receiver since Adams left in 2021. But utilizing all of his options has led to back-to-back playoff appearances for LaFleur.
Therefore, Green Bay may hardly alter its offensive game plan from a year ago, resulting in reduced target numbers across the board. Doubs led the Packers with 5.5 targets per game last season, followed by Dontayvion Wicks (4.5), Reed (4.4), and Watson (3.5). Doubs ranked 54th in the metric across the NFL.
Toss in four targets per game for Kraft (which could rise after reports of the coaches wanting to involve him more in the offense) and the addition of third-round rookie Savion Williams, and there are a lot of mouths to feed. Especially since the Packers, on the legs of Josh Jacobs, called a run play at one of the highest rates in football.
Golden has the draft capital to buck the trend, and the hope is that the talent follows suit. He uses speed and acceleration to win routes, maybe as good as any other receiver in his draft class, but he doesn't possess the frame or physicality of the elite pass catchers. His fantasy football draft cost reflects the concerns: He may not be good enough, especially in year one, to command eight targets per game.
Jordan Love ➡️ Matthew Golden
Get used to seeing that 🔥#GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/jfWl4UgXh7
— SleeperPackers (@SleeperPackers) July 29, 2025
However, of any receiver on the roster, Golden has the highest potential and has been impressing coaches and players in training camp.
Who Should You Draft in Fantasy Football?
This is one of the best cases of 1A and 1B in professional football. Reed and Golden should be the top two wide receiver target earners on Green Bay, and the numbers could be close. But Doubs and the rest of the weapons on the Packers' offense will be an annoyance for Reed and Golden's fantasy managers.
you can make a legitimate case for any of:
- Matthew Golden
- Jayden Reed
- Romeo Doubs
- Dontayvion Wicksto be the WR1 in Green Bay pic.twitter.com/1E8qqW3RPj
— DynastyIM (@dynasty_im) July 30, 2025
The good news is that the investment in Reed and Golden won't cost much. The rookie can be found in the eighth round, if not a little later. Reed is even cheaper, coming off the board an average of a half round later. For most fantasy leagues and rosters, neither Golden nor Reed would be a Week 1 starter.
Drafting top options on elite offenses is always a sound strategy in our game of fake football. We've already seen the boom weeks for Reed, and snaps in two-receiver sets could lead to a third-year breakout for the Michigan State product. Many first-round wide receivers have had fantasy success in their debut campaigns. Golden could be the next in line.
Reed and Golden are both great values in redraft fantasy football leagues. Reed's experience and week-winning capabilities give him the slight edge over his younger teammate.
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