Although the Green Bay Packers have strung together three straight wins to keep pace with the Chicago Bears in the NFC North race ahead of Sunday's showdown, injuries to Green Bay's receivers have been a recurring issue all season. Look no further than the Thanksgiving Day win over the Detroit Lions when it was apparent there are no reliable options at tight end with star Tucker Kraft out for the season with a knee injury.
Despite the lack of production from the TE group, wide receiver Christian Watson has returned from his ACL injury with a vengeance. In a career marred by injuries and head coach Matt LaFleur's desire to spread the ball around, Watson has now clearly emerged as Green Bay's top playmaker after receiving a career-high 10 targets against the Lions.
As someone who has been sidelined with shoulder and wrist injuries for the last two weeks, that could be the blueprint for rookie wideout Matthew Golden to follow once he is healthy, as he looks to see an uptick in targets.
Christian Watson's Emergence Should Give Matthew Golden Some Optimism
Golden has yet to record his first receiving TD in the NFL, as he has 24 catches for 286 yards in nine games so far. His best performance came in the Week 6 win over the Cincinnati Bengals when he had a career-high 86 receiving yards. While the rookie has not been targeted more than five times in a game since September, he has played at least 40 snaps when healthy, pointing to someone who is routinely on the field despite the ball not coming his way.
Since Watson returned from his ACL tear, he has had a career revival with 21 catches for 363 yards and three TDs, which would put him on pace for a career-best 1,029 yards and nine TDs if he had that kind of production across a full 17-game schedule. With a Pro Football Focus overall grade of 84.6, which ranks seventh out of 79 qualified receivers in the league, Watson has clearly become quarterback Jordan Love's go-to target and one of the emerging receivers in the league, albeit in a small sample size.
Although the targets have been hard to come by for Golden, the 2025 first-round draft pick could be Green Bay's secret weapon against the Bears on Sunday. With Romeo Doubs (542 yards, five TDs), Watson (363 yards, three TDs), and Dontayvion Wicks (307 yards, two TDs) receiving the majority of Love's targets down the field, Golden could be somewhat of an afterthought for Bears defenders and be able to stretch the field as an additional option for Love. Golden's speed and athleticism were two of the main traits the Packers knew they were getting when they drafted him, and a potential return would give Green Bay an additional deep-ball threat.
Golden is still listed as questionable as of Tuesday, but when he can return, a breakout should not be totally unexpected. After all, Watson has been plagued by injuries during his career as well and has never had more than 620 receiving yards in a season. There is no reason Golden cannot follow the same blueprint and get back on track, as some of the attention is taken away from him and focused more on Watson.