The Green Bay Packers are in a great position as the NFL’s trade deadline approaches. Armed with the NFC’s best record at 4-1-1, the Packers have earned the right to be buyers at the trade deadline and could tap into their receiver room to land a piece that makes them an even bigger threat to contend in the second half of the season.
While the path to a trade before the Nov. 4 deadline is there, it’s a mystery regarding who the Packers would give up. The emergence of Matthew Golden over the past several weeks has started to make that picture a little clearer, and if he performs well on Sunday, it could open the door to leave Dontayvion Wicks as the odd man out.
Matthew Golden’s Week 8 Performance Could Push Dontayvion Wicks out of Green Bay
Golden has become one of the top discussion points for Packers fans beginning with his Week 3 performance against the Cleveland Browns. While he had a quiet start with two catches for 16 yards over his first two games, the four-catch, 52-yard performance in the loss was a bright spot that has cleared the way for better days.
After catching five passes for 58 yards in the Week 4 tie with the Dallas Cowboys, Golden caught three passes for 86 yards in the Week 6 win against the Cincinnati Bengals and four passes for 37 yards in last week’s win over the Arizona Cardinals. The stretch has given Golden 16 catches for 223 yards over the past four games, but aside from those stats, it’s his snap count that should have the attention of Wicks.
Wicks was an important depth piece at receiver at the beginning of the season, and his 169 snaps were almost identical to Golden’s 174 snaps over the first four games, according to Pro Football Focus. But the snaps have been lopsided in Golden’s favor since Green Bay returned from its bye with the rookie holding an 84-36 advantage over the veteran over the past two games.
Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers could be a chance for Golden to further separate from Wicks. Zach Kruse of The Packers Wire noted that Golden is first among rookie receivers (min. 15 targets) this season with a 60.9% success rate, a 78.3% catch rate, and 10.8 targets, and he gets to go up against a Steelers defense that has allowed over 300 yards passing in two of its past three games.
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur has made it clear the Packers won’t force feed targets to Golden. But if the rookie makes a couple more big plays, Wicks could slide further down the bench. With Christian Watson likely to make his return on Sunday and Jayden Reed expected to return from a broken collarbone in a few weeks, Wicks could become the player who’s shown the door to help Green Bay make a significant trade at the deadline.