Who Should I Start? Adam Thielen or Matthew Golden

Friday, May 2, 12:02 PM

Carolina Panthers veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen said that he talked with his family, and they wanted him to play in 2025. He plans to go through a similar process after this season, which is the final year of his contract. Depending on how the 34-year-old feels and what his family thinks after the 2025 campaign, Thielen could hang up his cleats and retire. He's returning for a third season in Carolina after playing in a career-low 10 games in 2024 due to a hamstring injury. In those 10 games, he caught 48 of his 62 targets for 615 yards and five touchdowns. He should continue to be a trusted weapon for young quarterback Bryce Young out of the slot this year, but the addition of first-round rookie wideout Tetairoa McMillan will surely make Thielen harder to trust as a WR3/flex in fantasy based on volume alone like he was in 2023, when he recorded the third 1,000-yard season of his career on 103 targets.

Friday, June 27, 12:18 PM

ESPN's Rob Demovsky writes that Green Bay Packers rookie first-round wide receiver Matthew Golden appears set for a significant role on offense with the likes of Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks with Christian Watson (knee) still rehabbing from ACL surgery. Golden might not be an immediate starter, but he got plenty of run with the starters during offseason workouts and caught quarterback Jordan Love's eye quickly. "I think from the get-go, from Day 1 when he got here, he's showcased kind of just the versatility he has running routes, the speed he has and his ability to catch," Love said. The 21-year-old is a burner who caught 58 passes for 987 yards and nine touchdowns at Texas in 2024. It remains to be seen if he'll see enough targets to be in contention for a weekly fantasy lineup spot, but his overall upside as a potential deep threat with Watson sidelined is enough to make him an attractive late-round flier in redraft leagues.