Who Should I Start? Deebo Samuel Sr. or Matthew Golden

Tuesday, June 17, 3:00 PM

Washington Commanders wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. is slated to play in his first game without a San Francisco 49ers uniform in September after he was acquired by Washington this offseason for a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The second-round pick out of South Carolina in 2019 has failed to match his monster 2021 season, when he racked up over 1,700 total yards and 14 touchdowns. In the three seasons following, he has averaged 13.6 games played, 731.3 receiving yards, 197.6 rushing yards, and seven touchdowns. He hasn't been the explosive playmaker we saw early in his career, which has led to many believing he could be well past his prime, thanks to injuries and a lack of staying in shape. However, head coach Dan Quinn is not concerned with his speed or explosiveness. "Somewhere along the way, I'd forgotten until [he was] out here how fast he is," Quinn said. "I can remember one time he just ran by somebody down the field on a deep ball, and I was like, 'Yeah, I forgot about that.' So, it didn't surprise me." He also called Samuel one of the fastest players on the roster. Entering 2025, Samuel has a wide range of outcomes behind No. 1 wide receiver, Terry McLaurin, who is currently seeking a new contract. Samuel is likely to have boom weeks, but he may no longer going to be a consistent and reliable weekly fantasy football producer. That said, a significant bounceback year is also a possibility.

Monday, May 19, 10:07 PM

The Green Bay Packers announced on Monday that they signed first-round wide receiver Matthew Golden to his four-year rookie deal, according to general manager Brian Gutekunst. Golden will receive a fully-guaranteed $17.57 million with a signing bonus of $9.42 million, according to OverTheCap.com. The Packers took the 21-year-old pass-catcher in the first round at the end of April, the first time they had taken a receiver in the first round since 2002. The 5-foot-11, 191-pounder caught 58 passes for 987 yards and nine touchdowns at Texas in 2024. Golden should play right away in Green Bay, especially with Christian Watson (knee) potentially out for half the season. He will primarily be a field-stretcher for the Packers and could be a boom/bust fantasy commodity in his first NFL campaign in a wideout corps that also includes Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks.