Who Should I Start? Jalen Nailor or Matthew Golden

Tuesday, September 16, 3:35 PM

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jalen Nailor operated as the clear WR2 behind All-Pro Justin Jefferson in the team's 22-6 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday Night Football in Week 2. Nailor finished the night second in both targets (five) and yardage (31) while tying for the team lead in catches (three) in a game in which quarterback J.J. McCarthy (ankle) looked like a rookie. The 26-year-old could have had a much bigger game had McCarthy not overthrown him on what could have been a long touchdown reception. Nailor really hasn't been anything special through two weeks in a Vikings offense that has mostly struggled in McCarthy's first two career games, as he's caught four passes on eight targets for 59 yards and no scores. Jordan Addison has one more game to serve on his suspension, so Nailor might have one final chance for flex value in a plus Week 3 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. Minnesota's defense could actually see a boost with the move to backup QB Carson Wentz.

Tuesday, September 16, 12:23 PM

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Matthew Golden came into the 2025 season with a lot of hype, being the first wide receiver drafted by the team in the first round since Javon Walker in 2002. Through two games, Golden hasn't done much to satisfy the hype of fantasy managers, with just two receptions for 16 yards combined in his first two NFL games. That said, Golden has been the recipient of several deep throws from quarterback Jordan Love that have just missed being huge plays. We'd be talking about Golden much favorably if those plays had gone the other way. Still, fantasy managers won't get points for almost scoring or almost catching the ball. One good sign for Golden is that his routes per dropback have risen from 57 percent in Week 1 to 68 percent in Week 2, so the Packers are getting him on the field a bit more. In Week 3, the Packers head east to play the Cleveland Browns, where Golden could get on track to deliver some fantasy value. However, until we see it, he's got to be left on fantasy benches in the majority of fantasy formats.