Who Should I Start? Jauan Jennings or Matthew Golden

Wednesday, June 11, 12:24 PM

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said that wide receiver Jauan Jennings (calf), who isn't practicing during mandatory minicamp this week, is expected to be ready for the start of training camp in late July. The Niners are playing it safe with Jennings and Ricky Pearsall (hamstring) with Brandon Aiyuk (knee) not expected to be ready until around midseason. Barring a setback with his calf in training camp, Jennings could be the team's WR1 to open the 2025 season with Aiyuk sidelined. The 27-year-old had a career year in 2024 with 77 receptions on 113 targets for 975 yards and six touchdowns in 15 games (10 starts) with Aiyuk suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 7. Jennings should at least have a bigger role again early on in 2025, but he could be the No. 3 target for quarterback Brock Purdy behind tight end George Kittle and second-year wideout Ricky Pearsall (hamstring).

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.