Who Should I Start? Joe Flacco or Matthew Golden

Monday, January 5, 12:37 PM

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco isn't considering retirement, but he hopes to be "selective" in what comes next in his career, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. It's clear that Flacco wants to continue playing, and he's even open to coming back to Cincinnati, even if that would mean serving as Joe Burrow's backup. He's also open to fielding calls from a team that needs a signal-caller for next season. The 40-year-old began the 2025 season as the Cleveland Browns' starting QB before a midseason trade to the Bengals to help out while Burrow recovered from turf-toe surgery. The former Super Bowl champion proved that he still has something left in the tank, although he went just 2-8 in his 10 starts with the Browns and Bengals. Flacco completed 60.3% of his passes for 2,479 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 10 picks. At best, Flacco will be in play as a low-end QB2 in superflex leagues if he ends up playing a 19th NFL season and making more starts in 2026.

Thursday, January 29, 4:36 PM

As his team's first first-round wide receiver selection since 2002, Green Bay Packers wideout Matthew Golden entered the 2025 season with plenty of hype. However, the 22-year-old failed to carve out a consistent role as a rookie, finishing the year with 29 receptions for 381 yards and zero touchdowns on 44 targets across 14 regular-season games. From Week 9 onwards, Golden played fewer than 50% of Green Bay's offensive snaps in every game but two. With another offseason to develop chemistry with Packers quarterback Jordan Love and earn the trust of his coaching staff, Golden could be in line for a significantly larger role in 2026. However, Green Bay will likely still roster plenty of competition for playing time at the wide receiver position, even with veteran wideout Romeo Doubs set to hit free agency. Between Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, and Dontayvion Wicks, Golden will have to fight for playing time with three wide receivers who were all ahead of him on the team's depth chart at different times in 2025. While he remains an intriguing long-term prospect, Golden's value to fantasy managers in dynasty leagues has taken a hit relative to where it was this time last year.