Who Should I Start? Ladd McConkey or Matthew Golden

Tuesday, January 27, 12:20 PM

After an excellent rookie season in 2024, Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Ladd McConkey posted a relatively disappointing sophomore campaign in 2025. Across 16 games played, the 24-year-old recorded 66 receptions for 789 yards and six touchdowns on 106 targets. McConkey's production fell off sharply down the stretch of the season, as he recorded just one game with more than 40 receiving yards after Week 10. After losing in the AFC Wild Card Round to the New England Patriots, the Chargers decided to move on from offensive coordinator Greg Roman, replacing him with former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel. While McDaniel's tenure in Miami went downhill over the last couple of seasons, he coached the Dolphins to top-five offenses by measure of total passing yardage in both 2022 and 2023. By contrast, Roman-coached teams have never finished better than 13th in passing yardage in any of his 12 seasons as an NFL offensive coordinator. Given the change in offensive infrastructure around him, McConkey could be in line for a bounce-back season 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.