Who Should I Start? Rashod Bateman or Matthew Golden

Monday, July 28, 4:25 PM

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman (illness) was sent home on Monday due to an illness, according to Ravens head coach John Harbaugh. There's no reason to think this will be a long-term absence for Bateman, but he could conceivably miss the next few days of practice as well. The 25-year-old is coming off the best season of his career in 2024 when he recorded 45 catches for 756 yards and nine touchdowns in 17 games. Baltimore added some talent to the wide receiver room with the offseason addition of DeAndre Hopkins, but Bateman still profiles as an important piece of the team's offense. The Ravens' low-volume passing offense limits Bateman's fantasy upside, but he has some boom/bust appeal as a flex option in deep leagues due to his ability to make plays down the field.

Wednesday, August 13, 2:19 PM

Zach Kruse of The Packers Wire writes that he hasn't heard the entirety of the Green Bay Packers organization "talk about a rookie like they have with wide receiver Matthew Golden in a long time." Kruse says that everytime someone is asked about Golden, it's some variation of, "Yeah, he's good, and he's only scratching the surface of his potential." It's looking more and more like the 22-year-old from Texas will be a key contributor through the air for the Packers offense right away in 2025. There will be more opportunity with Christian Watson (knee) expected to begin the year on the PUP list, and Jayden Reed (foot) could also be up in the air for Week 1. Golden has been practicing with the first-team offense since early in training camp and has gained valuable chemistry with quarterback Jordan Love. The speedy rookie is already in the conversation as a weekly WR4/flex in 2025.