Who Should I Start? Rome Odunze or Matthew Golden

Wednesday, August 13, 6:08 PM

Mark Carman of CHGO Sports reports that Chicago Bears second-year wide receiver Rome Odunze looks like quarterback Caleb Williams' go-to guy in practice on Wednesday, especially in the red zone. Carman adds that Odunze and Williams continued to work together after practice. There was a lot of disappointment in the Bears offense last year in Williams' and Odunze's first NFL season. Odunze finished with only 54 catches on 101 targets for 734 yards and three touchdowns in 17 games (12 starts). It wasn't a bad showing, but he was inconsistent for fantasy purposes. The 23-year-old could be in line for a Year 2 breakout with Keenan Allen gone and in new head coach Ben Johnson's offense, with his goal being his first 1,000-yard season and double-digit TDs. That would be amazing for fantasy managers that draft him as a WR3/flex with upside in 2025.

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.