The Green Bay Packers host the Detroit Lions Sunday afternoon to kickoff their 2025 season. The Packers are 2.5-point favorites in this important divisional game. The over/under sits at 47.5 points as these two division contenders face off.
Packers quarterback Jordan Love dealt with a non-throwing hand injury in preseason, but will be ready to go, while his receivers continue to deal with injuries. Christian Watson is on I.R., Jayden Reed is questionable with a Jones fracture and Dontayvion Wicks is questionable with a calf injury. The only fully healthy staters are Romeo Doubs and rookie Matthew Golden.
With the addition of Micah Parsons, being home favorites, and a strong running back in Josh Jacobs, they’ll likely focus on the run if they can. But the Lions did score the most points in the league last year by a wide margin. The loss of OC Ben Johnson to the Bears could hurt, but they still have the same personnel and haven’t forgotten how to play football. Love and company will likely need to throw the ball to win.
Below, we’ll go over Matthew Golden’s outlook in fantasy football for Week 1.
Fantasy Football analysis: Packers, WR, Matthew Golden
The rookie receiver was selected 24th overall, and should be a full time player to start. That’s good for his fantasy value, but he’ll still need to win targets in the game. His college resume is good of course, but he wasn’t a dominant WR1. His ability to win good targets in the NFL is still to be evaluated as we get going this year. That puts us at a disadvantage, especially against a Lions pass defense that ranked third-best in EPA allowed per pass attempt.
Start or sit in Week 1 PPR leagues?
Sit. I currently have Golden at WR43 for the week, which makes him a WR4. If you have need for him in a flex spot, I’d give him a go, as he does have upside for big plays compared to other receivers in this tier.
Start or sit in Week 1 standard leagues?
Sit. I like Golden a bit more in standard, but he’s still outside my top 36 receivers. Like in PPR, I like him as a flex, but even more so.
