NFL TNF PLAY #2 ‼️
Matthew Golden O22.5 Long Reception
#GoPackGo vs
#DirtyBirds
Collab w/
@PropKitchen
Matthew Golden has quickly developed into one of Green Bay’s primary downfield threats, and his role has expanded dramatically to start 2026. Through two games, he has drawn 18 targets, caught 10 passes for 153 yards, and already posted a 42 yard reception in Week 1.
Golden saw 12 targets with an 87% route participation rate, 31% target share and 12.2 yard aDOT in the opener. In Week 2, he ran a route on 32 of Jordan Love’s 34 dropbacks and saw another 6 targets. His longest catch finished at only 18 yards, but he was targeted multiple times downfield and drew defensive pass interference on some of those opportunities, so the vertical usage never disappeared.
In games where Golden has seen 4+ targets and played at least 32% of the snaps, he has cleared this line in 6/8 games, averaging a 31.9 yard longest reception. We don’t need massive volume here. One of those 5 to 7 opportunities simply needs to turn into a chunk play.
Atlanta has already allowed several WRs to clear similar longest reception numbers through two weeks:
✅ Tetairoa McMillan: 28 yards
✅ Jalen Coker: 25 yards
✅ Xavier Legette: 55 yards
❌ DK Metcalf: 14 yards
✅ Michael Pittman Jr.: 28 yards
That’s 4/5 comparable WRs over, and even Metcalf’s miss came with several legitimate deep opportunities left on the field. Pittsburgh targeted him repeatedly 20+ yards downfield, including a dropped deep ball and another vertical target that drew interference.
A.J. Terrell has now been placed on IR, leaving Atlanta without its best corner. C.J. Henderson and Mike Hughes are expected to handle more work outside, and both gave up significant production against Carolina. Golden has been functioning primarily as a boundary receiver, putting him directly into those outside matchups rather than relying on occasional slot snaps to find Atlanta’s weaker coverage.
Jordan Love is one of the better quarterbacks in football at giving his receivers a chance downfield. In 2025, he completed 43.4% of passes traveling 20+ air yards, while his off target rate on those throws dropped to 26.4%. Golden doesn’t even need a true 23 yard bomb to cash this. An intermediate completion with room after the catch can get there just as easily.
Green Bay’s rushing attack has struggled through two games without Josh Jacobs, producing 129 yards on 39 carries for just 3.3 YPC with 0 rushing TDs. Love threw 42 times in Week 1 and another 29 times in poor weather against New York, giving Golden plenty of chances to stay involved. Jayden Reed’s neck injury could further concentrate routes and targets if he’s unable to go.
Golden’s 18 yard long in Week 2 doesn’t bother me much because the opportunity was still there. He ran nearly every route, drew 6 targets, saw multiple downfield looks and still finished with 58 receiving yards. That’s very different from a receiver being confined to short area work.
With Golden running a near every down route tree, Love willing to push the ball downfield, Atlanta already allowing explosive WR plays and Terrell now out of the secondary, we like Golden to break off a 23+ yard reception against the Falcons.
Best Odds: -121 on DraftKings
♥️ IF YOU LOCKED IT IN!