Fantasy Football Week 4 Wide Receiver Who Should I Start? Matthew Golden, Xavier Worthy, and More

The Packers are running out of healthy offensive players. Already down Christian Watson as he recovers from a 2024 knee injury, top receiver Jayden Reed suffered a collarbone injury in Week 2 and is now on IR after undergoing surgery on that collarbone and also a lingering foot injury.

Green Bay also looks like they could be without three offensive linemen: two starters and the guy who would have filled in at right tackle. Short at multiple positions, they will be looking for someone to come up big, and fantasy owners are wondering if that will be first-round rookie Matthew Golden.

Golden was thought of as maybe the true WR1 the team was lacking, but it has been a slow start. With so many guys down around him, he might be forced into more work. Fantasy owners are wondering the same thing, and that's why Golden has been showing up all over our FantasySP start/sit tool.

Let's look at Golden then do a head-to-head quick-hit start/sit with five wide receivers that he has been compared to most on the start/sit tool. Most stats used below are from NFL.com.

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Matthew Golden, Green Bay Packers @ Dallas Cowboys

With Reed missing most of Week 2 and all of Week 3, Romeo Doubs has played the most snaps among Packer receivers, and Golden has been second, closely followed by Dontayvion Wicks.

Tight end Tucker Kraft led the way in Week 2, but Wicks had the most volume among the wide receivers (four receptions, 44 yards), followed by Doubs (three catches, 28 yards, and a touchdown). Golden had no catches.

That changed in Week 3: Golden led Packer wide receivers with four receptions and 52 yards, while Doubs and Wicks were both around two catches and 20 yards. Maybe with time to prepare, Golden got more integrated into the game plan, or maybe it was just pure luck, but Golden is trending the right way.

The matchup against Dallas couldn't be much better. The Cowboys are allowing the most yards per pass attempt and the most fantasy points per game to wide receivers. Last week, they allowed the Bears to go for nearly 300 passing yards on 10.6 per attempt with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Both Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III topped 60 receiving yards and scored a touchdown.

Romeo Doubs, Green Bay Packers @ Dallas Cowboys

It makes sense to start with Doubs. If the matchup is great, which receiver is the better fantasy option? Doubs leads Golden by three targets, one reception, 53 yards, and a touchdown.

It seems like Doubs has a higher floor, but Golden has a higher ceiling. Both players are good WR3/4/flex types with WR2 upside given the matchup. I give the slight advantage to Golden because he has that higher ceiling.

Advice: Start Matthew Golden over Romeo Doubs, but it's very close.

Elic Ayomanor, Tennessee Titans @ Houston Texans

Ayomanor is the second receiver on the Titans and maybe the third pass catcher behind Calvin Ridley and tight end Chig Okonkwo. That's fine on a team that throws the ball around, but the Titans have been one of the worst passing teams in the league so far, gaining the second-fewest yards per pass attempt.

This is also a tough matchup. The Texans are 13th in yards per pass attempt allowed, but that is a better-than-average 5.8 yards per attempt. Last year, Houston finished second best in the same category. I view the Texans as one of the toughest defensive matchups, expecting numbers to average out with more time.

Advice: Start Matthew Golden over Elic Ayomanor. The latter just has a tough matchup in a low-volume offense, not a good play.

D.J. Moore, Chicago Bears @ Las Vegas Raiders

Moore's status as a must-start player is in serious doubt and might already be gone. He has been fine so far: four catches and 45 yards per game with one touchdown. That has him outside the top 40 fantasy receivers.

He sits well behind Rome Odunze, who seems to have taken over as the top receiver in Chicago. Odunze has caught 16 of 27 targets for 227 yards and four touchdowns. That has him as a top-three receiver in both standard and PPR. Moore has fallen out of Chicago's WR1 spot.

The matchup is a very good one, as the Raiders have allowed the sixth-most yards per pass attempt and fourth-most fantasy points to receivers. There aren't going to be many easier days based on the numbers, so Moore is still squarely on the fantasy radar in this one.

Advice: Start D.J. Moore over Matthew Golden. This is a super close one, as both players have great matchups, but I'll give the veteran the slight advantage. They both have positive outlooks.

Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars @ San Francisco 49ers

Thomas was drafted as a top-10 fantasy receiver, but he sits close to WR50 after three weeks. He's first on the team in targets but only fifth in receptions and third in yards while not scoring a touchdown.

The target share is nice, but to see Thomas fail to excel week after week is concerning. His team's struggles with the pass might be partly to blame (or they can be partly blamed on Thomas depending on how you want to look at it).

San Francisco has allowed the sixth-fewest yards per pass attempt and fourth-fewest fantasy points to wide receivers. There is one major factor that might change their defensive outlook, as Nick Bosa suffered a torn ACL and will miss the rest of the season, but the numbers so far are in the 49ers' favor.

Advice: Start Matthew Golden over Brian Thomas Jr. Thomas just hasn't be able to find his groove, and this is a tough matchup.

Xavier Worthy, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Baltimore Ravens

Worthy makes his return in this one after suffering an injury in the first game of the season. He was assumed to be Kansas City's top receiver with Rashee Rice suspended, and it's assumed that he will step right back into that role. No one else in the receiving group took consistent control of the top spot with Worthy out, so it's likely he was the missing piece that can fill that role.

The Ravens are worse than average in terms of both yards per pass attempt allowed and fantasy points given up to receivers. They are close to average, not a bottom unit, so Baltimore presents an OK matchup, not a great one.

Advice: Start Xavier Worthy over Matthew Golden. They are in similar positions, but I trust Worthy a little more than Golden, even though the latter has a better matchup. This is another close call.