Start Matthew Golden or A.J. Brown? Week 9

Our Week 9 call

Start A.J. Brown over Matthew Golden in Week 9.

Market-based projections have A.J. Brown at 13.7 points and Matthew Golden at 14.8, a gap of 1.1. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. A.J. Brown still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player, ADP 18 against 108, and that outweighs a gap this size. No player market is posted for A.J. Brown this week yet, so his 13.7 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 6 and 7 (11.8 and 15.5); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 14.8 fantasy points for Matthew Golden, with 100 percent of the markets a WR needs posted.

The market-based projection for Matthew Golden is 68 receiving yards, 5-6 receptions and 0.4 touchdowns (10, 8 and 10 market sources).

No Week 9 player market is posted for A.J. Brown yet. His market-based projections were 11.8 and 15.5 points in Weeks 6 and 7, an average of 13.7, which stands in until his Week 9 market posts.

The market-based projection for A.J. Brown is 0-1 touchdowns (3 market sources).

That puts Matthew Golden 1.1 points ahead of A.J. Brown on these projections.

Week 9 matchups

Matthew Golden and GB visit NE on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.

NE allowed 33.8 fantasy points a game to WRs this season over 8 games, the 10th most in the league.

Receivers caught passes for 152 yards and 1.1 touchdowns a game against NE.

A.J. Brown and NE host GB on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.

GB allowed 34.8 fantasy points a game to WRs this season over 8 games, the 9th most in the league.

Receivers caught passes for 152 yards and 0.9 touchdowns a game against GB.

By points allowed to the position, A.J. Brown has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Matthew Golden is not on the injury report.

A.J. Brown is listed as questionable with a ankle injury.

Usage before Week 9

Through Week 8, Matthew Golden played 84 percent of GB snaps, drew 27 percent of the targets, earned 41 percent of the air yards and had 16 percent of the red zone chances.

Matthew Golden, Week 5 against CHI: 47 of 61 snaps, 7 targets and 6 catches for 123 yards.

Matthew Golden, Week 6 against DAL: 63 of 75 snaps, 13 targets and 6 catches for 104 yards, 1 touchdown.

Matthew Golden, Week 7 against DET: 57 of 67 snaps, 12 targets and 6 catches for 39 yards.

Matthew Golden, Week 8 against CAR: 59 of 69 snaps, 13 targets and 7 catches for 79 yards, 1 touchdown.

Through Week 7, A.J. Brown played 68 percent of NE snaps, drew 22 percent of the targets, earned 35 percent of the air yards and had 15 percent of the red zone chances.

A.J. Brown, Week 1 against SEA: 31 of 71 snaps, 4 targets and 3 catches for 26 yards.

A.J. Brown, Week 6 against NYJ: 52 of 68 snaps, 10 targets and 3 catches for 27 yards.

A.J. Brown, Week 7 against CHI: 49 of 54 snaps, 6 targets and 3 catches for 48 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Matthew Golden played 14 games for GB and scored 70.0 PPR points, 5.0 a game, finishing WR89.

He caught 29 of 44 targets for 361 yards and 0 touchdowns, with 2 red zone targets and 260 air yards.

He was on the field for 50 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, A.J. Brown played 15 games for PHI and scored 220.3 PPR points, 14.7 a game, finishing WR11.

He caught 78 of 121 targets for 1003 yards and 7 touchdowns, with 12 red zone targets and 735 air yards.

He was on the field for 91 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 9 calls

• Start Amon-Ra St. Brown over Matthew Golden.
• Start CeeDee Lamb over Matthew Golden.
• Start Chris Olave over Matthew Golden.
• Start A.J. Brown over Christian Watson.
• Start A.J. Brown over DJ Moore.
• Start A.J. Brown over Emeka Egbuka.