Start Josh Downs or Matthew Golden? Week 1
Locks at kickoff, graded after.
Start Josh Downs over Matthew Golden
- BAL D vs WR
- 25.0
- 12th fewest to WRs (2026)
- MIN D vs WR
- 55.2
- 2nd most to WRs (2026)
Our Week 1 call
Start Josh Downs over Matthew Golden in Week 1.
Neither player has a posted player market for this week, so this call is ADP and news based rather than priced against the betting market. Drafters take Josh Downs at ADP 100 and Matthew Golden at 106.
What the books imply
No sportsbook posted a player market for Josh Downs in Week 1.
No sportsbook posted a player market for Matthew Golden in Week 1.
Week 1 matchups
Josh Downs and IND host BAL.
BAL allowed 25.0 fantasy points to WRs in its one game this season, the 12th fewest in the league.
Receivers caught passes for 130 yards and no touchdowns against BAL.
Matthew Golden and GB visit MIN.
MIN allowed 55.2 fantasy points to WRs in its one game this season, the 2nd most in the league.
Receivers caught passes for 272 yards and 2 touchdowns against MIN.
By points allowed to the position, Matthew Golden has the softer matchup.
Injury status
Josh Downs was not on the injury report when the call was made.
Matthew Golden was not on the injury report when the call was made.
Their 2025 seasons
In 2025, Josh Downs played 16 games for IND and scored 136.4 PPR points, 8.5 a game, finishing WR44.
He caught 58 of 88 targets for 566 yards and 4 touchdowns, with 14 red zone targets and 422 air yards.
He was on the field for 58 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.
Josh Downs, Week 18 of 2025 against HOU: 1 carry for -5 yards, 4 targets and 4 catches for 61 yards, 9.6 PPR points.
Josh Downs, Week 17 of 2025 against JAX: 35 of 57 snaps, 5 targets and 2 catches for 34 yards, 5.4 PPR points.
Josh Downs, Week 16 of 2025 against SF: 47 of 60 snaps, 1 carry for 3 yards, 9 targets and 5 catches for 65 yards, 11.8 PPR points.
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.
Matthew Golden, Week 18 of 2025 against MIN: 3 targets and 1 catch for 8 yards, 1.8 PPR points.
Matthew Golden, Week 17 of 2025 against BAL: 25 of 47 snaps, 3 targets and 1 catch for 12 yards, 2.2 PPR points.
Matthew Golden, Week 16 of 2025 against CHI: 22 of 72 snaps, 2 carries for 4 yards, 1 target and 0 catches for 0 yards, 0.4 PPR points.
Their other Week 1 calls
On the draft board
Ranked ahead
WR18 · IND · bye 13
2025 vs anytime td line 4-12
- Overall rank
- 81
- Draft pick
- no consensus
- Tier
- 5
Ranked behind
WR21 · GB · bye 11
2025 vs rec yds line 5-9
- Overall rank
- 84
- Draft pick
- no consensus
- Tier
- 5
The board cards are draft figures, not the week's call. Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 1, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.
The gap between them
- Spots apart on the board3
- Pick differencenot comparable without a consensus on both
- Tiersboth in tier 5
- Board size244 draftable players
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