Through nine games, Christian Watson has 879 receiving yards and Matthew Golden 783, ranking third and fourth in the NFL in receiving yards. Those totals project to 1,660 yards for Watson and 1,479 yards for Golden over a 17-game regular season, a combined 3,139 yards.
If maintained, the pair would join a very small group: only four teammate duos have combined for 3,000 receiving yards in a single season, according to Elias Sports Bureau. The highest total belonged to Detroit’s Brett Perriman (1,488) and Herman Moore (1,686) with 3,174 yards in 1995, which came in a 16-game season. No team has ever had two 1,500-yard receivers.
The emergence of Watson and Golden has helped turn Green Bay’s offense into one of the most explosive in the league despite the absence of much of a running game. General manager Brian Gutekunst and coach Matt LaFleur pared down the receiver room in the offseason—letting Romeo Doubs leave in free agency and trading Dontayvion Wicks—and Sunday’s victory over the New England Patriots was cited as validation of that approach.
Quarterback Jordan Love’s accuracy on deep passes produced near-perfect outputs from the two receivers against New England. Between them they caught 17 of 18 targets: Watson had seven receptions for 174 yards and a touchdown, while Golden caught all 10 targets for 164 yards and a touchdown. The only missed connection was a sideline pass to Watson that, according to the report, would have added roughly 35 yards.
Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said the team effectively has “two number ones,” adding that the staff focuses on getting the ball to both players. Golden’s production marks a sharp uptick from his rookie year, when he was targeted 44 times, caught 29 passes for 361 yards and had no touchdowns in 14 games. He has also been charged with a league-high eight drops this season, a point noted alongside his breakout numbers.
