3 Players I'm Drafting Right Now on Underdog Fantasy Football: Buy Matthew Golden
Joe Metz breaks down a trio of players he's going out of his way to get more exposure to in August best ball drafts on Underdog.
As we've moved into August, I have—like most who are drafting consistently on Underdog—been increasingly conscious of who I've been drafting too much of, and who I haven't been drafting enough of (I highly recommend using our best ball player exposures tracker).
I'm through 66 drafts on Underdog across various contests with 21 slow drafts currently going. With training camp news flying in left and right and priors being adjusted, there are three players I've been making a conscious effort to draft more of as I've realized I have far less of them than I actually want.
Note: listed exposures do not count slow drafts in progress.
3 Players To Target In Underdog Fantasy Football Drafts Right Now
Ashton Jeanty | RB | Raiders
- ADP: 12.2(RB6)
- FL Rank: 12 (RB6)
- My Exposure: 7.6%
There's a massive contingent of running backs that stretches from the end of Round 1 until about mid-Round 2—pseudo-elite running backs, as I view them. Each has a legitimate upside case, but it does feel like a handful may be a bit rich simply because running backs are getting pushed up the board because of the positional resurgence over the last few seasons. Of the group, my exposures are as follows:
- James Cook (4.6%)
- Ashton Jeanty (7.6%)
- Saquon Barkley (9.1%)
- Omarion Hampton (4.6%)
- Kenneth Walker (19.7%)
- Chase Brown (10.6%)
- Derrick Henry (3.0%)
- De'Von Achane (4.6%)
I'm pretty light on the group as a whole, outside of Walker and Brown. My lack of Cook and Jeanty exposure has mainly come from how often I pick around the Round 1/2 turn, but I've had intentional fades on Hampton, Henry and Achane at cost this summer. I don't plan to reverse course on any of those (maybe add a few Henry shares), but I've been making an effort to up my Jeanty number. I've been lucky enough to snag a few shares in my slow drafts around picks 14-15, but I've also been fine reaching as high as 1.09 to get him.
His RB16 finish last season was disappointing relative to his preseason price tag (Round 1 ADP), but his underlying role was elite (78% snaps, 19% TPRR, 81% SDD snaps, 91% inside-the-five attempts, 84 UR).
Now, his situation across the board has improved for 2026—new coaching staff (from the Super Bowl-winning Seahawks), presumed improvement in QB play and an upgraded offensive line. Jeanty also projects for the eighth-most attempts (257), sixth-most targets (70) and seventh-most catches (55) at the position. This bakes in the fact that Dwain has the Raiders projected to rank 28th in touchdowns per game (1.8).
Even the slightest overperformance by the Raiders could catapult Jeanty into top-three RB territory, and I would rather be a season ahead than paying the premium next year.
Garrett Wilson | WR | Jets
- ADP: 40.0 (WR21)
- FL Rank: 38 (WR20)
- My Exposure: 12.1%
Similar to Jeanty being caught in a cohort of closely knit running backs, Garrett Wilson finds himself towards the tail-end of a rather deep WR run, including Emeka Egbuka, Luther Burden, Jaylen Waddle, Tetairoa McMillan and Ladd McConkey. I have a lot of interest and exposure to that entire group, outside of McMillan. Wilson is the one that I realize I've been overlooking.
It's easy to remember two things: Geno Smith was abysmal with the Raiders in 2025, and the Jets were abysmal as a whole. Plus, Wilson was limited to only seven games last season.
What slips the mind? Smith's resurgent 2024 season, where he ranked 4th in passing yards (4,320), 5th in completion percentage (70.4%) and 12th in yards per attempt (7.5). Are we sure 2025 wasn't an outlier given how atrocious his environment was?
What else slips the mind? Despite limited appearances, Wilson ranked 2nd in target share (34%), 2nd in air yards share (48%) and was the WR6 in half-PPR through Week 5.
It feels terrifying to type, but the Jets could look like a much-improved unit this season if Smith can return to even league-average QB play (reminder that Justin Fields was the one throwing to Wilson to open 2025 ...). An influx of young offensive talent should help, and so should a fully healthy offseason for Wilson.
This is my most-rostered pocket of wideouts in drafts given my desire to go RB-heavy early on, and Wilson feels like the forgotten man in this range.
Matthew Golden | WR | Packers
- ADP: 104.8 (WR48)
- FL Rank: 125 (WR51)
- My Exposure: 9.1%
There's no way to sugarcoat it, Matthew Golden's rookie season was one to forget. After being selected in Round 1 of the draft, Golden didn't give Packers fans much to cheer about after draft night:
- Routes: 58% (WR88)
- TPRR: 15% (WR151)
- Targets: 11% (WR92)
- Air Yards: 16% (WR86)
- Utilization Score: 33 (WR88)
Woof. I guess that's one way to lower the entry fee to get in on a Year 2 breakout.
With Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks out of the picture, we should finally see consolidation in this Packers passing attack, and Golden looks like he'll be the biggest beneficiary. Jordan Love recently confirmed that Golden will fill the X role, an important role in the Packers offense that saw Doubs post a 77% route rate and 13.2-yard aDOT. Doubs isn't an elite target-earner (20% TPRR; 19% target share). He should be locked into an outside role in 2-WR sets, cementing him in a full-time role while Jayden Reed gets the slot duties in 3-WR sets.
The stars are aligning for a bounceback season and potential Year 2 breakout, and his price is still low enough where the upside greatly outweighs the downside.
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