NFL Air Yards Report For Week 4 Fantasy Football: The Matthew Golden Breakout Is Legit

There’s perhaps nothing more tilting in fantasy football than unrealized air yards, but they do help paint a picture. Every Tuesday here at Fantasy Life, I’ll be highlighting some pass catchers who stood out in the NFL air yards department for the given week.

Let’s take a look at what happened last week.

NFL Air Yards Standouts Ahead Of Week 4 Fantasy Football

Matthew Golden | WR | Green Bay Packers

Week 3 air yards: 199 (2nd)

The second-year breakout for Golden appears to be very, very legit.

Golden caught five passes for 100 yards and a touchdown last Thursday, but his day honestly could have been even better. He was targeted 12 times, just missing connections deep down the field with Jordan Love. Golden recorded nearly 200 air yards, as he continuously gets behind the defense, often forcing defensive pass interference penalties. His 95 pass interference yards drawn are easily the most in the NFL, and I know what you’re thinking. “But Adam, my league doesn’t reward fantasy points for pass interference penalties.”

And it shouldn’t.

But it just demonstrates that Golden, who is already averaging a strong 15.4 PPR PPG (WR14), could be producing even more if some of these air yards are actually realized. He’s running a ton of routes, seeing plenty of downfield work and plays in an offense that has no choice but to throw the football 40-plus times per game. Golden should be ranked as a top-24 fantasy wide receiver going forward.

Jordan Addison | WR | Minnesota Vikings

Week 3 air yards: 151 (5th)

Once Justin Jefferson exited last week’s game with an ankle injury, Addison was thrust into the WR1 role for the Vikings. He played that role well, catching 5 of 9 targets for 90 yards and a touchdown. Addison, who often makes plenty of plays down the field, ranked top-five in the league in air yards for Week 3, including an impressive 41-yard touchdown catch.

So far this season, Addison has run go routes a healthy 25.9% of the time. He’ll continue to stretch the field, but if Jefferson is sidelined on Sunday, we will likely see his usage and deployment change a bit. Over the past two seasons, Addison has been targeted on 29% of his routes with Jefferson off the field. He’ll easily be a top-30 WR play for Week 4 if Jefferson can’t suit up.

Brock Bowers | TE | Las Vegas Raiders

Week 3 air yards: 106 (14th)

You absolutely love to see it.

Bowers’ 2026 debut was well worth the wait. The All-Pro tight end wasted no time establishing himself on Sunday, catching 10 of13 targets for 116 yards and a touchdown. He eclipsed 100 air yards on the day, as Klint Kubiak lined Bowers up all over the formation, using his best pass catcher in multiple ways. Bowers ran 12 routes out wide, 16 from the slot, one from the backfield, and seven from in tight. The football robot from heaven was truly a machine on Sunday, crushing the Saints' defense on go, out, and in-breaking routes all day long.

It was about as exciting and encouraging of a debut as you could possibly ask for from Bowers, who is the only candidate to dethrone Trey McBride as fantasy’s TE1.

DJ Moore | WR | Buffalo Bills

Week 3 air yards: 127 (9th)

Moore continues to play through a banged-up shoulder, though his usage last week wouldn’t suggest as much. The Bills targeted Moore a season-high 10 times on Sunday, while Josh Allen took multiple shots deep down the field to his new WR1. His 127 air yards didn’t lead to any true explosive pass plays, but it is really interesting to see Allen’s deep passing rates increase in Joe Brady’s first season as the head coach. Sure, he’s been the playcaller for a few years now, but it does feel like the head coach position is allowing him to do even more on offense.

Through three weeks, 17.5% of Allen’s pass attempts have traveled 20-plus yards down the field, the third-highest rate in the NFL. It’s also Allen’s highest deep passing rate since his rookie season back in 2018. Outside of some busted coverages to Keon Coleman and Joshua Palmer, when Allen is attacking down the field, he’s usually going to Moore, who currently ranks seventh among all wideouts in air yards per target (15.8).