Green Bay Packers history is filled with iconic receiving duos.
Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb. Donald Driver and Greg Jennings. Antonio Freeman and Robert Brooks.
We may be watching the next great Packers wide receiver pairing develop before our eyes. Christian Watson and Matthew Golden have a long way to go to join the elite club of Green Bay greats, but they've started the 2026 season on a historic pace.
Watson's 474 receiving yards rank fifth in the NFL entering Week 6, and Golden isn't far behind on 397 yards, good for ninth. They are the league's leading receiver duo five weeks into the regular season.
Just how good have they been? Only one Packers duo has matched their 871 receiving yards in the first five games of a season, and at their current pace, they'll shatter the season-long franchise record. Let's break it down.
Best starts by a Packers receiving duo (first five games)
Watson and Golden have flown out of the gates, making the second-fastest start of any Packers receiving duo in franchise history. Only James Lofton and John Jefferson, who combined for 873 yards in the opening five games of the 1983 season, stand ahead of Watson and Golden's 871 yards.
Talk about great company. And just look at the duos they are ahead of.
In 2004, Javon Walker and Donald Driver both comfortably surpassed 1,000 yards, with Walker making the Pro Bowl. Watson and Golden are three yards ahead of where they were five games into that famous season.
Sustaining it is the challenging part, but Jordan Love's favorite two targets are currently on pace to break the season-long record.
Christian Watson and Matthew Golden's full-season projection
After destroying the Bears' secondary over and over again last week, Watson and Golden have shown their almost unlimited upside with Love in this offense.
Watson is currently on pace for 1,611 yards and 20 touchdowns over a 17-game season. Golden's current average would put him at 1,349 yards and seven touchdowns. Just absurd. Their combined 2,961 receiving yards would break the franchise record for a receiving duo, which was set by Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb in 2014.
Nelson and Cobb both made the Pro Bowl that season, helping the Packers secure the NFC's No. 2 seed and reach the doorstep of the Super Bowl. Aaron Rodgers won his second NFL MVP award.
It's important to note that Watson and Golden have an extra game to break the record, as the Packers played only 16 games in 2014.
If we base it on average yards per game, Nelson and Cobb hold the advantage, with a 175.4-yard average compared to Watson and Golden's 174.2. But that would still put Watson and Golden second in Packers history.
Just being in that conversation says so much about them. Fans of other teams, mostly in the direction of Chicago, Illinois, mocked the Packers for giving Watson a four-year, $92.5 million extension this offseason. They also took victory laps about Golden, fully believing he was a bust after one season.
Green Bay is getting the last laugh, especially after Watson and Golden combined for 266 yards and two touchdowns against Chicago last week.
There's still a long way to go this season, but the Packers' receiving duo is on a historic pace.
Christian Watson and Matthew Golden are validating the Packers' offseason gamble
Something had to give in the Packers' receiving room. It had become far too overcrowded with Watson and Golden competing for snaps with Romeo Doubs, Dontayvion Wicks, and Jayden Reed.
It left Golden with precious few opportunities last season, and Green Bay's spread-the-ball-around philosophy prevented any one receiver from truly finding rhythm.
The Packers sacrificed depth to streamline the receiving corps, allowing Doubs to walk in free agency before trading Wicks to the Philadelphia Eagles. They then handed extensions to Watson and Reed, while paving the way for second-year Golden to become a focal point of the passing game.
Green Bay has unfortunately lost Reed to a season-ending neck injury, but in Watson, Golden, and tight end Tucker Kraft, the Packers boast a terrifying trio. And they complement each other beautifully.
How Christian Watson, Matthew Golden, and Tucker Kraft give defenses nightmares
Watson and Golden have true game-changing speed, and that was on full display against the Bears. Matt LaFleur identified quickly that Chicago's cornerbacks couldn't keep up with them, so he dialed up deep shot after deep shot after deep shot.
According to ESPN Insights, Love completed five passes that traveled at least 30 air yards. Since ESPN started tracking the stat in 2006, Ben Roethlisberger is the only other quarterback to do so.
But Watson and Golden offer something different.
Watson has unmatched size, speed, and athleticism. He's an elite deep threat, but also impossible to stop with the ball in the open field. In Week 1, Watson caught a pass at Green Bay's 34-yard line, then outran a sea of purple jerseys to turn it into an 81-yard touchdown. Once he gets the ball in space, it's game over.
Per ESPN Analytics, Watson has a YAC score of 62, which is tied for seventh among all wide receivers.
Golden wins a different way. His route-running is a joy to watch – he's so smooth and makes it look effortless. He has an Open score of 70, ranking 10th at the position.
Tucker Kraft can become an even bigger factor due to the Packers' receivers
What Watson and Golden have in common is elite speed, which only makes Kraft a more dangerous prospect underneath.
The Packers' superstar tight end has made a relatively quiet start to the season, by his lofty standards, highlighted by five uncharacteristic drops. Kraft has only just returned from a torn ACL, which could explain some of the early-season mistakes, but he is heating up.
Kraft has 11 catches for 106 yards and a touchdown over the past two weeks, including a 46-yarder against the Bears.
He's another phenomenal athlete. Kraft can be the biggest beneficiary of the speed Watson and Golden provide. That creates space underneath, where Kraft dominates. He's one of the best yards-after-catch tight ends in football, providing the same kind of X-factor George Kittle does in San Francisco.
In 2025, Kraft averaged 10.8 yards after catch per reception, ranking third in the NFL. Only running backs Jaylen Warren and Bijan Robinson averaged more. He was miles clear of the next tight end, Detroit's Sam LaPorta, who averaged 6.9 yards after catch per reception.
Kraft's only at 6.5 YAC/reception through five weeks, but again, it's not all that surprising coming off the ACL tear, not to mention the Packers' early-season struggles to move the ball.
His numbers are increasing, too. Kraft averaged 7.0 YAC/reception in Week 4, a season best, and then beat that with a 7.6-yard average in Week 5. His arrow is pointing up. The opportunities will be there. Watson and Golden have made a lightning-fast start to the regular season, and their ability to punish defenses deep will force opponents to adapt.
It'll take a lot more evidence to officially add them to the Packers' long list of iconic receiving duos, but Watson and Golden are working at a pace that could eclipse all of them.
Add us as a preferred source on Google