In 2014, Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb combined for 2,806 receiving yards, the most by any Green Bay Packers duo in a single season.
Christian Watson and Matthew Golden are coming for that record.
Eight games into the regular season, Watson and Golden have combined for 1,327 receiving yards, putting them 12 yards ahead of where Nelson and Cobb were at the same stage in 2014. As the graph below shows, there's very little between them.
According to Cheesehead TV's Aaron Nagler, Watson and Golden are the first duo in Packers history to both post at least 600 receiving yards in the opening eight games of a season.
At their current pace, they would finish the regular season with 2,820 receiving yards, beating the franchise record by 14 yards. However, they have an extra game to get there because the Packers played only 16 regular-season games in 2024.
How Christian Watson and Matthew Golden can become the Packers' most productive receiving duo
Nelson and Cobb picked up pace in the second half of the season – they combined for 1,315 yards in the opening eight games and 1,491 yards in the final eight.
They were unstoppable in the second half of the season, and it'll take a special effort from the Packers' current duo to break the record. Watson and Golden have averaged 165.9 receiving yards per game this season, and they'll need to average 164.4 yards per game to get over the line.
But there's good reason to believe they can do it.
No matter how well they've played, the Packers have left points on the field. We're looking at you, Golden. According to Pro Football Focus, he leads all wide receivers with nine drops. DK Metcalf is the next closest with six.
It's out of character for Golden, who many believed had the best hands on the team during his first year-plus in Green Bay.
Golden only dropped one pass in his rookie season, and everything stuck to his hands like glue throughout training camp. Reporters would point out when he actually dropped a pass because it was so surprising, while Matt LaFleur said Golden had "elite hands" after a preseason game in August.
It's not unreasonable to expect some positive regression there. And if Golden fixes that, which is his only real issue, look out.
There's also the "lost" yardage. Targets where Golden has drawn a defensive pass interference call but doesn't get credited with the yards. Per RotoWire, Golden has drawn a league-high six DPI calls, twice as many as CeeDee Lamb, who is in second place.
If it hadn't been for drops and defenders interfering with Golden, both at a league-high rate, his receiving numbers could look even stronger.
Could Christian Watson and Matthew Golden both make the Pro Bowl?
There's absolutely a chance the Packers' top two wide receivers could be Pro Bowl-bound this season.
It has been five years since the Packers last had a 1,000-yard receiver. They're on track to have two this season. The last time that happened? You guessed it – Nelson and Cobb in 2014. And they both made the Pro Bowl.
Watson is on pace for 1,504 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. Golden is on track for 1,315 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. Sounds like two Pro Bowl-worthy stat lines, if you ask me.
The toughest part will be sustaining this pace. It's what made the Nelson-Cobb partnership so special. They improved as the season went along and complemented each other perfectly.
Nelson could burn defenses deep, especially on Aaron Rodgers' iconic play-action shot that never seemed to fail. Cobb dominated in the slot and was one of the league's best after the catch, tallying 556 YAC yards, the seventh-most in the NFL.
Christian Watson and Matthew Golden are thriving in spite of Packers' offensive issues
That 2014 offense could do what it wanted. The Packers boasted arguably the NFL's best offensive line, with David Bakhtiari, Bryan Bulaga, Josh Sitton, T.J. Lang, and Corey Linsley. They had a combined 10 Pro Bowl selections when it was all said and done.
Green Bay had a 1,000-yard rusher in Eddie Lacy, who led the league's 11th-ranked run game.
The same can't be said about this Packers team. They have a million different problems on offense, but Watson and Golden aren't among them.
Can the Packers protect Love? Not really. Can they run the ball? Absolutely not. But Love is making it work, and it sure helps that he has an explosive receiving duo to target.
Green Bay is somehow 5-3 despite having a historically bad rushing attack.
According to NFL researcher Tony Holzman-Escareno, only two teams have posted fewer than 90 rushing yards in each of their first eight games: The 2026 Packers and the 1990 Indianapolis Colts. The Colts started 2-6 and missed the playoffs.
The Packers, though, remain in the mix for a playoff berth. The offense is still thriving.
Why? Because they have Love, and because they have Watson and Golden. Love leads the NFL in passing yards through eight weeks, while Watson and Golden are aiming to join an elite club of Packers wide receivers and set a new record. I wouldn't bet against them.
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