Fantasy fallout: Jayden Reed out 6-8 weeks with broken collarbone

The Green Bay Packers dominated the Washington Commanders on Thursday night, as their defense swarmed Jayden Daniels and company. Unfortunately for the Packers, their top receiver, Jayden Reed, suffered a fractured collarbone and will be out around 6-8 weeks.

The Packers wide receiver room has been a MASH unit for a while now, and this injury just adds to a list of injuries the group has been dealing with this offseason and preseason. So that begs the question, who is healthy and able to start moving forward?

At this point in the season the Packers are without Christian Watson, who is on the PUP list due to a torn ACL he suffered last season. Reed himself was already dealing with a Jones fracture in his foot, and Dontayvion Wick just got healthy enough to return from a calf injury. The good news is that Romeo Doubs, rookie Matthew Golden, Wicks and Malik Heath all finished Thursday’s game healthy. Add in TE Tucker Kraft, who had a huge game, and they do have a good set of receivers ready to go next week without Reed.

Of that group, Doubs and Golden ran the most routes Thursday night, while Wicks was a close third, then Heath and rookie Savion Williams each saw a handful of snaps. Reed’s injury should boost Golden’s playing time into a full time starter, while Wicks looks like he’ll take over Reed’s slot work for the most part.

Wicks appears to have seen the biggest bump in work, as he had four receptions on a team-high six targets for 44 yards. The Packers had a good lead throughout the game, so Jordan Love wasn’t pushed to throw enough to really give any receivers big usage. Of course, Kraft had the big fantasy numbers, but still on just six targets himself, tying for the team lead. Kraft’s usage will continue to be good, making him a must start, but Love doesn’t tend to really focus on one receiver.

Wicks is available in many fantasy leagues and is worth a pickup. Golden is rostered on 83% of Yahoo fantasy teams while Wicks is just at 1%. At this point, I expect Wicks to see more overall targets in the slot than Golden. I’d be more willing to flex out Wicks than Golden at this point, but Golden does have the higher upside. I’d just like to see him fulfill some of that upside before I start him.