Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur has taken a more conservative approach in his play calling over the last three games, which is understandable. Injuries along the offensive line have made both pass protection and run blocking suboptimal at best, and anytime you can avoid your $55 million men getting hit, you take it.

Still, LaFleur’s conservative play-calling has handcuffed Green Bay’s offense at times. Jordan Love’s average depth of target was just 1.7 yards against the Cleveland Browns and 5.9 against the Dallas Cowboys, whose defense has had a historically poor start. That number improved to 8.1 against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 6, but overall, the offense remains reluctant to let Love sling the ball downfield.

As I mentioned previously, pass blocking has not been great. Entering Week 6, Green Bay ranked among the bottom five teams in pass blocking efficiency. Still, LaFleur needed to make adjustments to maximize what was working in the offense — the passing game. That’s where Matthew Golden enters the picture, a player who could be the X-factor for this group if given the proper opportunities.

Coming out of the draft, arguably, Golden’s most impressive trait was his hands. Brian Gutekunst, the Packers general manager, even described him as arguably having the best hands in the class — and that’s before even mentioning his 4.29 speed, the fastest at the combine. When you pair those traits, he’s a dynamic playmaker capable of elevating an offense to the next level.

Still, the Packers have largely used Golden in a short, quick passing game this year, featuring screens and end-arounds. He had only four targets in the first two games and didn’t top 60 receiving yards until Week 6, when he then delivered his best performance of the season against the Bengals.

Against the Bengals, Golden caught 3 of 5 targets for 86 yards. Two of those catches were huge, and they came on plays that actually let him go downfield — a glimpse of what he can do when Green Bay uses him beyond the short-game looks he’s usually stuck in.

In the second quarter, Green Bay faced a 3rd-and-10 from their own 30-yard line. Love fired a laser down the sideline to Golden, who made a beautiful, smooth catch for the first down, putting the Packers in Cincinnati territory. The catch was as effortless as it was impressive.

Late in the game, Green Bay faced a crucial 3rd-and-9 from their own 39-yard line. Leading 24-18, they needed a first down to move closer to a win. Love dropped back, rolled left and fired a dart to Golden, who made the catch and moved the chains, putting the Packers inside the Bengals' 30-yard line.

“We had a concept call, a deep concept and I felt the pocket kind of moving and a lane to get out, so I started moving left,” Love explained in the press conference after the game. “MG was taking it deep and saw me working the scramble, so he was able to put his foot in the ground and come back down. I just threw it up for him, and he made a great play.”

In the last three games, Golden has put up 4 targets for 52 yards, 6 targets for 58 yards and 6 targets for 94 yards. His workload should only increase. After the game, Love spoke about his first-round receiver.

“He adds another explosive playmaker. I think he made some big-time plays today,” Love said. “Both really explosive plays with the go ball down the sideline and that last play to him."

"I think he’s a guy we’re going to keep trying to get going and keep finding ways to get him the ball, because he’s done some really good things," he added. "It’s always about trying to spread it around, but he’s definitely a very explosive playmaker, and we just have to keep finding ways to get to him.”

Hopefully, the offensive line continues to get healthier, which should give LaFleur the confidence to call more intermediate and deep concepts to take advantage of Golden’s speed. Sure, his speed is useful on quick, short routes, but how many cornerbacks in the league can keep up with 4.29 speed? Probably not many. His ascension as Green Bay’s potential number one receiver can only benefit the offense in the long term, but first, they need to let him loose.