Morning Coffee: The Packers player prop to target in NFL Week 1

 Vernon Adams Jr. is eight weeks away from winning the CFL regular season Most Outstanding Player award.

All he needs to do now is stay healthy and help the Calgary Stampeders keep the pressure on the rival Saskatchewan Roughriders for the CFL’s best record.

In case you missed it, the CFL Labour Day Weekend gave us two of the most entertaining games of the year.

It was like the league knew the NFL Kickoff is around the corner and wanted to remind Canadians that their game is far too entertaining to be completely overshadowed.

Fortunately for all of us who bet Adams to win MOP at +2000 before Week 1, Calgary’s 28-7 win over the Edmonton Elks wasn’t nearly as thrilling as the first two games on the CFL’s Labour Day Weekend slate.

Adams did what he had to do to win and cover at home and now the Stampeders get two weeks to prepare for a home date against the visiting BC Lions.

Calgary won’t play the Roughriders or the Winnipeg Blue Bombers again this regular season, although I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if they did, considering they went a combined 5-0 head-to-head against those two rivals.

The Stampeders are the Grey Cup favourite at +230. Saskatchewan is the third choice to win it all at +340. Are we positive that the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are legitimate Grey Cup contenders? The Tiger-Cats are the second choice to win it all at +310.

Meanwhile, the Nick Arbuckle-led Toronto Argonauts are suddenly +1500 as the seventh choice to win the Grey Cup following a thrilling win in Hamilton that leaves them just two points back of the Montreal Alouettes for second place in the East Division standings.

A lot can change over the final eight weeks of the CFL regular season.

Hopefully for yours truly, Adams and the Stampeders can finish the season off on a high note for all of us with a bet on him to win MOP at +2000 at FanDuel.

On the topic of football futures, my Game of Throws NFL team-by-team season preview series is wrapping up.

It’s Tuesday September 2nd, 2025, and there’s no better way to enjoy Morning Coffee than with my first two FanDuel Best Bets for Week 1 of the NFL regular season.

The Packers Player Prop To Target In NFL Week 1

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Matthew Golden to go over 43.5 receiving yards is my first recommended play for Week 1 of the 2025 NFL regular season.

There’s been a lot of confusion about the identity of the Packers offence after they ranked as one of the most run-heavy units in the entire NFL last season.

Plus, all the focus has been on their defence of late.

It’s easy to forget that Jordan Love dealt with several nagging injuries, Green Bay’s wide receivers ranked among the most unreliable position groups in the NFL, and the combination of those first two factors made it that much easier to give Josh Jacobs 301 carries.

Jacobs registered 1,329 rushing yards and a career-high 15 rushing touchdowns in his Packers debut season.

The 27-year-old has proved he’s capable of being a workhorse running back, but that doesn’t mean he’ll get 300+ carries again in Green Bay this season.

The Packers operated a much more pass-heavy offence in Matt LaFleur’s previous three seasons, including in 2023 when Love threw for 4,159 yards and 32 touchdowns in 17 games in his first year as a starting quarterback.

A combination of injuries and poor wide receiver play led to a regression from Love in 2024, when he threw for 3,389 yards and 25 touchdowns in 15 games played.

However, if Love can stay healthy and get better play from his wide receivers, he should bounce back with numbers that more closely resemble 2023 than 2024.

There are a few indicators he is primed to bounce back.

First, Love now has two seasons as a starter under his belt and from a health perspective he has “no concerns” entering his third year as the starter.

Second, LaFleur’s offence prioritizes efficiency, and with the right pieces in place, Love could throw for 4,000 yards if he stays healthy for a full 17-game season.

Finally, the Packers believe those pieces are in place after they selected two wide receivers in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft for the first time in franchise history.

Green Bay snapped a streak of 22 consecutive drafts without taking a wide receiver in the first round when they selected Matthew Golden out of Texas with the 23rd overall pick.

After drafting NC State tackle Anthony Belton in the second round, the Packers added another receiver in TCU’s Savion Williams with the 87th overall pick.

Last season, Green Bay’s wide receivers combined for 25 drops and an 8.1 per cent drop rate – both of those marks were the worst in the entire NFL.

In fact, that 8.1 per cent drop rate was the worst by any wide receiver group in a single season since the 2010 New England Patriots wide receivers record a 9.0 per cent drop rate. Fourth-year wide receiver Christian Watson will start the season on the reserve/PUP list and the Packers plan to take a cautious approach in his return from a torn ACL.

That leaves Golden and Williams to compete with Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Dontayvion Wicks, and Malik Heath for targets at the wide receiver position out of the gates.

Apparently, Reed is still reportedly dealing with pain in his foot when running after he suffered a Jones fracture. Reed plans to play Week 1, but he won’t be 100 per cent.

Meanwhile, Wicks has been in and out of practice with a calf injury throughout the pre-season.

All indications out of Packers camp point towards Golden providing the speed, big-play ability, and consistency that this offence sorely missed last season.

I’ll bet on Golden to have an immediate impact against the visiting Detroit Lions in Week 1.

In each of their two meetings with Detroit last season, a Green Bay wide receiver went over 100 receiving yards.

In Week 9 at Lambeau Field, Reed had five catches for 113 yards on six targets in a 24-14 loss. Then in a 34-31 loss at Ford Field in Week 14, Watson had four catches for 114 yards on seven targets.

The Lions secondary remains their weakness on defence heading into Sunday’s Week 1 NFC North showdown.

I believe Love will capitalize with Golden, who ran a 4.29 40-yard dash at the 2025 NFL Combine – the fastest time among all wide receivers.

Give me Golden over 43.5 receiving yards versus Detroit as a FanDuel Best Bet for Week 1 of the regular season.

Also, in case you missed it, I locked in Golden over 725.5 regular season receiving yards as my favourite futures bet in my Packers season preview article.

Love is healthy again and he has an explosive new weapon at the wide receiver position.

I’m counting on that Golden connection showing up on the stat sheet in Week 1.

A very happy Week 1 of the NFL regular season to all those who celebrate!