General manager Brian Gutekunst has an affinity for doubling up in the draft at the same position. In the case of the wide receiver, Gutekunst tripled up in 2022 and 2023.
He went back to the well this April, selecting a wide receiver in the first round and again in the third. Just like past draft classes at the position, the receivers aren’t carbon copies of one another. Instead, their skill sets are naturally complementary.
In 2022, the Packers selected Christian Watson at No. 34 overall and Romeo Doubs at No. 132. They took Watson to be the burner, the guy who could take the lid off a secondary and stretch things out vertically. Doubs was the possession receiver out of Nevada who would do the dirty work and be a reliable target despite not having blazing attributes.
That plan mostly came together as the Packers expected, with the caveat that Watson has dealt with multiple injuries while Doubs suffered two concussions in 2024 and was also suspended for a game.
Gutekunst didn’t stop there. In 2023, he took Jayden Reed in the second round and Dontayvion Wicks in the fifth. Reed has become a utility wide receiver for the Packers, able to line up in many spots, including the backfield in Matt LaFleur’s offense. Wicks is the bigger pass catcher with some big-play threat potential, but not nearly to the same degree as Reed.
The one thing both have in common is that drops plagued them in 2024. Reed and Wicks were near the top of the leaderboard in drops, with nine apiece.
And here we are again in 2025, with another (hopefully) dynamic duo.
Matthew Golden brings his 4.29 speed to Green Bay, with dreams of becoming a true No. 1 wide receiver. The jury is still out on whether that will come to pass, but what is clear is that the Packers took Golden to be a prototypical WR1.
Golden is a smooth operator who glides around the field and constantly showed up in the big games for Texas a year ago. He has the traits to become a receiver who tops the depth chart, but won’t be relied upon to be the guy immediately. The Packers have plenty of depth at wide receiver, so any concerns about immediate pressure on Golden to produce right away are misplaced.
After shocking the crowd in Green Bay by taking a wide receiver in the first round for the first time since 2002, Gutekunst and the braintrust at the controls took TCU wide receiver Savion Williams in the third round. Although he’s listed as a wide receiver, it would’ve been more accurate to label Williams as the guy who can do a lot of things well.
Golden is a true wide receiver, and the Packers will use him as such. Williams is a unicorn.
Williams can line up in the backfield at running back, on the outside as a wide receiver, in the slot — hell, even at quarterback. It’s a perfect complement for Golden.
Green Bay doesn’t want to be repetitive with its wide receiver picks. It’s fun to imagine an offense where you draft a bunch of speed demons who can get vertical, but a defense doesn’t have to worry about various outcomes in that scenario. Balance is crucial.
Williams brings a completely different playing style opposite of Golden. Early on, he might be best used as the guy who gets the ball occasionally and is also an exceptional decoy.
Williams has drawn early comparisons to Deebo Samuel, but that’s strictly about the potential versatility of his deployment. Beyond that, the comparison is fairly hollow, given that Williams has a significantly bigger frame and still-unknown potential.
Golden isn’t getting Samuel comparisons. He doesn’t have the frame Williams does. He does things differently and excels in different areas.
That’s perfect.
Whether by design or not, the Packers have shown that the rookies bring very different skillsets to the table the last three times they’ve drafted multiple receivers in the same round.
Golden will offer the Packers a player who can have an instant impact from the jump and could eventually be top dog in the WR room. Williams is a raw talent with a big frame who looks like a pinball on the field once he gets going. Both are well-suited to LaFleur’s crafty offense, where he can maximize them in vastly different ways.
