Green Bay Packers

The Pressure Is On For Matthew Golden, Green Bay's First First-Round Receiver In 20 Years

Photo Credit: Mark Hoffman via Imagn Images

Green Bay Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy had the time of his life with his city hosting the 2025 NFL Draft. When Murphy came on stage to announce Green Bay’s first-round pick, he shared some of that joy with his fanbase with a shocking — and galvanizing — pick.

With the 23rd pick in the NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers selected Matthew Golden, wide receiver, from Texas.

In front of a crowd of adoring fans, Murphy got to announce the first first-round wide receiver the Packers have taken since 2002. That famous narrative is over, and the media (and I) will have to find a new talking point every offseason.

The last time the Packers took a first-round receiver, Golden (21) wasn’t even born yet!

We don’t know what kind of career Golden will have, and draft grades are kinda silly. But it’s hard to deny it’s an exciting pick. Wide receiver was a need, and the board lined up the right way. Now, the pressure is on for Golden, whether that’s fair or not. What are the Packers getting with their new offensive weapon?

Golden’s career started at Houston with little fanfare before transferring to Texas for the 2024 season. That season started quietly, but by the end, Golden led the team with 49 receptions for 787 yards and eight touchdowns.

He was a playmaker and a key component of Texas’s postseason success. Although Texas lost the SEC Championship game, he caught eight passes for 162 yards. In the College Football Playoffs, he had seven catches for 149 yards and a TD against Arizona State. He was the bucket-getter when needed, catching a crucial fourth-down conversion and bringing in a two-point conversion. Unfortunately, after a strong start, he exited the following game against Ohio State.

Success in big games is a great way to make NFL teams notice you, but Golden’s speed drew in even more eyes after he ran a lightning 4.29 40-yard dash at the combine. Golden didn’t do enough athletic testing to qualify for an RAS, but his speed is electric. While he is a bit small, he falls within Green Bay’s athletic thresholds.

Combine speedsters haven’t had overly successful NFL careers, and there are some concerns about his overall lack of production and success against man coverage. Still, scouts believe Golden has everything he needs for a successful NFL career.

His acceleration matches his elite speed, allowing him to start quickly. Golden is more than a deep threat and ran a complex route tree at Texas, and Brian Gutekunst said he ran all the routes they needed to see. He’s savvy and knows how to play defensive backs.

Golden is a little smaller than the Packers would like, but he doesn’t play like it. He played 76.1% of his snaps on the perimeter and has an especially impressive catch radius and elite body control.

Per the Green Bay Draft Guide from Packer Report: “He is not the biggest or most physical wide receiver in this class, but he consistently wins at the catch point, and what he lacks in raw size he makes up for in his ability to track the ball and make acrobatic adjustments.”

From the CheeseheadTV Draft Guide: “Golden does a great job of lulling corners to sleep with pacing, then adds late pressure and acceleration in the stem to win at the top of the route.”

His main weaknesses are a lack of production versus man and press, a history of drops, and a need to improve as a blocker.

The lack of production isn’t ideal, but he did produce in the highest moments and improved over the season. It doesn’t help when your quarterback is, errm … not great.

The drops might scare Packers fans after this season, but Gutekunst believes Golden has some of the best hands in the draft.

Ultimately, Golden comes from a major conference, showed up in critical moments, has elite speed that complements his other skills rather than being a one-trick pony, and is a young prospect with plenty of room to grow. He also has punt return experience and can play a role on special teams as a rookie. That’ll play.

Golden met with the Packers in a top-30 visit and said, “I knew once I shook his hand, something just told me they’re fitting to come get me.”

He knows of the oft-quoted span of time between the last wide receiver the Packers drafted in the first round and considers it a blessing. He’s already a fan of Green Bay’s energy.

Golden is an exciting player, and I’ll admit to a whoop of joy when the pick was announced. But there’s a lot of pressure on the young man as the first first-round receiver in over 20 years. Golden will likely be a victim of circumstance with sky-high expectations due to his draft stock. Green Bay’s last few first-rounders have gotten off to slow starts, trying the patience of Packers fans. Still, fans can’t expect Golden to be a game-changer immediately.

Still, the Packers took calls about trading down but stood at 23 to take the player they really wanted. Other potential targets at cornerback and defensive line were still available, and Green Bay has had success finding receivers in the second round. So, if Gutekunst took Golden over other options and passed up a potentially lucrative trade-down, you know he thinks Golden is something special.

It’ll be a few years before we can truly evaluate the selection, and if Golden doesn’t pan out, it might make the Packers wary about taking further first-round WRs. But one can’t deny it’s a compelling pick, and the Green and Golden era has begun. Jordan Love should be a happy quarterback.

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