Paul Bretl | 4/24/2025
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Well, it happened. For the first time in 23 years, the Packers selected a wide receiver in the first round of the NFL draft, picking Texas’ Matthew Golden at 23rd overall.
As we all know, before this pick, the last receiver taken in the first round was Javon Walker out of Florida State in 2002.
“Definitely a lot of emotions, man,” said Golden of being drafted by the Packers. “It all goes back to wanting to be drafted in the first round. I knew it was an opportunity each team. When the Packers came, I had a feeling that they was going to come to get me. Once I got the call, I answered it and they told me they was picking me, so it was a lot of excitement.”
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Although wide receiver obviously hasn’t been a common selection for the Packers at this stage of the draft, Golden to Green Bay always made plenty of sense, which is why he was one of the five players listed on my shortlist of Round 1 options.
While not the typical big-bodied presence we’ve seen the Packers covet, he does meet the size requirements that organization has typically preferred, measuring in at 5-11 and weighing 191 pounds.
On the field, he brings much-needed speed to the passing game, running a blazing 4.29-second 40 at the NFL combine–the fastest of any wide out. Without Christian Watson, the Packers are going to need that vertical presence.
This ability not only creates explosive play opportunities for the receiver, but offenses need defenses to respect that element. This can then create more spacing and open up windows for others over the middle, on underneath routes, and even help out the running game if a defense is going to sit in a Cover-2 look to protect against the deep ball.
Last season, 22 of Goldens’ 83 targets came 20-plus yards downfield. That isn’t an overwhelming amount, but he caught 13 of them, which was tied for the eighth-most among receivers.
“You watch him, we thought arguably he had some of the best hands in the draft,” GM Brian Gutekunst said. “Not only coming back to him and running through it but when he tracks it over his shoulder and stuff too. He’s a strong athlete. He’s really versatile, he’s going to do a lot of things, but we certainly felt that he could play outside and that would work for us.”
However, having said all of that, Golden isn’t just a downfield threat. What truly makes him such a good fit for the Packers’ offense is his ability to attack all levels of the field. According to PFF, along with his 22 targets downfield, he also had 26 targets on passes from 10-19 yards and 26 others on passes from 0-9 yards.
His target distribution across the field was incredibly consistent, and with that, Golden also has experience lining up both from the slot and on the boundary. Although he doesn’t have the typical size and frame that you might expect from a boundary wideout in the Packers’ offense, Gutekunst believes that Golden’s skill set will translate well there at the NFL level.
“I definitely understand the game so well to where I can tempo my routes so where I don’t have to run full speed and I just know where my breaking points need to be, wherever the defender is,” Golden said. “I got a lot in my game. I could play inside, play out. I could also take the top off, so whatever the team needs me to do, I’m definitely that guy they need to do that.”
This interchangeability that Golden brings to the NFL level is precisely what Matt LaFleur wants to have at the receiver position, as it allows him to really customize game plans based on the opponent, and it makes defending this Packers offense more challenging, with there being that level of unpredictability.
Golden would finish his 2024 season at Texas, catching 70% of his 83 targets. As mentioned by Gutekunst, that catch rate was one of the many things about Golden that stood out to him, his hands and overall reliability as he was able to haul in a variety of different passes on varying routes consistently.
In addition to his high catch rate, Golden showcased his big-play ability, averaging a whopping 17.0 yards per catch, which not only included downfield throws, but a steady playmaking presence with the ball in his hands as well.
And of note, when discussing Golden’s 2024 season, his two biggest games came in two of Texas’ biggest games. In the SEC Championship Game against Georgia, Golden went for 162 yards. Then, in Texas’ first College Football Playoff game, Golden went for 149 yards.
“It just goes back to when them lights turn on man, playing on the biggest stage; I always told myself I wanted to do that,” Golden said of those games. “Going to Texas I knew I had the opportunity to play against great opponents (and) play at the highest level. Just knowing when the lights turn on, it’s time to go. That’s the mindset I got.”
The fit is there, the production is there, and also an important part of this evaluation equation during the pre-draft process, is a player’s competitiveness–something Gutekunst discussed during his pre-draft press conference.
After spending two seasons at Houston, where he was a steady part of that offense with over 110 targets during that span, Golden wanted to play for and go against the best. In practice, he regularly went up against Jahdae Barron at cornerback, another first-round pick. He routinely faced NFL competition on a weekly basis in the SEC as well.
Then, in his personal life, Golden has faced and overcome adversity as well.
“Authentic and genuine,” said Gutekunst about Golden. “This guy’s been through some things now in his young life and come out the other side of it. I think he’s very authentic, he knows who he is. He loves football and I think he’s going to be a great teammate around here.”
Like any player making the jump from college to the NFL, as NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein notes, “refinement” is needed as a route runner, but Golden as the “potential to develop into a WR1 in the future.”
Gutekunst mentioned before the draft that the Packers don’t necessarily need their first-round pick to contribute right away, but said after the selection of Golden that he believes he can. But with the Packers already established wide receiver room, of course, the hope is that Golden can make an impact and that his presence can help raise the level of competition and urgency, and therefore the level of play; he doesn’t have to be that WR1 on Day 1 either.
“Guys are coming in and making an impact quicker and I certainly think Matthew has the opportunity to do that,” Gutekunst said. “Now, we’ve got some good players in that room, so he’s not going to have to carry the load that way. But I think he has a chance to contribute, and not only as a receiver, but I think he has some special teams and return ability as well that could help us.”