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The Green Bay Packers have brought several wide receivers in for pre-draft visits this year, with a couple of them potential first round picks, including Matthew Golden of Texas.
Golden has traits which could appeal to the Packers, but are they enough to make them end their 20-plus year abstention from drafting a wide receiver in the first round?
The 21-year-old had a reasonable season at Texas, but really turned heads to end the season, racking up over 300 yards in two games against Georgia in the SEC title game and Arizona State to open the College Football Playoff. Those games were Golden's coming out party and caught the attention of NFL evaluators.
After being viewed widely as a second-round pick, he has risen up media draft boards throughout the pre-draft process, based not only on those two impressive outings, but also his performance at the NFL scouting combine, when Golden, to some level of surprise, ran a blazing fast 4.29 40-yard dash.
Now ranked 20th on the consensus big board, he could feasibly be in play for the Packers in the first round, if he makes it that far.
On tape, Golden is a fluid mover who can provide value at all levels of the field, as well as after the catch due to his speed. There is little to nitpick about him, and importantly for the Packers, he is a decent blocker at his size, showing the effort to get involved in that side of the game.
He shows the ability to be a clean hands catcher, although that has not stopped drops being an issue for him at times, with a 9.4% drop rate across his college career.
Golden can compete for contested catches impressively well for his size, winning over 61% of such targets in 2024, and shows high level body control to adjust to underthrown or inaccurate passes.
There is already nuance to his route running and he can win with his release off the line as well.
The reason his fast 40 was surprising is that he does not show that kind of burst or game-breaking speed in his routes. He is much more smooth than explosive and did not complete the vert or broad jumps which could have disproved the lack of true juice he shows on the field.
While he can be effective in the open field, Golden only forced 26 missed tackles in three college seasons.
If he had not broken out in the postseason, his college production would be modest in terms of yardage. Golden never topped 600 yards in his two seasons at Houston before transferring to Texas and had just 625 yards for the Longhorns in the regular season.
He does have a knack for finding the end zone though, racking up 22 career touchdowns in three college seasons. With 906 outside snaps and 226 in the slot, he theoretically has inside/outside flexibility.
Overall, Golden is ready to help an NFL offense right now and has an elite athletic trait to encourage teams there is a ceiling to work towards, as well as a high floor.
Despite his elite testing speed and age, two factors which will appeal to Green Bay, and the fact he took a visit with the Packers, there are reasons to pour cold water on their potential interest.
In terms of size, at 5-11 even and 191 pounds, Golden would be easily the smallest receiver Green Bay has drafted in the Gutekunst era that the team intended to play on the perimeter, and would even be small for Ted Thompson's ever-so-slightly looser standards.
If the Packers view Golden as a slot receiver due to his size, which received a "poor" grade using the Relative Athletic Score (RAS) system, it seems pretty unlikely they draft him in Round 1.
Another factor working against him is a lack of overall testing, with the 40 being the only drill Golden participated in. Drafting a player with this level of incomplete testing in round one would be uncharted territory for Green Bay.
Golden has plenty to offer, but it does not seem extremely likely he will be the one to break the receiver-less streak for the Packers in the first round.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Will Matthew Golden end Packers first round wide receiver drought?
Continue reading...
Golden has traits which could appeal to the Packers, but are they enough to make them end their 20-plus year abstention from drafting a wide receiver in the first round?
The 21-year-old had a reasonable season at Texas, but really turned heads to end the season, racking up over 300 yards in two games against Georgia in the SEC title game and Arizona State to open the College Football Playoff. Those games were Golden's coming out party and caught the attention of NFL evaluators.
After being viewed widely as a second-round pick, he has risen up media draft boards throughout the pre-draft process, based not only on those two impressive outings, but also his performance at the NFL scouting combine, when Golden, to some level of surprise, ran a blazing fast 4.29 40-yard dash.
Now ranked 20th on the consensus big board, he could feasibly be in play for the Packers in the first round, if he makes it that far.
On tape, Golden is a fluid mover who can provide value at all levels of the field, as well as after the catch due to his speed. There is little to nitpick about him, and importantly for the Packers, he is a decent blocker at his size, showing the effort to get involved in that side of the game.
He shows the ability to be a clean hands catcher, although that has not stopped drops being an issue for him at times, with a 9.4% drop rate across his college career.
Golden can compete for contested catches impressively well for his size, winning over 61% of such targets in 2024, and shows high level body control to adjust to underthrown or inaccurate passes.
There is already nuance to his route running and he can win with his release off the line as well.
The reason his fast 40 was surprising is that he does not show that kind of burst or game-breaking speed in his routes. He is much more smooth than explosive and did not complete the vert or broad jumps which could have disproved the lack of true juice he shows on the field.
While he can be effective in the open field, Golden only forced 26 missed tackles in three college seasons.
If he had not broken out in the postseason, his college production would be modest in terms of yardage. Golden never topped 600 yards in his two seasons at Houston before transferring to Texas and had just 625 yards for the Longhorns in the regular season.
He does have a knack for finding the end zone though, racking up 22 career touchdowns in three college seasons. With 906 outside snaps and 226 in the slot, he theoretically has inside/outside flexibility.
Overall, Golden is ready to help an NFL offense right now and has an elite athletic trait to encourage teams there is a ceiling to work towards, as well as a high floor.
Despite his elite testing speed and age, two factors which will appeal to Green Bay, and the fact he took a visit with the Packers, there are reasons to pour cold water on their potential interest.
In terms of size, at 5-11 even and 191 pounds, Golden would be easily the smallest receiver Green Bay has drafted in the Gutekunst era that the team intended to play on the perimeter, and would even be small for Ted Thompson's ever-so-slightly looser standards.
If the Packers view Golden as a slot receiver due to his size, which received a "poor" grade using the Relative Athletic Score (RAS) system, it seems pretty unlikely they draft him in Round 1.
Another factor working against him is a lack of overall testing, with the 40 being the only drill Golden participated in. Drafting a player with this level of incomplete testing in round one would be uncharted territory for Green Bay.
Golden has plenty to offer, but it does not seem extremely likely he will be the one to break the receiver-less streak for the Packers in the first round.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Will Matthew Golden end Packers first round wide receiver drought?
Continue reading...
