The longest-running receiver drought is finally over.
The Green Bay Packers spent the 23rd pick of the 2025 NFL Draft on Texas wide receiver Matthew Golden, eliciting a massive cheer from the tens of thousands of Packers fans out of the overall 205,000 in attendance in Green Bay on Thursday night. Golden represents their first top pick used on the position since 2002, when the Packers selected Florida State's Javon Walker 20th overall.
"I really sent in a different name, but Mark [Murphy] just announced what he announced, so it is what it is," general manager Brian Gutekunst joked in his news conference following the team's rare first-round wideout selection. "I didn't think about any of that until he got up there. And then you saw the crowd. They're all Green Bay fans. You hear the chants and all that kind of stuff. It was just really cool."
A Houston native, Golden began his college career playing for the Cougars before transferring to Texas to lead the Longhorns in receiving yards and touchdowns in 2024. Golden generated 1,957 yards and 22 touchdowns on 134 catches in three collegiate campaigns. In his lone season in Austin, Golden generated 987 yards, nearly doubling his total output from the previous two seasons (988), on 58 grabs with nine TDs, averaging 17.02 yards per catch.
Boasting graceful speed, Golden burned a 4.29-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. The sprint showcased his upside, although most scouts agree that his game film doesn't play to that speed. What his film shows is a superior athlete who gets off the line smoothly, uses a burst to create separation from cornerbacks and can make highlight-reel snags.
The 5-foot-11, 191-pound wideout might not have the measurables, but he plays strong, tracks the ball well downfield and can finish through the catch point. Golden needs to work on his route breaks and become a better downfield blocker, but the 21-year-old offers the upside of a go-to target.
Golden also returned two kickoffs for touchdowns. With the NFL expecting more kickoffs in play with the tweaked rules in 2025, the speedster could also play a special teams role.
"Obviously he has elite speed," Gutekunst said of Golden. "His ability to stretch the field outside the numbers is really, really important. And when you watch him, we thought he arguably had some of the best hands in the draft, not only going back to it, 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."
Regardless of how many roles he fills in Green Bay, Golden will arrive as a beloved selection primarily because he's the first receiver taken in the first round since the prime years of the Brett Favre era. After trading Davante Adams to Las Vegas in 2022, the Packers spent their next two first-round picks on defenders in 2022 and 2023, and chose Arizona tackle Jordan Morgan 25th overall in 2024.
Their receiving corps -- largely built on Day 2 and Day 3 choices -- has rounded into form in the last couple of years, but has lacked a top target with a premier draft pedigree. The selection of Golden finally changes that, at least on paper. Golden will arrive with plenty of expectation but won't be expected to play savior. Instead, he'll be asked to fit into (and stand out among) a young group privileged to run routes for a rising star in quarterback Jordan Love.
