Staring a loss directly in the eye on Sunday Night Football vs the Dallas Cowboys, the Green Bay Packers rookie Wide Receiver Matthew Golden didn’t bat an eye. 4th & 6 on Green Bay’s own 23-Yard line, Jerry World in a frenzy being one stop away from pulling off an improbable comeback upset, Jordan love did a 3-step drop back, stepped into his throw, and completed a 15-yard conversion to his 1st round pick, Golden. The rookie wanted every bit of the moment. The catch was not made with his body, it was not bobbled, it was all hands and without any uncertainty. No, this conversion didn’t lead to an eventual game-winning drive for Green Bay, but in do or die situations, you can learn a lot from the decisions that are made in those moments. Jordan Love showed no hesitance when targeting the rookie, and it may be a sign of things to come.
Golden’s scouting report coming out of Texas was that he can work all three levels of the field, while being able to play all three receiver spots. Body control, agility, the ability to make the spectacular play, and oh yeah, a sub 4.3 40-yard dash made it only a matter of time before his name was taken in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. More importantly some in Titletown may believe, is that Golden does not shy away from catches in traffic. Putting together a track record of contested receptions using physicality and strong hands through college was a key reason for Golden's landing in Green Bay. Coming off a year where Green Bay saw 3 of its top targets within the top 20 in the NFL in drops, to take a step to the next level as an offense, you simply must catch the football.
Through 5 weeks (Week 4 Bye) Matthew Golden has 11 Receptions, for 126 Yards, and 0 TDs. Golden ranks 10th in Rookies for Receiving. The leader on that list? Fellow 1st Round WR Emeka Egbuka of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who was taken 4 picks before Golden. Egbuka’s targets sit at 38, to Golden’s 14. Such a disparity in stats you might think stem from talent, but in this scenario, it may just be opportunity. Take from it what you will, but the rookie has done what has been asked of him up to this point. In an offense that has constructed itself off focusing on plays rather than players as of recent years, Golden represents a potential change to the archetype. Matthew Golden’s intangibles give no reason to believe he cannot see continued success in the NFL. From breakaway speed for yards after the catch, explosive cutting to gain separation from a defender, to reliable and confident hands against those contesting, it is time to let the kid loose.
Now, with Christian Watson returning from ACL surgery in record-time, some may think this could lessen the snap count and reps from Golden. In reality, it should only help. Watson’s ability to spread the field is indisputable, a corner and a safety must be aware of 9 streaking down the field. All the better for Matthew Golden, opportunity should only arise from another playmaker on this offense, and Golden is well up for the challenge. If and when the Packers can display all of their receiving corps this season, it's hard to see a room as deep as the one in Green Bay. Each receiver in Green Bay’s current room possesses a trait that makes them special from the other, with Golden, there is reason to believe he is all that in one. Number 0 was not brought to Green Bay to return punts, nor to be a gadget player, he was brought in to be the first WR1 in Green Bay, since Davante Adams.
If you remember, there was an infamous quote said by Kevin Greene in Super Bowl 45 to Green Bay Packers Outside Linebacker Legend Clay Matthews, “It is time.” Missing their leader Charles Woodson to a collarbone injury at this point in the game, Greene looked to the perennial edge rusher, telling him it was now or never to make a game-altering play. That he did, Matthews would guide Ryan Pickett to spill the Steelers blocking assignment and allow him to blow up the rush to the right. Rashard Mendenhall would fumble the ball and allow Green Bay to recover the ball and the rest is history on the way to Green Bay’s 4th Super Bowl trophy. Now fast-forward 15 years, the Green Bay Packers, after holding out on taking a wide receiver in the first round since 2002, elect Matthew Golden from Texas. Taken just hundreds of feet away from what would soon to be his new home, Golden would toss on the Green Bay Packers lid, walk onto a stage facing hundreds of thousands of roaring Packers faithful, and what were his first words on the mic? “It’s Time.”
Matthew Golden catches everything.
He wins downfield, tracks the ball well, and has the body control/fluidity to make adjustments.pic.twitter.com/jaAIjBj02R
— Snoog's Fantasy HQ (@FFSnoog) January 18, 2025
The leading first-year receivers after roughly one-third of the 2025 season 💨 pic.twitter.com/fkrzu7Qfrv
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) October 7, 2025
Matthew Golden and Savion Williams had their most productive games as Packers entering the bye week as their roles in the offense continue to grow. https://t.co/gkjKLJiemt pic.twitter.com/QfXFmkhlTl
— The Packers Wire (@ThePackersWire) October 8, 2025