GREEN BAY — There’s both high hopes and high pressure for Matthew Golden ahead of his first season with the Green Bay Packers.
Green Bay selected the speedy receiver out of Texas, by way of Houston, with the No. 23 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft, ending a streak that’d lasted since 2002 in which the franchise hadn’t selected a receiver in the opening round.
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With that mark for Golden comes the admiration from fans and the organization, seeing a rare moment of hope at a position that has needed a boost. It also places plenty of expectations — whether they’re fair or not is a different question — on the team’s newest budding star. That’s ramped up even more with fellow receiver Christian Watson out with an injury for an indefinite period.
General manager Brian Gutekunst, who played a major part in Golden’s journey to Green Bay, knows the expectations placed upon a pick of this caliber.
Green Bay is in win-now mode. The Packers roster has the potential to be one of the top in the NFC, with many of the pieces back from a squad that made the playoffs last year.
The team realistically will have to allow Golden some time to find his legs in the professional ranks. There’s some recent history of the Packers getting production from rookie pass-catchers.
Jayden Reed’s 793 receiving yards in 2023 mark the third-best season statistically from a Green Bay rookie, according to StatMuse. Watson put up 611 — the eighth-best team mark in its history — in 2022.
Neither of the aforementioned receivers came in with the pre-draft hype of Golden, though. It’s realistic to expect that the team needs similar, if not better, numbers from Golden if the franchise wants to achieve its lofty goals.
While Gutekunst noted in a recent interview that he can’t necessarily understand Golden’s exact mindset, he knows what the situation calls for from the rookie. And he believes Golden is resilient enough to handle the expectations.
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“He played in a fishbowl at Texas, and obviously they were in the playoffs,” he said. “So I’d hope he experienced some of that stuff that will help him.
“For any of the guys that are coming in for their first year, you don’t know the opportunities that are going to be presented to themselves, for each player.”
However, if the pressure is getting to Golden, he’s not showing it.
“I’m out here playing football just like everybody else,” he told media after a recent training camp practice. “I got drafted and now it’s just about looking forward. It’s about going out there, attacking each day, trying to get better at my craft.”
Listed at 5 feet 11 and 191 pounds ahead of the draft, Golden is nowhere near the team’s biggest weapon in the receiving corps. What he lacks in size, the team believes he makes up for in athleticism.
That showed in a practice on July 29 in which quarterback Jordan Love put up a high ball in the corner. Golden went up high to come down with a special catch.
If anybody knows the immediate pressure to perform, it’s Love. Following Aaron Rodgers as the team’s starting quarterback, he’s seen similar pressure to perform right away.
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Love has been impressed, he told the media after the July 29 practice, with Golden’s work ethic and skill. Count him among those who believe Golden has a chance to succeed.
“That’s one of his specialties that I’ve seen so far, is just the aggressiveness and his hands and always going up there and trying to high-point the ball,” Love said. “And he’s got very strong hands, and he’s able to go up and compete for that ball. So I think that’s one of those things that’s going to separate him.”
Part of Golden’s learning process, the rookie said, is learning from the veteran passer. He’s been vocal with Love about learning the nuances of the offense, asking plenty of questions.
That’s allowed him to “take the opportunity” when the time comes, like it did on July 29.
Golden said he’s currently got a list of personal goals for his rookie season written next to his mirror. He wouldn’t divulge them, but said he’d tell all after the season ends, and give a report on whether he succeeded in reaching them.
Right now, he’s just trying to fit in. Excelling comes next, he hopes.
“I feel like it’s where it needs to be, high energy, but I’m learning more as each day goes on,” Golden told reporters in a recent media session. “I’m learning the offense. It’s starting to click for me to where I can go out there and start to play faster.”
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