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Matthew Golden: Packers Rookie Dynasty Outlook

Originally posted on Last Word On Sports
By Austin Ambler | Last updated May 13, 2025 9:00 AM ET

The Green Bay Packers drafted Matthew Golden with the 23rd overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Golden joins a very crowded wide receiver room in Green Bay that was lacking a true alpha wide receiver last season. Can Golden become that guy, and what is Matthew Golden’s dynasty outlook?

Dynasty Outlook for Matthew Golden

Current Production

Golden spent his first two years in college at Houston, putting up modest numbers before transferring to the University of Texas for his final season. He only had 38 catches in each of his two seasons with Houston before catching 58 for 987 yards and nine touchdowns in 16 games during the Longhorns’ run to the College Football Playoff Semifinal.

Entering the season, Isaiah Bond was supposed to be the Longhorn wide receiver drafted early, but he wound up going undrafted. Golden skyrocketed up draft boards during the season, helped by his 4.29 40-yard dash during the combine, the fastest among all wide receivers and the second fastest overall. He entered the Draft after his junior season, foregoing his senior year of eligibility.

First look at @MatthewGolden_ in his new @Packers threads pic.twitter.com/CrTa9d7X9c

— NFL (@NFL) May 3, 2025

Golden Dynasty Price

According to KeepTradeCut, a website that crowdsources dynasty values from players who use the site, Golden is the WR28. He was the WR38 before the Draft, so he skyrocketed after the Packers took him. He is ranked right behind DK Metcalf, Chris Olave , and Jaylen Waddle, while being ahead of Terry McLaurin, D.J. Moore, and Jameson Williams. He is going in the late first round of 2025 rookie dynasty drafts.

Golden Dynasty Outlook

The Packers have a crowded wide receiver room, consisting of Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, and Dontayvion Wicks. They also drafted Savion Williams in addition to Golden. These guys seemed to take turns being the lead receiver last season. Reed started the year with two top-two weekly finishes among wide receivers in the first four weeks. However, he only had one top-24 finish in the rest of the season. Doubs started with little production, but had a solid middle stretch of the season. Watson was a boom-or-bust player all season, dealing with injuries, and is expected to miss most of the 2025 season. None of these guys could be trusted as the WR1 for Green Bay. Watson and Doubs will both be free agents after this year.

Golden has a similar skillset to Watson, being the deep threat on the outside of the field. This was the first time in 23 years that the Packers drafted a wide receiver in the first round, so they saw Golden as their future WR1. However, they want to use a variety of wide receivers and get everyone involved in the offense, including the tight ends of Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave. Not to mention that Josh Jacobs is a great running back. There are a lot of mouths to feed in this offense.

Should You Draft Matthew Golden in Dynasty Leagues

Golden is a player who has a brighter future than in 2025. There will be a lot of competition for targets in 2025, but if Doubs and Watson are not re-signed, the opportunity will be there for Golden to develop and become quarterback Jordan Love’s go-to guy. Therefore, fantasy managers trying to win now should pass on Golden. I would rather take Jayden Higgins or Tre Harris in the early-to-middle-second-round than draft Golden in the late-first-round. However, fantasy managers trying to rebuild should take a swing on Golden as he has a great chance to be the star wide receiver that the Packers need starting in 2026 and beyond.

This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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