Matthew Golden Showing Why the Packers Made Him a First Round Pick

The Green Bay Packers selected wide receiver Matthew Golden in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. That marked the first time in more than two decades the team selected a wideout in the first round. In the first week of training camp, Matthew Golden is showing why the Packers made him a first-round pick. He’s making impressive plays on a regular basis during practice and appears to be ready to play a bigger role than expected as a rookie.

Matthew Golden Showing Why the Packers Made Him a First Round Pick: Expectations

Rookie wide receivers have rarely made a big impact in Green Bay in recent years. Even great receivers like Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams needed two or three seasons to start becoming big contributors to the offense.

The last Packers receiver picked in the first round, Javon Walker, caught just 23 passes on 50 targets. He gained 319 yards and caught one touchdown pass.

While college football receivers are much more NFL ready these days, it was still unclear how ready Golden, or any other rookie receiver would be if asked to make immediate contributions on offense.

So, all eyes were on Golden when training camp got underway last week in Green Bay.

Early Results in Camp

Golden has been making plays in training camp on a regular basis. On Tuesday of this week, he caught a pretty, 54-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Jordan Love. He ran past Nate Hobbs and Evan Williams on the play. The play highlighted Golden’s 4.29 speed and sound hands.

“I think they were in man coverage and MG was on the back side,” Love told reporters. “They did a good job guarding our front-side concept, but I just worked back, and he ran a double move, and he did a really good job selling it.”

One encouraging thing is how badly Golden seems to want to get better and to get comfortable in the offense as quickly as possible.

“It was a route that I ran earlier in the week,” Golden explained. “As days went on, that’s something that I wanted to get better at. I had that route again today, I did something a little bit different, gave him my eyes, had the DB bite under and took the route high, and Jordan gave me a good ball.”

Golden is optimistic about his ability to pick up the offense. “It’s starting to slow down for me,” Golden told Wes Hodkiewicz at Packers.com. “It’s starting to feel like I can go out there and just play and have fun, not have to think about what I need to do. It’s just going out there getting open, knowing my assignment and alignment.”

Matthew Golden Showing Why the Packers Made Him a First Round Pick: Looking Ahead

Golden continues to work hard. He’s been getting a lot of reps in practice with the first team offense. He’s also gotten into some real battles with some of the team’s top cornerbacks like Hobbs, Keisean Nixon, and especially Carrington Valentine. While the competition can be intense, it is all done with the goal of making the team better.

“We’re just two guys working at our craft, just trying to get better each and every time. After each rep, we’ll come back and talk to each other. I’ll ask him what he thinks I could do better at,” Golden said when asked about Valentine. “Nate Hobbs, Keisean Nixon, McKinney, all them guys, they give me a lot of feedback. It’s just helping me.”

His teammates and coaches are noticing the talent Golden has the progress he’s making. “I think the playmaking ability is there,” Love said. “You see that. When the ball is in the air, he’s going to go get it and make that play. It’s just continuing to hone in on the little details and just keep getting better each day.”

Head coach Matt LaFleur was impressed with Golden as early as minicamp. He noticed some things about his top draft pick right away. “I just like his approach, how he comes to work every day,” Matt LaFleur said during minicamp. “You know, he gives great effort. His attitude’s been outstanding, and obviously he’s got, he’s a talented young, young player.”

Golden still has plenty of work to do if he hopes to make an impact on the Green Bay offense as a rookie. But he’s off to a strong start and has a chance to make an early impact if he continues to learn and develop.