Rookie Deemed Packers’ Top Breakout Candidate

The tens of thousands of fans standing outside Lambeau Field on April 24 erupted when Green Bay Packers President Mark Murphy announced the team, at long last, had drafted a receiver in the first round.

If Lambeau Field had a roof, hopes and expectations for Matthew Golden would have blown right through it. For the first time since Davante Adams was traded, the Packers had a No. 1 receiver.

Ultimately, Golden wasn’t No. 1 in anything. He was sixth on the team in receptions, fourth in yards and tied for fourth in targets. Golden ranked fourth among the team’s receivers in receptions, yards and targets. He didn’t score a touchdown.

Not to worry, though. Pro Football Focus named Golden its early breakout candidate for the 2026 season. Circumstances, including shoulder and wrist injuries, conspired against Golden during his rookie season.

“Golden’s playing time drastically declined when Christian Watson returned from injury in Week 8,” PFF’s Dalton Wasserman wrote. “However, he showed up when it mattered most with 84 yards and a 90.0 PFF receiving grade in Green Bay’s playoff loss to the Bears.”

The breakout playoff performance, which included his first NFL touchdown, was not one the Packers envisioned as they got ready for the playoffs with the veteran trio of Watson, Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed atop the depth chart.

“The good thing is, the last couple of weeks, we’ve seen his rapport with Jordan (Love) making plays out in practice,” offensive coordinator Adam Steanvich said before Week 18 against the Vikings. “But it’s tough right now. You got Christian, you got Romeo, you got J-Reed back. These guys have got really good experience and they’re really good players, and those are the guys you’re leaning on right now.

“And I think Golden’s got a really bright future. He’s very talented, and his time will come. But I think right now, just with the room the way it is, he’s not going to be in that premier role when the playoffs come around. But again, if you told me he was the No. 1 receiver on a play, I’d be very excited about it, too. We have a lot of really good options when it comes to wide receiver right now, which is a blessing.”

A few days later at Minnesota, Golden had one of his worst games of the season as he caught 1-of-3 targets for 8 yards with one drop. So, he wasn’t on the forefront of anyone’s mind for the playoff game.

Instead, he had a breakout game – which might foreshadow a breakout season – with four catches for 84 yards and an incredible touchdown. All four receptions produced a first down. The highlights were a 36-yard catch-and-run on an extended play and a pass caught behind the line of scrimmage that he turned into a 23-yard touchdown by running through seemingly half the defense.

It was a performance he had been waiting for “all year,” he said after the game.

What did he show?

“That I’m a dawg,” he said. “I’m a dawg. My confidence, that’s just one thing that will always stay with me. Never get too high or too low, but whenever my opportunities come, I know I’m going to make the most of it.”

It was the third-most yards by a rookie receiver in Packers playoff history behind Davante Adams’ 117 yards against the Cowboys in 2014 and Javon Walker’s 107 yards against the Falcons in 2002.

The Packers can only hope that’s a sign of things to come. With Doubs ready to hit free agency as one of the top receivers available and unlikely to return, Golden is likely to enter the offseason practices as a primary receiver alongside Watson and Reed.

“I think he did some really good things,” quarterback Jordan Love said after the game. “I think his touchdown catch was one of the more impressive plays of the season. I think he had a good night. He made plays when the ball came his way, and that’s all he can do. So, we’ll find ways to keep getting him going.”

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