First Round Pick #23 - Matthew Golden WR - Texas

[longtimefan]

Concern and cutting because of a concern are 2 different things.

Could they trade him because of that concern or not offer a long term contract because of

In my OP did I never ever say he gets cut?

I said a 3 rd then cut or retire and golden is replacing him

 

[longtimefan]

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[longtimefan]

True to form this is what this pick will be by tomorrow

He sucks

A reach

He isn’t who I wanted

He is great

 

[Snoops]

He also is very coordinated. He can contort his body and not break stride. He had poor QB play and if it was better his numbers would be through the roof.

I was thinking CB as the DTs I wanted were gone. Think we can still get a decent one later though.

I'm happy with the pick and Love should be ecstatic.

But I wonder if the Giants offered us the same deal they did the Texans. I would have taken that.

What the falcons paid to move up… was better yikes

 

[Dantés]

This is outstanding.

Great job, everyone!

 

[milani]

Let’s see what experts say

Packers draft WR Matthew Golden: How he fits, pick grade and scouting intel

The Texas wide receiver posted the fastest 40-yard dash time at February's NFL Scouting Combine.

www.nytimes.com

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25188205-matthew-golden-nfl-draft-2025-scouting-report-green-bay-packers-wr

Just feel that he is a talented athlete but we had other areas of concern that could have been a priority. We are heavy on wide outs although at least one is hurt every week.

 

[longtimefan]

Just feel that he is a talented athlete but we had other areas of concern that could have been a priority. We are heavy on wide outs although at least one is hurt every week.

So your positive Doubs and Watson are fully healed and no issues?

 

[Pugger]

Where does he fit in their offense? Is he better than Doubs or Wicks? He has speed but isn't a logical replacement for Watson at 6 ft. He wasn't even the Longhorns No 1 WR until late in the season.
Face it, it was a desperation pick. The draft looked good until the about Pick 17 and then turned sour real fast. Gute was handcuffed. I doubt he'll see the field much this season.

Watson probably won't be back until late October. Doubs is one more hit in the head towards retirement. IMO WR was/is a need.

 

[longtimefan]

T

Watson probably won't be back until late October. Doubs is one more hit in the head towards retirement. IMO WR was/is a need.

Ty

Watson maybe October? Doubs serious head issues

If we isn’t a need then I give up

 

[DoURant]

Just feel that he is a talented athlete but we had other areas of concern that could have been a priority. We are heavy on wide outs although at least one is hurt every week.

When Grant and Harmon went off the board, DL was out. When Stewart went, Ezeiruaku was the last 1st Rd Edge left and he's only 6'2". Is CB a priority? Jaire is still here, Hobbs, Valentine, Nixon, and 2 rookies from last year in King and Hadden. If they drafted CB in round 1, then that signals Jaire is gone. Hairston is fast, but on the lighter side, and Johnson dropped out of the 1st due to injury concerns. Honestly, WR was a need and they probably took the most logical guy left, at a position where there is a hole to fill due to Watson's injury. I'm good with the pick, on to Day 2.

 

[RicFlairoftheNFL]

I'm mixed on this. We need CB OL and WR help. We got the best available WR...I love the speed, route running, like the hands. 5'11 190 not a fan. He's Randall Cobb, but as a 1st round pick not a 3rd as Cobb was.

What upsets me is Donovan Jackson goes 24 to an in division rival, at more of a need position.

Also once he started dropping am I the ONLY one who's BP raised with the prospect that Gutey just MIGHT take Deion's kid? And raised in a bad way?

 

[milani]

So your positive Doubs and Watson are fully healed and no issues?

Even fully healed they can easily get hurt the first time they suit up again.

 

[Thirteen Below]

When Grant and Harmon went off the board, DL was out. When Stewart went, Ezeiruaku was the last 1st Rd Edge left and he's only 6'2". Is CB a priority? Jaire is still here, Hobbs, Valentine, Nixon, and 2 rookies from last year in King and Hadden. If they drafted CB in round 1, then that signals Jaire is gone. Hairston is fast, but on the lighter side, and Johnson dropped out of the 1st due to injury concerns. Honestly, WR was a need and they probably took the most logical guy left, at a position where there is a hole to fill due to Watson's injury. I'm good with the pick, on to Day 2.

Yeah, yeah, blah blah blah. But other than those minor, trivial details, what possible reason would there be for pissing away this pick on him ?

 

[XPack]

I'm happy. I think his ceiling is higher than Doubs and Wicks. With him and Watson, on the field, we'll have a proper one-two punch going on, which will help others too. Esp as Gute said, on 3rd downs wed have another key impact player.

 

[AmishMafia]

Also once he started dropping am I the ONLY one who's BP raised with the prospect that Gutey just MIGHT take Deion's kid? And raised in a bad way?

Yes.

Gute is not in the habit of overdrafting a player at a position we don't need. And frankly, he didn't "start dropping". He was always going to go in the mid 2nd to 3rd, unless some team gets desperate in the early 2nd. Wouldn't be too surprised if we pass on him again. Having only watched parts of 2 Colorado games, I wasn't very impressed.

 

[AmishMafia]

I think this selection underscores how important having a field stretcher is to the Packer offensive scheme. I think Golden is going to get 1 to 3 deep passes a game just to keep the defense on their toes. This will help free up the underneath for Doubs, Reed, Wicks, and Kraft.

I thought signing Hardman was a stop-gap bandaid till Watson returned, but maybe the Packers want a long term option. Fully expected a day 2 pick at WR, but not in the first.

I was really getting pleased when Harmon, Baron, and Johnson were still around near 23. The fact that Johnson still didn't get picked means that what we don't know (that all 32 GMs know) is that the injury is fairly bad for his outlook.

 

[tynimiller]

I'm happy. I think his ceiling is higher than Doubs and Wicks. With him and Watson, on the field, we'll have a proper one-two punch going on, which will help others too. Esp as Gute said, on 3rd downs wed have another key impact player.

I cannot say I’m that far on Golden, and I put it this way to a buddy “Is he a good separation artist? Yes. Is he Wicks level separation artist - No. Does he seem to come up big in big moments like Doubs, yes…just isn’t quite Doubs in jump balls but close. Is he shifty and can flat use his speed as a weapon like Watson? Absolutely but his footwork into that break isn’t as refined but it can be.

He’s aspects of our best four WRs really…while none of his traits are across the board better than all of one of them…the exciting part is if they’re an 8 in a trait he is a 7…and his baseline I see as very high.

Like when I said Doubs was the better floor pick than Watson, Golden for sure is going to give you or can give you that 750 yds, 7 TDs type level performance minimum if needed in a system

 

[OldSchool101]

Finally go WR with a consensus 20 overall selection at 23 overall in a season we lost our deep threat. We go get a guy who was a leader in the WR room and shredded good Defenses like Georgia. A guy who is 92-98% comparable across the league history short to long speed. #1 Speed WR in the draft. Arguably our top 2 need in 2025 and after 23 years we pull the trigger and give our QB a legit Day1 WR. Not sure why some fans turn that into insufferable for the rest of us.
I’m overjoyed this was one of the more exciting selections. He’s a legit Starting WR year 1

Our O was stale end of last season. This was a bigtime upgrade. Get Musgrave, get Lloyd, get Morgan, get Golden, with outside shot at Watson for Postseason. I’m pleased I’m more hoping Matt finds a way to use Golden Strengths.

 

[Thirteen Below]

Finally go WR with a consensus 20 overall selection at 23 overall in a season we lost our deep threat. We go get a guy who was a leader in the WR room and shredded good Defenses like Georgia. A guy who is 92-98% comparable across the league history short to long speed. #1 Speed WR in the draft. Arguably our top 2 need in 2025 and after 23 years we pull the trigger and give our QB a legit Day1 WR. Not sure why some fans turn that into insufferable.

No kidding.

I mean, I'm on record as having wanted CB in Round 1 and WR in Round 2, but that was based on the expectation that the top 3 (maybe even 5) wideouts were going to be accounted for by #23. When the 23rd pick came up, and the consensus #2 WR was still sitting there saying "come get me, I'm all yours", everything changed.

This was a no-brainer, if we were absolutely committed to drafting #23. I still think Gute was very amenable to a trade-back, but the phone apparently did not ring, so at the end of 12-13 minutes, he had to pick the best player on the board for tha draft position. That player was Golden. Absent a trade back (which evidently was not gonna happen), almost any other decision would have been just.... bad. Dumb. Rash. Not the best use of his draft capital, at all.

It didn't play out the way I had hoped, or the way I would have wanted, but under the circumstances that Gutekunst was forced to work with, I think it played out as well as it possibly could have. We got a hell of a player, one who should be a serious impact player right from opening day. Makes no sense to whine and complain because it could have maybe almost possibly worked out better if things had kind of been almost sort of different. You play the hand you're dealt, and Gute played it very well.

 

[Heyjoe4]

ZERO reasons to release Doubs who does nothing but produce and is rookie contract controlled.

Agreed. Doubs isn't a flashy receiver, but he knows how to get open and has great hands. He's a text book possession receiver imo. The only thing that would keep him off the 53 is...... himself and his Drs. He should have legitimate concerns about concussions. He was knocked senseless against the Eagles while wearing the Guardian helmet.

So it's a medical and/or career/life decision that only Doubs can make. Very similar to TT's situation in Miami. The pull of playing in the NFL is just so strong - even though there seems to be a lot of information that playing while concussion prone is a really bad idea.

 

[Heyjoe4]

No kidding.

I mean, I'm on record as having wanted CB in Round 1 and WR in Round 2, but that was based on the expectation that the top 3 (maybe even 5) wideouts were going to be accounted for by #23. When the 23rd pick came up, and the consensus #2 WR was still sitting there saying "come get me, I'm all yours", everything changed.

This was a no-brainer, if we were absolutely committed to drafting #23. I still think Gute was very amenable to a trade-back, but the phone apparently did not ring, so at the end of 12-13 minutes, he had to pick the best player on the board for tha draft position. That player was Golden. Absent a trade back (which evidently was not gonna happen), almost any other decision would have been just.... bad. Dumb. Rash. Not the best use of his draft capital, at all.

It didn't play out the way I had hoped, or the way I would have wanted, but under the circumstances that Gutekunst was forced to work with, I think it played out as well as it possibly could have. We got a hell of a player, one who should be a serious impact player right from opening day. Makes no sense to whine and complain because it could have maybe almost possibly worked out better if things had kind of been almost sort of different. You play the hand you're dealt, and Gute played it very well.

Well said 13. I think Gluten got both the BPA and a player who fills a gap on the GB offense. I was surprised at how most of the other likely suspects for the Packers were gone by #23. IMO anyone other than Golden would have been a reach.

Drafts take years to play out. But it certainly seems like Gluten made a fine choice in Golden. Gluten is gonna have to work his magic to close gaps at CB and DL/Edge. I expect he will.

 

[Dantés]

One sort of residual benefit of this pick is that Golden's ability to win at all three levels of the field frees them up from needing to spend multiple picks at receiver. They still could, but if they came out of this draft with Golden and no one else, they would be fine.

If Jaire really ends up staying, the Packers could spend like 3-4 picks on this rich DL class the rest of the way. Something like this:

1. M. Golden, WR, UT
2. J. Tuimolauo, DE, OSU
3. C. West, DT, UI
4. E. Roberts, DL, SMU
5. R. Leonard, QB, ND
6. C. Horsley, DT, BC
7. J. Williams, OL, CIN
7. J. Marshall, CB, FLA

 

[Heyjoe4]

Since the Packers don't need a slot receiver, who does Golden compare to on the outside? Fast 5' 11" receivers normally play in the slot but Reed has that. There's a lot of doubt that Reed can transition to the outside. If Golden is a top prospect, why did it take him until the end of his college career to show much production? Maybe he's a late bloomer but again Gute used a first round pick on traits. That's what he did with LVN.

To be clear, I'm not directly comparing him to Tyreek Hill. Hill is a short, fast guy with reliable hands who uses those traits to excel on the outside. Golden still has to make it work, but there is precedent for having a smaller, faster WR with excellent hands. Two outta three ain't bad.

 

[Pugger]

I have to say the atmosphere last night was electric! I didn't know what to expect. The crowd was huge and pumped to the max. I did hear from a friend there was an issue of not enough porta- pottys so I'm glad I wasn't dealing with THAT. LOL

 

[Heyjoe4]

Finally go WR with a consensus 20 overall selection at 23 overall in a season we lost our deep threat. We go get a guy who was a leader in the WR room and shredded good Defenses like Georgia. A guy who is 92-98% comparable across the league history short to long speed. #1 Speed WR in the draft. Arguably our top 2 need in 2025 and after 23 years we pull the trigger and give our QB a legit Day1 WR. Not sure why some fans turn that into insufferable for the rest of us.
I’m overjoyed this was one of the more exciting selections. He’s a legit Starting WR year 1

Our O was stale end of last season. This was a bigtime upgrade. Get Musgrave, get Lloyd, get Morgan, get Golden, with outside shot at Watson for Postseason. I’m pleased I’m more hoping Matt finds a way to use Golden Strengths.

Well said. It just so happened that the BPA at #23 aligned perfectly with a need on the Packers' O.