First Round Pick #23 - Matthew Golden WR - Texas

[Curly Calhoun]

USA Today's take, FWIW:

23. Green Bay Packers: Matthew Golden, WR, Texas – Grade: B+​

Mark Murphy certainly knows how to send the home crowd into a frenzy. The Packers president took great amusement in announcing that his team would be selecting a wide receiver in the first round for the first time since 2002. But this was more than a fun moment. Golden fits the bill of what Matt LaFleur had been in search of: a speedy pass catcher who can beat man coverage to create easier looks for Jordan Love. Between LaFleur's creativity as a playcaller and Love's aggressive mentality, he could make a sizable splash right away.

2025 NFL draft grades: Every pick in first round broken down

Grading every pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Which player-team pairings seem best?

www.usatoday.com

I don't know how it will all turn out, but my guess is that as long as Golden stays healthy, LaFleur will pt this guy in position to succeed and he could make some big plays for the Pack.

Great first night. Now, let's get some defense.

 

[906Fan]

Lafluer calls a few deep balls a game. We had practically no deep ball with Watson hurt and it showed. Even when he wasn't hurt it was lackluster.

This pick is going to open up the playbook while addressing one of our biggest needs.

He was the best player available that could fit that need and is a highly rated prospect with great speed. I don't know what there is to hate, sure he doesn't have DK Metcalf or Calvin Johnson measurements but we were never gonna get those kind of guys in the late first round anyways.

 

[Voyageur]

I'm not enthused by the Golden pick. I've watched him play down here in Texas and think Gute might have been a little too impressed with the guy's 4.29 speed. That doesn't guarantee he's going to be anything more than another Will Harrel from what I've seen of him to this point. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[Thirteen Below]

Well said 13.

Thank you, sir!

I think Gluten got both the BPA and a player who fills a gap on the GB offense.

And how often does that happen? How often that both of those two things turn out to be true? Pretty damned rarely, I think. The stars aligned; as my Chinese in-laws might say, "the heavens were auspicious this day".

They actually do kind of talk like that, too. I think it's sorta cool. My wife gets exasperated and thinks it's silly, but as a Buddhist, I have more respect for their culture than she does.

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.

I completely agree, especially since Golden was available at that spot. There were a number of other players who (if Golden was off the board) would have been fine picks at #23, but (with Egbuka gone) in any scenario in which Golden was still there, jumping over him to pick just about anyone else would have been a reach. And I'd have been both baffled and disappointed.

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.

Day One just sort of went in a boring, straightforward, linear fashion for Green Bay, perhaps largely because in the 15-30 pick range, there just were not a lot of deals to be made. Miss one guy? No problem; there are several others.

Day Two, when we get down into the 35/40 to roughly 50 or even 60 range, clever GMs are going to start to become motivated to jump around, because they'll all have their eye on certain players that they value more highly than they hope other GMs value. In those scenarios, Gute's instincts usually seem to rise to the top.

I expect Green Bay to have a very good Day Two.

Lafluer calls a few deep balls a game. We had practically no deep ball with Watson hurt and it showed.

And other teams sure as hell knew it.

They didn't have to pay any attention at all to the deep ball; they could bunch up within 20 yards of the line of scrimmage on every play, and just dare Love to look downfield. Lafleur's entire "from the line of scrimmage all the way to the red zone" offensive philosophy was basically cancelled out.

That's over.

When Christian Watson was active, the Packers' offense generated explosive plays (runs of 12+ yards or receptions of 16+ yards) at a 16.3% rate, which led the NFL. Without him, that rate dropped to 10.1%, ranking just 25th in the league3. The team’s yards per route run also fell significantly from 1.94 with Watson to 1.46 without him, a 22% dropoff.

2025 NFL playoffs: How Packers can overcome loss of Christian Watson in postseason, starting with Eagles game

Here are some of the ways they can mitigate his absence

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Lafleur's entire offensive vision is predicated on having a vertical threat downfield on every snap. I think this metric was very much in the forefront of Gutekunst's mind when he made that pick.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

My only question is why did it take the whole 10 minutes. Was there argument in the room about who to pick?

It's the NFL, if they could profit off of it, they would do a month long first round, with a 3 hr. show each night and 1 draft pick.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Thank you, sir!



And how often does that happen? How often that both of those two things turn out to be true? Pretty damned rarely, I think. The stars aligned; as my Chinese in-laws might say, "the heavens were auspicious this day".

They actually do kind of talk like that, too. I think it's sorta cool. My wife gets exasperated and thinks it's silly, but as a Buddhist, I have more respect for their culture than she does.



I completely agree, especially since Golden was available at that spot. There were a number of other players who (if Golden was off the board) would have been fine picks at #23, but (with Egbuka gone) in any scenario in which Golden was still there, jumping over him to pick just about anyone else would have been a reach. And I'd have been both baffled and disappointed.


Day One just sort of went in a boring, straightforward, linear fashion for Green Bay, perhaps largely because in the 15-30 pick range, there just were not a lot of deals to be made. Miss one guy? No problem; there are several others.

Day Two, when we get down into the 35/40 to roughly 50 or even 60 range, clever GMs are going to start to become motivated to jump around, because they'll all have their eye on certain players that they value more highly than they hope other GMs value. In those scenarios, Gute's instincts usually seem to rise to the top.

I expect Green Bay to have a very good Day Two.



And other teams sure as hell knew it.

They didn't have to pay any attention at all to the deep ball; they could bunch up within 20 yards of the line of scrimmage on every play, and just dare Love to look downfield. Lafleur's entire "from the line of scrimmage all the way to the red zone" offensive philosophy was basically cancelled out.

That's over.

2025 NFL playoffs: How Packers can overcome loss of Christian Watson in postseason, starting with Eagles game

Here are some of the ways they can mitigate his absence

www.cbssports.com

Lafleur's entire offensive vision is predicated on having a vertical threat downfield on every snap. I think this metric was very much in the forefront of Gutekunst's mind when he made that pick.

I don't even know them and I like your in-laws. It's always good to hear what we believe expressed in a different way - it makes us think, a good thing.

The first round really was linear. Maybe with the exception of the Jags giving up a fortune to move up three spots and Dallas passing on Golden for a 2nd round talent. Pretty boring really.

Today and tomorrow are days that make or break GMs. I trust Gluten with later round picks, especially 4 through 7.

 

[Schultz]

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.

IMO the board could not have fallen any worse for GB. Golden was not the pick I was hoping for but when GB was on the clock I honestly could not find anyone I really wanted. At that point it was take the best match between BPA & need. Just reaffirmed my opinion that this is a pretty weak draft.

 

[Magooch]

FWIW, Gute said they had a number of teams calling to try and trade up to 23. GB felt they had a number of good options available to them at that spot but "Liked Golden too much" and "trading back can be unpredictable".

For a guy who has historically had an aversion to drafting WR early...and moves to acquire draft capital...for him to say, "No, we like this guy too much to trade down and miss out on" really speaks volumes IMO

 

[Heyjoe4]

IMO the board could not have fallen any worse for GB. Golden was not the pick I was hoping for but when GB was on the clock I honestly could not find anyone I really wanted. At that point it was take the best match between BPA & need. Just reaffirmed my opinion that this is a pretty weak draft.

I like Golden more than you, but yeah, all of the other guys at positions of need were just gone by #23. Golden was the BPA and fills a need. The draft itself though is so weak. Some columnists had Golden going anywhere from top 15 to second round. After the top 5 guys, picks from 6 through 50 were all close.

 

[Schultz]

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

I really hope they get 2 OL from this draft. 3 different skill sets for DL. 1 CB. 1 WR (6/7 round.)

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Curious to know what others think. Had this draft taken place in another City, would Golden still have been the Packers pick at #23?

 

[Dantés]

I really hope they get 2 OL from this draft. 3 different skill sets for DL. 1 CB. 1 WR (6/7 round.)

I will never object to drafting good OL.

 

[shockerx]

Curious to know what others think. Had this draft taken place in another City, would Golden still have been the Packers pick at #23?

No..Gute had to pull the trigger with 205K fans standing there forever. If it was in another city he would have traded by and picked up more picks.

 

[Pkrjones]

Golden is not the GB prototypical WR size, but can't complain about the 9th fastest 40 time in Combine history. At 5'-11", 190 he's similar to OBJ, Stefon Diggs, Tyler Lockett, Christian Kirk... but better speed than all.
Great hands, NFL-ready route tree, and proven college production (with Quinn Ewers throwing to him!). I think Love & the other WR's will benefit from Golden on the field.

 

[tynimiller]

USA Today's take, FWIW:

23. Green Bay Packers: Matthew Golden, WR, Texas – Grade: B+​

Mark Murphy certainly knows how to send the home crowd into a frenzy. The Packers president took great amusement in announcing that his team would be selecting a wide receiver in the first round for the first time since 2002. But this was more than a fun moment. Golden fits the bill of what Matt LaFleur had been in search of: a speedy pass catcher who can beat man coverage to create easier looks for Jordan Love. Between LaFleur's creativity as a playcaller and Love's aggressive mentality, he could make a sizable splash right away.

2025 NFL draft grades: Every pick in first round broken down

Grading every pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Which player-team pairings seem best?

www.usatoday.com

I don't know how it will all turn out, but my guess is that as long as Golden stays healthy, LaFleur will pt this guy in position to succeed and he could make some big plays for the Pack.

Great first night. Now, let's get some defense.

The writer clearly hasn't studied Golden. He has struggled vs man coverage...BUT has the tools where one likely could plan on that changing with proper coaching and growth.

Vs Man coverage he has struggled.

 

[XPack]

What do you all think about his consistency? He has been pretty mediocre for 2.5 seasons before breaking out big time in final 6 games of his last season. I admit it's all against heavyweight opposition, but is this sample size enough?

 

[tynimiller]

What do you all think about his consistency? He has been pretty mediocre for 2.5 seasons before breaking out big time in final 6 games of his last season. I admit it's all against heavyweight opposition, but is this sample size enough?

So Houston runs a unique style and Golden wanted out because he was betting on himself and was sick of being restricted there. In truth had he been at Texas two years and did what he did in 2024 that concern would be less.

His lack of proven production, his route tree not really shining until very late in 2024 to me and how easy he is brought down it seems were a few limiting factors for me.

He was still a consensus top 5 in his position from everyone I know and some even had as their #2

 

[Zartan]

What do you all think about his consistency? He has been pretty mediocre for 2.5 seasons before breaking out big time in final 6 games of his last season. I admit it's all against heavyweight opposition, but is this sample size enough?

Maybe but as long as he can stay healthy and can catch the ball reliably hes an instant upgrade over Watson.

 

[Schultz]

I will never object to drafting good OL.

Mostly because of the expiring contracts for me. I want one to be able to play NFL LT and the other to have experience at multiple OL positions.

 

[Dantés]

Mostly because of the expiring contracts for me. I want one to be able to play NFL LT and the other to have experience at multiple OL positions.

If you're talking about today, I think it's Ersery, Belton, and Savaiinaea.

 

[Voyageur]

The writer clearly hasn't studied Golden. He has struggled vs man coverage...BUT has the tools where one likely could plan on that changing with proper coaching and growth.

Vs Man coverage he has struggled.

I think what you said is true about a lot of writers. They make judgement on a couple of clips and word from others about strengths and weaknesses. My evaluation on Golden comes from having watched him at Texas over the years and knowing what I saw as his strengths and weaknesses. I also based my feelings on him through people I've talked to who know the guy, and how he fit into the Texas program. He can be blown up at the LOS by any CB who lays a lick on him to stop him from generating early speed. That's due to his size. He's also easily bumped off routes in man coverage because he hasn't the physicality about him to hold his position. It won't come down as interference because it only takes incidental contact to knock him off course.

I don't see him as having much of an impact if any in year one and think that we'll have to be patient watching him develop over a couple of years before we know what they got in him. In the meantime, we still needed that immediate help at CB, offensive line, and interior defensive tackle, and there were guys on the board taken later who would have filled one of those needs.

Knowing how well Gute has drafted over the years, I'm going to say that if he chose him, he must have felt it was almost necessity, especially with those holes that need to be filled. He must also know something about who will still be out there when the Packers picks take center stage tonight.

Hearing how he was offered trades down for the spot, and he didn't take them tells me he has to be high on this kid based on measurables, and even more so from his visit to Green Bay before the draft. I still find it difficult to call this better than a B pick.

 

[DoURant]

This is electric.... listen to the crowd, Murphy delivered it in 3 perfect steps, letting the moment build to its climactic end.

https://x.com/AaronNagler/status/1915619076648436184?t=taAXXHgHisSnGdc-ELRoig&s=19

 

[Firethorn1001]

Curious to know what others think. Had this draft taken place in another City, would Golden still have been the Packers pick at #23?

I don't think so. Any other city they probably slide down and get more picks. Also, if the 3 WRs were off the board they probably would have traded down with the Eagles to #32 and been the last pick of the night to round out the 1st round.

They will never admit to it and they put out the talking points about being ok with trading out of the 1st or trading down and Gute wasn't going to be limited, but at the end of the day the NFL is an entertainment industry and what occurred last night will probably be the single greatest Packers draft moment in our lifetimes.

So did the draft impact what occurred last night? Probably.

And that's ok.

 

[RicFlairoftheNFL]

I see him as a 3rd round talent that played in his Daddy's offense. Why was he a D2 talent that was recruited by his Daddy's team? Who else recruited him? Total definition to me of a system QB, and who's running that system? He's gonna have to sit for at LEAST a year to more than likely learn a new offense, as well as the nuances of the NFL. Then the coaching staff is gonna be getting weekly calls from Deion wondering why his kid isn't playing let alone starting. To all his and Deion's fans I apologize but this kid looks exactly like what most on this board felt EQStB was for the Packers, including the meddling father...but with less talent.

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.

 

[gopkrs]

Well obviously we'll see. He is pretty quick though so he should be able to juke out someone trying to stop him at the los. And there is motion.Voyager said he watched Golden over the years at Texas. How can that be? I'm excited. I hope he can take a hit. Kind of like Timex.