First Round Pick #23 - Matthew Golden WR - Texas

[Schultz]

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

I would like to secure the LT today and the other one tomorrow.

 

[Magooch]

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

I do think it is also encouraging in some way to remember that he was supposed to be Texas's #2 to start the season. And over the course of the season he pretty quickly moved to be their first option in a lot of ways. So yes, not a ton of proven production yet, but at the same time you could easily view him as an ascending player with a great trajectory

 

[Curly Calhoun]

A nice summary of Packer draft grades here:

MSN

Chad Reuter of NFL.com: A​

Pete Prisco of CBS: A​

Nick Baumgardner and Scott Dochterman of The Athletic: A​

Rob Rang of Fox Sports: A​

Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz of USA TODAY: B-plus​

Charles McDonald of Yahoo! Sports: B​

Gilberto Manzano and Matt Verderame of Sports Illustrated: A-minus​

Danny Kelly of The Ringer: C-plus​

Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report: B-plus​

The consensus seems pretty favorable...But you'll never make everyone happy.

 

[Dantés]

My basic opinion of Golden as a player:

-Phenomenal change of direction with explosive athleticism; has all the skills to separate from tight coverage and will be physical at the route break despite being smallish.

-Stellar ball skills. When you talk about someone having great hands, that can mean two different things. It can mean they never drop a ball, and that isn't Golden-- he will drop one now and then. But it can also mean that a player is capable of consistently making the difficult grab (contested, through contact, one-handed, off-target), and that's Golden all day long.

-Before the combine, when I watched him, one of the first things I noticed was how often he had to slow down for the ball. Maybe he's not a true 4.2 guy on the field, but he is really fast. He ran away from people and in many instances they had caught up by the time the ball arrived because Quinn Ewers is not good.

-This is still a developmental/ascending player. He took a huge step from 2023 to 2024, and really only took the bull by the longhorns in the last 8 games or so. Statistically, it's a much riskier profile for a first round WR than if you just look at the tape.

-Personally, I think you're talking about a Stefon Diggs type of player-- a guy who, in his prime, could play anywhere in the formation, act as a go-to target, and create explosive plays.

Overall, when you have a guy with the quickness to get off the line, the speed to threaten vertically, the COD to stem and separate, and the ball skills to make the tough catches, you're talking about a potential WR1.

 

[Dantés]

I would like to secure the LT today and the other one tomorrow.

Watch Belton in the 3rd round. He visited, he tested Packers-ish, and they coached him at the senior bowl.

I think he could legitimately play tackle or guard in the NFL, which would make him a convenient selection: a tackle option in case Walker leaves and Morgan can't hack it OR a guard option if/when Rhyan leaves.

 

[Magooch]

-Before the combine, when I watched him, one of the first things I noticed was how often he had to slow down for the ball. Maybe he's not a true 4.2 guy on the field, but he is really fast. He ran away from people and in many instances they had caught up by the time the ball arrived because Quinn Ewers is not good.

This is a big one that stood out to me...good and bad.
On one hand I don't particularly rate Ewers, true. He doesn't have much of a deep ball and Golden was often having to slow down to bring in his passes.

But on the other hand, the concern here is that...I think we also saw similar from Jordan Love this past season. Now of course an NFL arm and a NCAA arm are not the same things, and I'm pretty confident Love has a better arm than Ewers. Plus I think the hope is that a lot of that with Love was mechanical, injury related type stuff. But it just felt like there were often times where Watson or others were having to slow down or that the touch on those deep throws wasn't there.

If Love's healthy and gets his deep ball dialed in to where it should be, everyone's having a lot of fun.

 

[OldSchool101]

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

For all we know he might’ve picked Golden over Egbuka or even Jahdae had he fell to us.
The idea Gluten has expressed in the past was to select a player rated highest within reason of not splitting hairs.

 

[OldSchool101]

Predraft had I put $$ on it? I would’ve said 50/50 Golden gets scooped Top 16. 60/40 chance he was gone by 20 overall (Tampa went Edbuka at 19). Maybe my guess was 75% chance Golden was gone at our #23. Very near where I had his teammate, Jahdae. Would be curious one day to ask Brian had Jahdae fallen to 23 would we have passed on him? My guess and this is just a guess, is we would’ve picked WR Golden over CB Jahdae

 

[OldSchool101]

This is a big one that stood out to me...good and bad.
On one hand I don't particularly rate Ewers, true. He doesn't have much of a deep ball and Golden was often having to slow down to bring in his passes.

But on the other hand, the concern here is that...I think we also saw similar from Jordan Love this past season. Now of course an NFL arm and a NCAA arm are not the same things, and I'm pretty confident Love has a better arm than Ewers. Plus I think the hope is that a lot of that with Love was mechanical, injury related type stuff. But it just felt like there were often times where Watson or others were having to slow down or that the touch on those deep throws wasn't there.

If Love's healthy and gets his deep ball dialed in to where it should be, everyone's having a lot of fun.

Exactly. Some of it is obviously arm strength. Some of it is timing also. That first season Love hesitated imo and didn’t fully have that trust of his Receivers, which led to a plethora of long undergoes. Heck I think we lost 3 or 4 games on underthrows. Some were by 1/2 yard. Some were more
2-3 yards underthrown. Watson’s speed is so deceptive that you almost need to focus throwing 1 yard past him. I literally said I wanted Jordan to throw a couple overthrows with an smidge of air underneath and I mean that. Let Watson chase it long instead of chase it short.

The second season Jordan 100% did not have his legs. He was throwing with his feet off the ground like Favre used to do. He did get more stable like 98% down the stretch and we saw him go toe to toe with Detroit and MN.

Year 3 is often where many starters at a plethora of positions seem to find their grove. Rarely does a QB perfect timing in 1-2 years, on a few exceptions. I’m expecting Jordan to come out healthy and now he has a very similar WR in Golden that he’s used to in Watson. Although I think Golden is better in the shorter and intermediate game than Christian. Just my opinion. Watson is more dangerous in medium in stride (crossers) and on the deep shot.

Golden Is a better “all around” WR but he can match Christian’s long game.

 

[gopkrs]

Watch Belton in the 3rd round. He visited, he tested Packers-ish, and they coached him at the senior bowl.

I think he could legitimately play tackle or guard in the NFL, which would make him a convenient selection: a tackle option in case Walker leaves and Morgan can't hack it OR a guard option if/when Rhyan leaves.

The only thing about what you say is that he sounds too good to pass in the 2nd

 

[Dantés]

The only thing about what you say is that he sounds too good to pass in the 2nd

Maybe he will go in the second round but he’s also 24 years old and might not have the foot quickness to stick it tackle

 

[DoURant]

Maybe he will go in the second round but he’s also 24 years old and might not have the foot quickness to stick it tackle

I see him as a Guard, but still with Tackle versatility in the NFL.

 

[Dantés]

I see him as a Guard, but still with Tackle versatility in the NFL.

Yeah we will see. In his favor, he's got decent agilities/movement at 336 lbs plus a 7' wingspan.

40 games at NCSU all at left tackle.

 

[Schultz]

I would not mind him at 87, but hard pass for me at 54. I am hoping Ersery or Trapilo are options at 54, otherwise DTs Sanders or Turner.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

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

I was thinking about this and I am glad that you brought it up. Golden was in the Texas system for ONE YEAR! He had 58 catches, 987 yds, 9 TD's and averaged 17 yds a catch. That is pretty darn good for the first year in a new offense. Also, if you look at his game log stats, his best games came in the last 1/3 of the season, against quality opponents.

Also, if you look at the receiving Stats for Texas last season, you will notice that they really spread the ball around. I think for some the "987 number" would look 10 times better if it was "1012". Seems like the 1,000 yard mark is what people want to see for a player picked this high.

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[DoURant]

I would not mind him at 87, but hard pass for me at 54. I am hoping Ersery or Trapilo are options at 54, otherwise DTs Sanders or Turner.

I like Trapilo, both Right and Left Tackle versatility

 

[milani]

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 ?

Just hope Rounds 2 and 3 address the other needs. Packers will likely be trading up and down today.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I liked what Andy Herman said today on his podcast, in response to those saying "Golden is too much like Jayden Reed, it was a bad pick." Andy's response was something like; "Well, he isn't just like Jayden Reed, but if he was, yes please, I will take 2 Jayden Reeds any day."

 

[DoURant]

Yeah we will see. In his favor, he's got decent agilities/movement at 336 lbs plus a 7' wingspan.

40 games at NCSU all at left tackle.

I don't think it's a bad thing if he plays Guard, I think it's great he could play either position, especially with Banks contract pretty easy to get away from.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

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.

My thoughts as well. If Golden was one of the guys they were happy with at 23, then even better!

 

[Magooch]

I liked what Andy Herman said today on his podcast, in response to those saying "Golden is too much like Jayden Reed, it was a bad pick." Andy's response was something like; "Well, he isn't just like Jayden Reed, but if he was, yes please, I will take 2 Jayden Reeds any day."

I feel like that is an odd comp anyways. The only real similarity I see there is in their physical builds. I like Reed but IMO Golden is *significantly* more athletic.

 

[milani]

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.

Watson is not always a great route runner. He is very fast but sometimes he looks like a klutz. I am hoping they can use Golden to force the defense to protect for the long one and Love can go underneath or dump off to Dillon.

 

[DoURant]

Only thing I'm worried about is Golden's blocking. This team likes their WR's to do that, and I hope he is up for the challenge.

 

[Dantés]

Only thing I'm worried about is Golden's blocking. This team likes their WR's to do that, and I hope he is up for the challenge.

I noted this a week or so ago, but Golden's fit with the Packers reminds me of Ricky Pearsall's fit with the 49ers.

Both are offenses that prioritize run-blocking across all positions. Pearsall is the same weight as Golden despite being a couple inches taller. His skillset is similar to Golden's and Shanahan used him effectively despite not being a big, burly blocker.

 

[milani]

A nice summary of Packer draft grades here:

MSN

Chad Reuter of NFL.com: A​

Pete Prisco of CBS: A​

Nick Baumgardner and Scott Dochterman of The Athletic: A​

Rob Rang of Fox Sports: A​

Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz of USA TODAY: B-plus​

Charles McDonald of Yahoo! Sports: B​

Gilberto Manzano and Matt Verderame of Sports Illustrated: A-minus​

Danny Kelly of The Ringer: C-plus​

Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report: B-plus​

The consensus seems pretty favorable...But you'll never make everyone happy.

Some get all ecstatic when you draft a Wideout in Round One as if you have the dream of a Jerry Rice or Randy Moss. Others are so bent on fixing one very crucial phase with one very high pick. I believe this was well thought out by Gute with what was available on the board.