Green Bay Packers draft Matthew Golden, Texas receiver, in 1st Round
Packers pick receiver Golden, fans react
The Packers drafted Texas wide receiver Matthew Golden on Thursday night.
GREEN BAY, Wis. - The Green Bay Packers drafted Texas wide receiver Matthew Golden with the No. 23 pick in the NFL Draft on Thursday night.
Matthew Golden
What they're saying:
Golden was well aware that the Packers hadn’t selected a wide receiver in the first round of the NFL draft since 2002. But that didn’t shake Golden’s confidence that his name would be called by the Packers.
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"I definitely knew they didn’t take a receiver from that long ago," Golden told reporters. "And I had a good relationship with ’em when I came up here on my visit. I got around the coaching staff and I seen how the culture was here and I enjoyed it."
Packers draft receiver Matthew Golden
FOX6's Tim Van Vooren breaks down the Green Bay Packers selection of Texas wide receiver Matthew Golden, snapping a decades-long drought of taking an offensive skill position in the first round.
The previous time the Packers used their first-round pick to select a wide receiver was Javon Walker at 20th overall 23 years ago. In fact, this is just the sixth time in the past 20 years the Packers have used a first-round pick on an offensive player, which includes quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers (2005) and Jordan Love (2020).
Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy, who is retiring in July and announced the pick to the massive hometown crowd gathered outside Lambeau Field, made it a point to mention to the fans the long drought of not selecting a playmaker for the team’s quarterbacks.
"I really sent in a different name, but Mark just announced what he announced," joked Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst.
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Golden was one of 15 prospects in attendance at the draft. After being picked, Golden made his way from the green room to the draft stage where Green Bay fans greeted him with exuberant cheers.
"I never felt nothing like it," Golden said. "Man, I wish I could go right back out there right now. It was so cool, the energy that the Packers’ fans got. I mean, I could just feel it and I’m just so excited to be here and I’m glad the organization picked me."
Gutekunst had Golden come to Green Bay a couple of weeks before the draft; he made a great impression on Green Bay’s front office.
Wide Receiver Matthew Golden of Texas poses with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and President and CEO of the Green Bay Packers Mark Murphy. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
"Really excited to bring Matthew into the fold," Gutekunst said. "I think he’s going to do a lot of things for us. Obviously, he’s a very gifted athlete, a gifted football player, but he’s also just wired exactly how we want our guys in the locker room. I think he’s a good fit."
By the numbers:
The 21-year-old Golden is coming off an excellent junior season in which he had 58 catches for 987 yards and nine touchdowns. During nine of Texas’ games, Golden averaged 20 yards per catch.
A speedster, clocking a 40-yard dash time of 4.29 seconds, Golden isn’t prototypical wide receiver size at 5-foot-11.
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However, he has the ability to play all the receiving positions.
"He’s kind of above the Mendoza line for that outside, but not by much," Gutekunst said. "Obviously, he has elite speed. His ability to stretch the field outside the numbers is really, really important. And when you watch him, we thought arguably he had some of the best hands in the draft."
Big picture view:
Golden joins a young but deep and talented Packers wide receiving group. Green Bay is looking for a true No. 1 receiver with Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Bo Melton and Malik Heath all playing integral roles on last season’s team.
Matthew Golden of the Texas Longhorns. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Reed was the Packers’ leading receiver in 2024 with 857 yards. Watson, who tore his ACL late in the season and is expected to miss a significant chunk of the 2025 season, added 620 yards and Doubs came through with 601 yards. Green Bay has not had a 1,000-yard receiver since Davante Adams in 2021.
Even with high expectations heading to Green Bay after the franchise used its top pick on him, Golden doesn’t feel any extra pressure to perform.
"God put me in this situation for a reason. He wouldn’t bring me here if I couldn’t handle it," Golden said. "Like I said, I know it’s gonna come with a lot but that’s what I want. I want to be pushed. I want as much as I can get. I’m gonna put my best foot forward and I’m gonna make sure I always come out on top."
Packers draft history
The backstory:
The Packers have made a habit of bolstering their defense early in the draft over the past two decades. Entering Thursday night, of the 21 first-round picks made since then, 16 had been defensive players. Of the five offensive players selected, two were quarterbacks – Aaron Rodgers (2005) and Jordan Love (2020) – a position that was off the board in the first round this year.
Offensive playmakers have not been a focus of the Packers' first-round draft strategy for even longer. The last time the team drafted a running back, wide receiver or tight end in the first round was wide receiver Javon Walker in 2002 – that is, until Golden was picked Thursday night. While the first Packers pick of 2008 was receiver Jordy Nelson – it was in the second round.
The Packers may favor defense in the first round, but the team has drafted more offensive players across all seven rounds dating back to 2005. One hundred offensive players have been picked since 2005, compared to 89 defensive players and four specialists, since then. The team also heavily leans toward players from Power 4 programs in the Brian Gutekunst era; 56 of 72 draftees since 2018 attended a Power 4 school.
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First-round picks under Gutekunst
- 2024: Arizona offensive lineman Jordan Morgan
- 2023: Iowa edge rusher Lukas Van Ness
- 2022: Georgia linebacker Quay Walker & Georgia defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt
- 2021: Georgia cornerback Eric Stokes
- 2020: Utah State quarterback Jordan Love
- 2019: Michigan edge rusher Rashan Gary & Maryland safety Darnell Savage
- 2018: Louisville cornerback Jaire Alexander
Offseason highlights
- March 3: Re-signed linebacker Isaiah McDuffie
- March 5: Re-signed kicker Brandon McManus
- March 13: Signed cornerback Nate Hobbs
- March 18: Signed offensive lineman Aaron Banks
- March 20: Signed wide receiver Mecole Hardman
- March 28: Signed linebacker Kristian Welch for 2nd stint in Green Bay
2025 picks
By the numbers:
The Packers enter the 2025 NFL Draft with seven selections. It snaps a streak of six straight years the team entered the draft with at least 10 picks. Green Bay is due to make its first pick at No. 23.
Entering draft night:
- Round 1, Pick 23 (23)
- Round 2, Pick 22 (54)
- Round 3, Pick 23 (87)
- Round 4, Pick 22 (124)
- Round 5, Pick 23 (159)
- Round 6, Pick 22 (198)
- Round 7, Pick 21 (237) via Pittsburgh Steelers
- Round 7, Pick 34 (250) compensatory
The seventh-round pick from Pittsburgh was a result of the swap that sent veteran edge rusher Preston Smith to the Steelers last season. The compensatory pick was the result of losing offensive tackle Yosh Nijman in free agency the previous offseason, according to the team.
The Packers selected 11 players in the 2024 draft.
The Source: FOX6 News produced this report with information from the Green Bay Packers and contributions from the Associated Press.