One Year In, Packers Rookie Matthew Golden Has a Clear Path to Break Out

The Green Bay Packers are about a month out from training camp, and the roster is starting to look a little different than it did last season. That is especially true on offense where a few familiar faces are gone.

Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks won’t be catching passes from Jordan Love this year. That leaves Christian Watson and Jayden Reed as the clear top two wide receivers. But the spot right behind them? That should belong to Matthew Golden.

The Packers picked Golden in the first round of the 2025 draft, and his rookie year was quieter than most expected. According to TruMedia, he finished tied for 85th among wide receivers in targets with 44. He caught 29 of those for 361 yards, which ranked 78th. He didn’t score his first NFL touchdown until the playoffs.

Matt Schneidman of The Athletic recently made the case that Golden is the team’s most likely breakout candidate in Year 2. He wrote that with Doubs and Wicks gone, the Packers have a defined top three at receiver: Watson, Reed and Golden. That alone should mean more opportunities in the passing game. Add in a full year of learning the offense and the reasons for optimism start stacking up.

Why Golden’s rookie year was so quiet

It wasn’t that Golden lacked talent. He had plenty of buzz coming out of college and the Packers clearly saw him as a long-term piece when they took him in the first round. The problem was that Love had too many viable options. Doubs and Wicks were both established. Watson and Reed were already ahead of him in the rotation. Everyone was getting a piece of the pie and Golden was left with scraps more often than not.

That is not going to be the case this time. The depth chart has been thinned out. Love will need someone reliable on third down and in the red zone. Golden has the speed and the route-running ability to be that guy. Now he just has to show it.

What to expect in Year 2

The Packers are one of the better teams in the NFC right now, but that could change fast if the offense sputters early. Love is going to lean on his top options. Watson and Reed will get theirs. But Golden will have every chance to prove he belongs in that conversation too.

Sometimes it just takes a young receiver a year to adjust to the speed of the NFL and the complexity of a pro playbook. Golden had that year. Now the safety net underneath him is gone. It is his turn to go get it.