Many Green Bay Packers fans were thrilled in the 2025 NFL Draft when the front office, at long last, spent a first-round pick on a wide receiver in Texas speedster Matthew Golden. While it's still too early to tell for sure, a retrospective on that first round suggests the Pack might've made the wrong call.
Golden showed some promising rookie-year flashes, yet 29 receptions for 364 yards and 10 carries for 49 yards in the regular season is hardly what Green Bay was hoping for.
Granted, GM Brian Gutekunst had overcrowded the receiving corps, especially after spending a third-round pick on Savion Williams. Gutey is in the process of freeing up space for Golden to make a greater impact in Year 2, highlighted by the recent trade of Dontayvion Wicks.
Again, still plenty of time for Golden to prove himself. As far as the immediate ramifications for the 2026 season, though, a new mock redraft of 2025's first round highlights how much better off the Packers' defense could've been if they'd gone in a different direction.
Packers select massive Bills defensive tackle Deone Walker in first round 2025 NFL Draft do-over
What a hurtful scenario for the Cheesehead faithful put forth by The Athletic's Nick Baumgardner. While many fanbases are sure to lament the contents of Baumgardner's piece, few will be stung harder than Green Bay's.
Rather than opting for Golden's intriguing upside as a future WR1 for Jordan Love, Baumgardner instead had the Packers drafting mammoth Kentucky nose tackle Deone Walker, now of the Buffalo Bills:
"Walker was very active against the run last season, as the gargantuan 330-pounder (with terrific length) proved to be a consistent problem for opponents in the middle. Buffalo landed him as one of the top value picks in the 2025 draft."
For all the deserved criticism Bills GM Brandon Beane receives for not doing enough to support his superstar quarterback Josh Allen, he did indeed find a gem in Walker at 109th overall.
Walker is a downright freaky athlete for his size. Not many humans walking the planet are built like him, never mind those who can thrive on the brutal NFL gridiron. He just turned 22 in March and started 16 of 17 games for Buffalo as a 21-year-old, racking up 39 combined tackles (eight TFL) and four pass deflections.
The Packers don't have a mountainous gap-clogger like Walker on their current roster. Free-agent addition Javon Hargrave is more of a 3-technique, as is Devonte Wyatt.
Although his run defense leaves something to be desired, Walker has the elite traits to develop that area of his game. The fact that he already demonstrated so much promise as an interior pass rusher has to have Green Bay upset to have passed him up.
Oh, and it's not like the Packers drafted a couple of world beaters in Rounds 2 and 3 when Walker was still on the board. They went with fringe-starting-caliber offensive lineman Anthony Belton with the 54th pick, and the aforementioned Williams at No. 87.
Golden should soon have room to deliver on his potential. We'll see if Belton, Williams, and an eventual nose tackle addition can eventually vindicate the Packers for saying no to Walker.
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