Matthew Golden is looking to make the leap to bona fide wide receiver star this year and has had the kind of start to training camp that suggests it's not entirely impossible.
We're only about a full week into NFL training camp, and Golden has already been the talk of the town. That continued on Friday night. At the Packers' annual Family Night outdoor practice, Golden absolutely stole the show.
During the night's 1-on-1 sessions, Golden lined up against Packers lead cornerback Keisean Nixon and scored a couple of big "wins," including beating him deep for a nice catch just shy of the goal line.
It was exactly the same type of play Golden has reportedly been having at training camp, and why coach Matt LaFleur believes he has no limit on his skill.
Matthew Golden with a couple decisive victories over Keisean Nixon in 1-on-1s. Here’s one long catch. pic.twitter.com/VmEzVq5P1r
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) August 8, 2026
When it came time for the offense and defense to go against one another, Golden only shined brighter. He made a couple of great catches, none better than a beautiful 52-yard touchdown pass in which he tracked a Jordan Love deep ball down while outrunning safety Javon Bullard.
Matthew Golden shows more breakout signs at Packers Family Night: 'The sky's the limit for him'
"The sky's the limit for him. He's just to continue to stack days and get better and better and better," said LaFleur (via The Leap's Jason B. Hirschhorn).
Perhaps no player in the NFL had more fanfare entering the league last year than wide receiver Matthew Golden. Not only was Golden a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, but he was also taken in the first by the Green Bay Packers, a team notorious for almost never taking a wide receiver in the first round.
On top of that, Golden's selection came in a draft held in Green Bay, and famously featured former team president and CEO Mark Murphy basically doing a WWE-style promo before drafting him. When it came time to play, Golden was treated like every other wide receiver in the Packers' system, and eased into the role rather than being given the top spot.
By the end of the season, Golden had racked up just 361 receiving yards and one single touchdown, an impressive one in the team's 31-27 NFC Wild Card loss to the Chicago Bears. This left many (including myself) viewing the season more of a disappointment than anything else.
This year, though, Golden is looking to make sure that doesn't happen again. So far, he's doing everything right to prove it won't.
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