With the 2026 NFL Draft set to kick off from Pittsburgh on Thursday night, there have naturally been a number of pieces floating around on picks from a year ago at this time that didn't quite pan out the way teams hoped they would.
One such article was constructed by our pal Matt Verderame at SI.com, who dove into who he believed were the eight biggest misses from the 2025 draft. And one player included on his list was Green Bay Packers wide receiver Matthew Golden, who was taken 23rd overall, thus famously making him the first wideout taken by the Green & Gold in the opening round since Javon Walker in 2002.
Here's how Verderame justified his decision:
"For years, the Packers have employed a horde of receivers, but none have been capable of taking over a game, including Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and others. When general manager Brian Gutekunst selected Golden with the No. 23 pick in last year’s draft, Golden was thought to be the missing piece in that room.Â
"However, Golden struggled to establish himself. The rookie caught only 29 passes for 361 yards without a touchdown. Now, with Doubs leaving in free agency for the Patriots, Golden should have ample opportunity to showcase his worth by moving up the depth chart."
Matthew Golden was misused by the Packers as a rookie
Now, one obviously can't argue against those numbers posted above, but it's certainly easy enough to argue against how Golden was used by Green Bay.
Yes, he only caught 29 passes during the regular season, but he was also targeted only 40 times. And it's not as if those 11 incompletions were his fault, as he was only credited with one drop, and that came in the Packers' meaningless Week 18 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Green Bay didn't really try to get the Texas alum involved in his first couple of professional games, as he was targeted just four times in the first two weeks, catching two of those passes for 16 yards.
Over the next four games, however, Golden was targeted 19 times and tallied 16 grabs for 233 yards, clearly proving he could produce when given the chance. But that was as good as it got, at least for the regular season, as he saw just 17 passes thrown in his direction the rest of the way, catching 11 of them for 112 yards.
But in the Packers' wild-card matchup with the Chicago Bears, after offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich oddly told the media that the rookie would not play a "premier role when the playoffs come around," Golden actually did play a premier role, as he was targeted six times and caught four passes for 84 yards, including his first touchdown, as he zigged and zagged his way through half a dozen Bears defenders to reach the end zone.
As Verderame mentioned, Golden should conceivably get more looks in 2026 with Romeo Doubs now in New England, and perhaps since the Packers have seen what he can do in high-pressure situations, those looks will be a lot more consistent.
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