How Matthew Golden convinced the Packers to end their first-round receiver drought

Matthew Golden became the first wideout drafted in the first round by the Packers since Javon Walker in 2002.

By most accounts, the 2025 NFL Draft featured a less-than-stellar collection of wideout talent. Not only did the incoming rookie class lack an obvious field-tilting full-time receiver like Malik Nabers or Ja'Marr Chase, but the perceived drop-off at the position after the top handful of prospects made it one of the shallowest talent pools in many years.

Not that such considerations seem to affect the Green Bay Packers. While most note that the team hadn't drafted a wide receiver in the first round in over 20 years, Green Bay's conservative approach to the position dates back much, much further. Since the beginning of the common-draft era -- 1967-present -- the Packers had only taken four wideouts: Barry Smith (1973), James Lofton (1978), Sterling Sharpe (1987), and Javon Walker (2002).

The lack of enthusiasm for the rookie receivers and Green Bay's draft history convinced even the most studied Packers observers that the team would let another year go by without taking a receiver in the first round. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Tom Silverstein wrote dismissively of the idea Thursday morning, stating that former general manager Ron Wolf "shouldn't have to take [the blame] when the Packers pass on one in Round 1 of this year's draft." Silverstein even noted that none of the wideouts expected to last until Green Bay's pick offered "the combination of height, weight, and speed" that Wolf would have prioritized for the position.

So, of course, the Packers made this the year to finally draft a wide receiver in the first round, selecting Texas' Matthew Golden with the No. 23 overall pick. At least to some, the decision represents one of the all-time rope-a-dopes in Green Bay draft history. Not only did the team eschew talented options at other need positions like cornerback Will Johnson or pass rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku, but Golden measured in at 5-foot-11 and 191 pounds, hardly the archetype that Wolf and his GM successors have long favored.

All of which begs the question: How did Golden convince the Packers to end their first-round receiver drought?

To figure out why Green Bay broke character to take a wideout so early, one needs to understand Golden and how he arrived at this stage.