The Packers’ Jordan Love and Matthew Golden are one of the most enticing veteran-rookie pairings.
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Matthew Golden was the third pure receiver selected in the NFL Draft but the perfect fit for Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers.
Pro Football Focus picked the eight best veteran-rookie pairings emerging from the draft. Among them: Love, who loves to air it out, and Golden, who has elite speed.
“Quarterback Jordan Love has a good NFL arm but, through a combination of injury and inconsistencies in the receiver room, wasn’t able to connect on deep passes as much as Green Bay’s offense wanted to in 2024,” PFF’s Trevor Sikkema wrote. “Golden is the right piece to complement Jayden Reed, the tight ends, the run game and what Love wants to do.”
Last season, according to PFF, Love ranked fifth in the NFL with 69 passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield. If he wouldn’t have missed two full games due to a Week 1 knee injury, he almost certainly would have finished first in that category.
Of 34 quarterbacks to throw at least 24 deep passes, Love ranked only 18th in completion percentage (39.1), according to PFF.
The addition of Golden, who was a big-time deep threat at Texas, should help. Of 85 draft-eligible receivers who were targeted on at least 15 deep passes last season, Golden’s 59.1 percent catch rate ranked second, according to PFF. He caught 13-of-22 of those passes. Impressively, he grabbed 7-of-10 contested-catch opportunities, so it wasn’t as if he won with pure, runaway speed.
“I’m going to come out here and do what I’m supposed to do,” Golden said at rookie camp. “I’m going to do it to the best of my ability, so I’m definitely going to try to run 4.29 on the field so Jordan can put the ball out there somewhere for me.”
With veteran receiver Christian Watson out with a torn ACL, Golden will help fill a significant void on offense. As coach Matt LaFleur said after the draft, “You can’t coach” Golden’s speed.
“I FaceTimed him, and he’s like, ‘Man, sub-4.3, I’ve got to get that arm loose so he can roll,” LaFleur said of a conversation with Love after the Packers drafted Golden.
Golden was the first receiver selected in the first round by the Packers since Javon Walker in 2002. Golden’s receivers coach at Texas, Chris Jackson, was part of that team.
“Man, you got to be ready for that opportunity,” Jackson told Packers On SI. “And it’s just not just about how good you are, how fast you are, or what people say about you. It’s really about trust. I had the trust of Brett Favre and the coaching staff at that time. So, it was a good journey for me and I just try to share my experiences with these young men.”
Can Golden take the league by storm? The Associated Press has selected an Offensive Rookie of the Year since 1967. The Packers have had two winners: running back Eddie Lacy in 2013 and running back John Brockington in 1971.
Golden has the seventh-shortest odds at FanDuel Sportsbook at +2000. Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty is the favorite at +270 and followed by Titans quarterback Cam Ward at +280. Among receivers, the Jaguars’ Travis Hunter is +750, the Panthers Tetairoa McMillan is +1000, the Buccaneers’ Emeka Egbuka is +3500, the Texans’ Jayden Higgins is +4000 and the Bears’ Luther Burden III is +5000.
Green Bay drafted two receivers; third-round pick Savion Williams is well back in the pack at +20000.
At DraftKings Sportsbook, Golden has the eighth-shortest odds at +2200 and Williams is +12000.
“Another big, explosive guy – 6-4, 220-plus,” LaFleur said. “Just being able to find different ways to get him the ball. He’s still unpolished, I would say, as a route runner, but I think there’s a ton of upside there in his development. There’s a lot of different ways that we’ll be able to use him. So, really excited about that.”