Matthew Golden caught a swing pass in the right flat, five yards behind the line of scrimmage.
At the 20-yard line, Golden shook free of cornerback Jaylon Johnson. Then at the 17, he spun away from safety Jaquan Brisker.
Golden hurdled nickel back Kyler Gordon, who had been blocked to the ground, at the 15-yard line. Then when he reached the 5, Golden cut between safety Kevin Byard and defensive end Montez Sweat.
As teammate Christian Watson held up his right hand, Golden leapt into the endzone.
Angry. Explosive. Determined. Creative.
Golden was all of the above on his 23-yard touchdown with 6 ½ minutes left in the Green Bay Packers’ eventual 31-27 loss at Chicago in a Wild Card playoff game in January.
“I wasn’t going to go down, man,” Golden said Tuesday. “I had the mindset of getting in the end zone regardless of who was in front of me. How it was lined up, I didn’t want to go down. I just had to get in there.”
In that moment, Golden showed why Green Bay used its 2025 first round draft pick — the 23rd overall selection — on the gifted wideout. In that same moment, the question begged why Packers coach Matt LaFleur didn’t utilize Golden more during his rookie season?
Golden finished 2025 with somewhat pedestrian numbers of 29 receptions for 361 yards, an average of 12.4 yards per catch. Golden’s touchdown in Chicago was the only time he found the endzone in 2025.
Granted, Green Bay’s wide receiver room was crowded. Many felt, though, that LaFleur and the Packers didn’t take full advantage of Golden’s skill set.
If Golden feels that way, he wasn’t letting on.
“I would say it happened exactly how it was supposed to,” Golden said of his rookie season. “I feel like it developed me and mindset to just have a chip on my shoulder, just how to go about things. I wouldn’t change anything that happened last year. I feel like for this year, it’s a part of the plan, man, and I’m excited.”
So are the Packers.
Golden spent two years at Houston, then transferred to Texas in 2024 where he had 58 receptions, nine TDs and averaged 17.0 yards per catch for a Longhorns team that reached the College Football Playoff Final 4.
From the midway point of the season, Golden became the biggest playmaker on the Longhorns’ dynamic offense. Golden then ran the 40-yard dash in 4.29 seconds at the 2025 NFL Combine, fastest among all the wideouts.
“You can’t coach 4.29, or whatever they had him at,” LaFleur said in 2025. “Anytime a guy is breaking sub 4.3s, you know he’s legitimately fast. I think what’s so attractive about a guy like Golden is not only is he fast, but he’s got, I’d say elite hands.”
Golden’s rookie season was uneven, though.
He had a four-game stretch between Weeks 3-6 when he had 16 catches for 233 yards. Those four games accounted for 55.2% of his receptions and 64.5% of his receiving yards. Along the way, Golden had a huge fourth down catch in Dallas to keep alive the Packers’ final drive in what became a 40-40 tie.
Golden missed three games in November with shoulder and wrist injuries, then averaged just 18.8 snaps the next four games.
Golden had his best game of the season, though, in the Packers’ biggest contest — their Wild Card loss to Chicago. Golden finished that night with four receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown.
Golden joined Davante Adams as the only Green Bay rookie wideouts to post 80-plus receiving yards and a receiving TD in a playoff game. Golden also showed that his ceiling could be incredibly high.
“I’ve definitely seen him take a few steps forward this offseason in terms of going out there and playing fast, just playing free out there,” Green Bay wideout Christian Watson said of Golden. “That’s the best way to play and I’ve definitely seen that from him so far. I’m excited to see where he goes this year.”
Wideout Jayden Reed agreed.
“It’s going to be a huge jump for M.G., man,” Reed said. “You can tell the game is slowing down for him. He’s learned to play much better. You can tell he’s just more comfortable out there.
“I can speak from my point of view. Me going into Year 2, it was way more smooth just even knowing the playbook. So, he’s gaining that confidence and he’s going to be dangerous for this offense.”
Golden said things have slowed down for him. He added muscle this offseason and feels stronger. And with Romeo Doubs now in New England and Dontayvion Wicks in Philadelphia, there should be far more opportunities for Golden in the Packers’ offense.
As Golden showed in the Wild Card loss against Chicago, that could be a terrific development for Green Bay.
“To be honest, I don’t feel like (people) have seen anything yet,” Golden said. “I have a lot of confidence in myself and I know what I have done. To me, it wasn’t anything yet. I know it’s a lot more out there. I’m excited for it.
“I know I’m going to prove myself right. I know I got guys around me that’s going to uplift me. I feel like we have a great brotherhood here. Everybody in this locker room, we uplift each other and we always have the most confidence in each other. As long as we keep doing that, it’s going to be good.”
