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Hometown Packers Fans Celebrated Monumental Matthew Golden Draft Pick En Masse

The 2025 draft was held in Green Bay.

Ryan Phillips

Texas Longhorns wide receiver Matthew Golden after he is selected by the Green Bay Packers as the No. 23 pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft.
Texas Longhorns wide receiver Matthew Golden after he is selected by the Green Bay Packers as the No. 23 pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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The Green Bay Packers gave their fans what they wanted.

On Thursday night, with the 2025 NFL draft in Green Bay, the franchise finally selected a skill position player with a first-round pick. The massive crowd assembled around the draft stage exploded when Packers president Mark Murphy announced the team would select Texas wide receiver Matthew Golden.

Golden was basking in the adulation and even went to the mic to get the crowd fired up.

What a scene in Green Bay. And now that he's been drafted, Golden can fulfill a huge family promise with his first pro contract.

The last time the Packers selected a wide receiver in the first round of the draft was in 2002 when they picked Florida State wideout Javon Walker. He turned into a Pro Bowler, so Golden has a lot to live up to. In the time since Walker was selected, the Packers have leaned heavily on defense in the draft, taking 17 defensive players in that time against five on the offensive side of the ball.

It's a new day in Titletown.

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Ryan Phillips
RYAN PHILLIPS

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.

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