Packers WR Matthew Golden: Never Mind Year 2 Jump for No. 12 Player in 2026

Packers On SI is counting down the Green Bay Packers’ top 25 players for the 2026 season. This series continues with our No. 12 player, Matthew Golden.

The “Year 2 jump” is such a cliché in the NFL that it’s practically treated as gospel.

As it should (even if it’s a faulty premise).

Matthew Golden went straight from a grueling and productive final season at Texas to diving into training for the Scouting Combine. From there, Golden had a series of draft visits and Zoom calls. Finally, he was drafted and went straight to rookie camp, OTAs and minicamp.

Finally, after about four weeks to rest mentally and physically, it was off to training camp and his rookie season.

Entering Year 2, Golden got a chance to catch his breath following that long grind. He knows the offense, the adjustments and what Jordan Love is looking for on any given play. Simply put, he’s a better player physically and mentally now that he’s had an offseason to focus on football rather than 40-yard dashes.

“We rely on doing a lot of different things in this offense from a wide receiver standpoint,” Christian Watson said. “It’s definitely tough for any rookie or young guy to come in here and have all that stuff down right away. I definitely seen him take a few steps forward this offseason in terms of going out there and playing fast, just playing free out there.

“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.”

After letting Romeo Doubs go in free agency and trading Dontayvion Wicks, the Packers don’t need the fastest player in the 2025 draft class to take a Year 2 jump so much as they need him to take a Year 2 sprint.

“I’m excited,” he said. “This offseason, I focused on getting everything right, physically, mentally and just making sure when I came back I was in a better space (and) I was physically better. I’m excited for this year.”

Why Matthew Golden Is So Important

Expectations were high for Golden as a rookie, but they probably shouldn’t have been. With Watson, Jayden Reed, Doubs and Wicks, Golden was always going to have a hard time breaking through on the depth chart. Throw in his own injury-related struggles, Golden had a quiet rookie season.

Among rookie receivers, Golden finished ninth with 29 catches and eighth with 361 yards. A total of 20 rookies caught at least one touchdown pass; Golden was not among them before his breakthrough playoff game at Chicago.

That was then; this is now. Doubs signed a huge contract with the Patriots, where he’ll join A.J. Brown, and Wicks was sent to the Eagles, where he’ll be asked to help replace Brown.

With that, Green Bay’s down to three proven receivers. Last year, receivers were targeted on 284 passes by the quarterbacks, with 131 of those going to Doubs and Wicks. It’s a pretty simple projection for Golden to get at least double last year’s 44 targets.

“A lot of opportunities,” Golden said. “A lot of balls thrown to those two guys, obviously. My mindset going into Year 2 is make the most plays that I can. With the confidence I have now, I have no doubt whenever I step on the field, I’m going to be in attack mode.”

Matthew Golden’s Strengths and Weaknesses

The starting point is the speed. Golden is one of the fastest players in the NFL. That’s not really the overriding strength of his game, though.

Golden is a polished all-around receiver. The threat of his speed probably impacts the way defensive backs cover him, which plays a role in Golden’s ability to get open. That was evident in his opportunities last season and again during the offseason practices, where practically every pass to Golden resulted in an easy completion.

Golden is incredibly sure-handed, too. He dropped one pass last season; of the 90 receivers targeted at least 40 times, Golden ranked 28th with a drop rate of 3.3 percent.

“Just the mindset, just attacking each day trying to get better 1 percent,” Golden said. “Obviously, just putting myself in position to be able to help the team out as much as I can. Right now, I feel really confident in myself. I’m excited for what we got going on for the season and just keep building the chemistry with Jordan.”

There are no apparent weaknesses in Golden’s game. He’s not much of a run-after-catch threat and he was a mediocre blocker, though he spent the offseason getting stronger, which should help with both. Really, the only “flaw” in his game is he hasn’t proven he can be a productive starting receiver. That opportunity is coming.

What Happens If Matthew Golden Gets Hurt

The Packers have a few potential fatal flaws. Injuries at receiver are among the things that could cut down this year’s team well short of the Super Bowl.

There are only three proven receivers – and that’s if you count Golden as being proven. Behind Watson, Reed and Golden are Savion Williams, Bo Melton and Skyy Moore, who caught a combined 19 passes last season. Nobody else caught any.

Why We Ranked Matthew Golden Here

This is not a list of the team’s best players. It’s a list of the team’s most important players. In six months, we could be talking about Golden being one of the team’s best players, but he’ll have to earn that mantle.

Golden undoubtedly is one of the team’s most important players, though. He’s a first-round pick so, obviously, his growth is critically important because, A, veteran receivers cost the equivalent of some countries’ GDP; B, the Packers cleared the path for Golden to earn a big role; and, C, the Packers didn’t have a first-round pick this year and won’t have one next year, so they can’t afford to miss.

If Golden plays to expectations alongside Watson and Reed, the passing game could be good enough to take the Packers to the Super Bowl. If not, it’s hard to see the Packers being anything more than pretenders.

“To be honest, I don’t feel like they’ve 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.”

Every year, I rank every player on the Packers roster based on talent, importance, salary etc. I will again this year, too.

For now, let's cut right to the chase. Here is a quick-hitting look at the 2⃣5⃣ most important players for the 2026 season.⬇️https://t.co/ezDAkl7vmd
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) June 17, 2026

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