Three Draft Picks Who Must Contribute ASAP for Packers

For the Green Bay Packers to compete in the NFC North or make a run for the Super Bowl, these three rookies, in particular, must be instant-impact players.

Green Bay Packers first-round pick Matthew Golden | Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Would it be great if the Green Bay Packers’ eight-player draft class turned out to be immediate contributors? Of course. But for the 2025 edition of the Packers to reach their full potential, these three players must provide sudden impact.

First Round: WR Matthew Golden

Packers quarterback Jordan Love loves throwing the deep ball, but Christian Watson’s torn ACL took away his most formidable deep-ball target.

With Romeo Doubs, Dontayvion Wicks and Bo Melton catching a combined 9-of-36 passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield last season, the Packers desperately needed another threat. Enter Matthew Golden, who, as everyone knows by now, ran his 40 in 4.29 seconds at the Scouting Combine. He put that speed to use at Texas, where he had the second-best catch percentage on deep passes among all draft-eligible receivers.

Golden doesn’t have Watson’s imposing size but he’s a polished weapon who will stretch defenses vertically and horizontally.

“I don’t pay no attention to it,” Golden said of the pressure of being a first-round pick on a contending team. “I got myself here being myself, so that’s all I’m going to do. I’m going to come in here and compete and work, just like I did my whole life. So, it’s nothing new to me. I’m just happy to be here.”

Those could be construed as empty words, except Golden backed up the no-pressure talk by having his best games against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game and Arizona State in the College Football Playoff.

“Just knowing the situation, just knowing that when the lights come on, that’s when I’m at my best,” Golden said. “Being in the environment, just knowing that you’ve got to come out there and you’ve got to compete. I’m coming here to win games and do whatever the team needs me to do.”

Third Round: WR Savion Williams

Savion Williams’ receivers coach at TCU was hoping Williams would be drafted by the Packers.

“I listed two or three teams that I thought were the absolute best places for him to land, and Green Bay was always at the top of the list,” Malcolm Kelly told Packers On SI. “I know what Matt LaFleur does, I know his style of offense, I know his offensive philosophy.”

Even with the addition of hard-charging running back Josh Jacobs, Green Bay’s passing attack stagnated last season. Statistically, Jordan Love was no better in 2024 than he was in 2023. To be sure, injuries factored, but the passing game seemed to grow stale. The easy completions that were prevalent down the stretch in 2023 just weren’t there in 2024.

Enter Williams, a do-it-all performer with the speed to run past defenders, the agility to elude them and the power to run over them.

Jayden Reed has been Green Bay’s best receiver each of his first two seasons. However, bumps and bruises have taken away his effectiveness. He was practically a nonfactor during the second half of last season. At 222 pounds, Williams should be able to handle the screens, jet sweeps and other gadget-style plays that had gone to Reed, which should allow Reed to be healthy and focus on making plays downfield, where he’s excelled.

“We always talk about the only thing that limits you in terms of your creativity is your imagination,” LaFleur said. “So, we’ll get back in the lab a little bit and we’ll come up with some good things for him.”

Whatever the role, Williams will be ready after thriving as a receiver and runner last year.  

“Whatever my team need me to do, that’s what I’m going to do,” Williams said. “If Coach tell me to get on tight end, I’m going to play tight end. Get on the line, I’m going to play lineman. Whatever I need to do I’m going to do.”

Sixth Round: DT Warren Brinson

Last season, TJ Slaton started 17 games and played 427 snaps. The Packers didn’t replace Slaton in free agency, meaning Warren Brinson was the biggest addition to the defensive line.

“I was proud of TJ the way he progressed,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said. “When he first got here, he was one of those guys that held the point really well, he could eat up double teams. But he progressed as a pass rusher, as well. I think Brinson coming out probably has a little more pass rush naturally. But [he’s] a really big man that can do a lot of things. I think the coaching staff and I know I believe he can play up and down the line.”

Former Pro Bowler Kenny Clark, former first-round pick Devonte Wyatt and third-year players Karl Brooks and Colby Wooden are back with the team and will lead the unit. However, Slaton averaged 25 snaps per game and was the anchor of one of the best run defenses in the NFL. Wyatt, Brooks and Wooden haven’t shown they can be that big, tough, run stopper. That role could fall on Brinson immediately.

Brinson played five seasons at Georgia, enduring the rigors not only of the SEC but the Bulldogs’ practice field.

“It was always competition,” he said. “You’ve got Tate Ratledge [who was drafted in the second round by the Lions], we’ve got Jamaree Salyer [of the Chargers], we had a lot of people up there that you had to compete against.

“You had to bring your A-game every day at Georgia. Every day. And if you were not on your point, you got your head knocked off. I’m going to take the same thing to the NFL and be on point every day and be serious. It’s a warrior mentality out there. I’m trying to win, I’m trying to feed my family. Got to eat.”