Green Bay Packers' top draft pick Matthew Golden needs to replicate Romeo Doubs' reliable production. Expectations are high, but filling that role is the crucial step in his career development.
The expectations should be sky high for soon-to-be second-year wide receiver Matthew Golden in 2026. The Green Bay Packers are undoubtedly expecting a lot out of him, and his draft slot as the No. 23 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft essentially demands it.
With that said, the Packers don't need Golden to be their WR1 in 2026. He may certainly have that potential, and if he reaches that potential in year two, Green Bay would undoubtedly be over the moon.
The Packers already have a player they believe can be their WR1 in Christian Watson, though, and Watson's performance in 10 games in 2025 coming off an ACL tear seems to suggest that he has what it takes.
He caught 35 passes for 611 yards and six touchdowns. At 6-foot-4, 208 pounds and with blazing speeds, he's one of the best deep threats in the league, but he also developed a solid route tree in his fourth NFL season.
That's the player the Packers are relying on to be "the guy" when it really matters.
What they can use from Golden is year two is for him to be a solid replacement for the production that walked out the door when Romeo Doubs became a free agent and wound up with the New England Patriots.
A former fourth-round draft pick, Doubs was never a star in Green Bay, but he was a high-end WR3 who often-times acted as a solid WR2 with WR1 upside in specific games.
Last season was the perfect encapsulation of who Doubs is as a wideout. He led the team in receving, but he didn't put up elite numbers. He caught 55 passes for 724 yards and six touchdowns.
Nov 23, 2025; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Green Bay Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs (87) carries the ball Minnesota Vikings during the second half at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Kayla Wolf-Imagn Images.Again, that's not elite, but it's really good. Doubs also had several games when he stepped up and played an elite brand of football. Against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4, he caught three touchdowns. In the playoff loss against the Chicago Bears, he caught eight passes for 124 yards and a touchdown.
That right there is the type of player the Packers need Golden to be in 2026. They need him to be good, but not great. They'll need him to take over a game or two, but realistically, he'll be okay playing second-fiddle to Watson and likely even Jayden Reed.
That may not be a "sexy" prognosis for a former first-round pick, but it should at least be the baseline expectation for Golden in 2026.
Anything else would be gravy for the Packers, but then again, who doesn't like gravy?