The Green Bay Packers' first-round gamble looks ready to explode. After a quiet rookie campaign, Matthew Golden is forging a vital connection with Jordan Love and is ready to take the next step.
We're officially 13 days from the start of the 2026 NFL season for the Green Bay Packers. Whether you're ready or not, football season is here.
The Packers kick off their 2026 season against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Sept. 13, from U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Talk about pressure. The Vikings are certainly in a transitional place as a franchise, but getting going against an NFC North foe ratchets up the intensity of this season from the get-go.
It's a big season for the Packers. There's a belief that they're in a Super Bowl window right now, which means every single game is important. That means the intensity will be there in Week 2 at MetLife Stadium against the New York Jets and it will certainly be there in Week 3 against the Atlanta Falcons, when the Packers will play at Lambeau Field for the first time in 2026.
There's going to be a lot of proverbial ink spilled on this 2026 season and we here at PackersRoundtable hope that you spend as much time as possible with us talking about the ins and outs and ups and downs of the Packers.
As we prepare for the 2026 season, though, we're going to kick things off with a rankings series looking at the Top 50 Packers heading into the 2025 season.
At No. 13, we have wide receiver Matthew Golden
Ranking the Top 50 Packers Heading Into 2026: No. 13 Matthew Golden
Dec 20, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Green Bay Packers wide receiver Matthew Golden (0) runs with the ball against Chicago Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright (26) during the first quarter at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images.There's a reasonable expectation floating around out there in Packer Nation that Matthew Golden is a breakout superstar waiting to happen. The Packers obviously believe that too, or they wouldn't have made him their first wide receiver selected in the first round of the NFL Draft since Javon Walker in 2002.
After putting up 58 catches for 987 yards and nine touchdowns in 2024 for the Texas Longhorns, the Packers selected Golden at No. 23 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
He's got great speed and exceptional hands. Basically, he gets open and catches everything that is thrown his way.
The issue for Golden as a rookie is that he was behind quite a few players on the depth chart. The Packers are notorious for slow-playing rookies.
He never got consistent opportunities, and thus, his rookie season looked extremely underwhelming for a statistical standpoint. If you were actually watching, every time he got an opportunity to make a big play, something good happened. Those opportunities were just few and far in between.
All indications coming out of training camp are that Golden is ready to step into a major role for the Packers in 2026 and that he's developing a good rapport with quarterback Jordan Love.
2025 Synopsis:
In 14 games played with five starts, Golden caught 29-of-44 targets for 361 yards and no regular season touchdowns. He picked an excellent time for his first NFL touchdown, which came in the wildcard game against the Chicago Bears.
In that playoff game, Golden caught 4-of-5 targets for 84 yards and a touchdown.
Notable Quotables:
"I always have confidence in myself, everything I can do, just going out there, having that attack mindset. I know whenever I'm on the field, with having that mindset, I feel I can do a lot of good things for the team." - Matthew Golden
Projected Role in 2026:
The expectation for Golden is that by season's end, he should be considered one of the top WR2s in the NFC, if not in the entire NFL.
Previous Rankings:
