A review and breakdown of first-round predictions for the Green Bay Packers in final 2025 mock drafts from a few of the most prominent analysts in the business:
The mock draft: Lance Zierlein, NFL.com
The pick: WR Matthew Golden, Texas
The reasoning: “It’s Jordan Love’s lucky day, as one of the best receivers in the draft falls right into the Packers’ lap at No. 23.”
Our breakdown: Golden spent his first two seasons at Houston, catching 13 touchdown passes, before transferring to Texas in 2024. He wasn’t a true difference-maker until late in the season, when he blew up for big games against Georgia and Arizona State. Golden isn’t a big receiver at 5-11 and 191 pounds, but he has big-time speed (fastest WR at the combine) with plus route-running traits and legitimate returner ability. Zierlein compared Golden to Chris Olave, a recent first-round pick who has become a volume receiver in New Orleans. Could Golden provide a versatile target for Jordan Love in Green Bay? It’s possible he’s an ascending young player with a big ceiling. The Packers had Golden in for a pre-draft visit. Golden is a top-20 player on the consensus board and plays both an increasingly important position and a need position in Green Bay.
NFL DRAFT HUB: Live NFL Draft news, live picks, grades, analysis and more.
The player info
- WR Matthew Golden
- Height: 5-11
- Weight: 191
- Age: 21
- 40-yard dash: 4.29
- Vertical leap: DNP
- Broad jump: DNP
- Three-cone: DNP
- Short shuttle: DNP
- Bench press: DNP
- RAS: N/A
- Pre-draft visit: Yes
- Senior Bowl: No
- Consensus big board rank: 19
Draft profile from Lance Zierlein: “Golden works all three levels of the field with similar consistency and productivity. His route-running needs refinement, but he does a decent job of altering tempo and separating at break points. Golden has the ability to play all three receiver spots. He also has the agility and body control to turn near-misses into highlight catches. Focus drops still pepper his play, but he’s a willing participant in traffic and took command of contested catches with better physicality and catch strength in 2024. Golden’s starting-level traits and big leap forward as a go-to playmaker have him primed to become a productive catch-maker with the potential to develop into a WR1 in the future.”
