Matthew Golden caught a touchdown pass in the right flat, five yards behind the line of scrimmage.
At the 20-yard line, Golden fumbled to release quarterback Jaylon Johnson. Then at 17 years old, he moved from safety Jaquan Brisker.
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Golden hurdled nickel back Kyler Gordon, who was blocked on the ground, at the 15-yard line. Then when he got to the 5, Golden cut between safety Kevin Byard and defensive end Montez Sweat.
As teammate Christian Watson raised his right hand, Golden jumped into the end zone.
Angry. Fireworks. It has been decided. Art.
Golden was all of the above on his 23-yard touchdown run with 6 ½ minutes left in the Green Bay Packers’ 31-27 loss at Chicago in the wild card playoff game in January.
“I wouldn’t go down, man,” Golden said Tuesday. “I had the mindset of getting to last place regardless of who was in front of me. The way it was set up, I didn’t want to go down. I had to get in there.”
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Meanwhile, Golden showed why Green Bay used its 2025 first-round draft pick – the 23rd perfect choice – in a gifted range. At the same time, the question asked why Packers coach Matt LaFleur didn’t use Golden more in his first season?
Gold finished 2025 with pedestrian-specific numbers of 29 receptions for 361 yards, an average of 12.4 yards per catch. Golden’s touchdown in Chicago was the only time he found the endzone in 2025.
Admittedly, Green Bay’s spacious reception room was packed. However, many felt that LaFleur and the Packers did not take full advantage of Golden’s skill set.
If Golden felt that way, he wouldn’t let it.
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“I would say it happened the way it was supposed to happen,” Golden said of his rookie season. “I feel like it has improved my mind that I just have chaos on my shoulder, the way I have to go, I will not change anything that happened last year.
So are the Packers.
Golden spent two years in Houston, then transferred to Texas in 2024 where he had 58 receptions, nine TDs and averaged 17.0 yards per catch for a Longhorns team that reached the College Football Playoff Final 4.
Since midseason, Golden has been the biggest playmaker in the Longhorns’ dynamic offense. Golden then ran the 40-yard dash in 4.29 seconds at the 2025 NFL Combine, the fastest among all wideouts.
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“You can’t coach 4.29, even if they had him,” LaFleur said in 2025. “Anytime a guy breaks sub 4.3s, you know he’s reasonably fast. I think the thing that’s attractive about a guy like Golden is not just that he’s fast, but he’s got, I’d say high hands.”
Golden’s rookie season was uneventful, however.
He had four games between Weeks 3-6 where he had 16 catches for 233 yards. Those four games accounted for 55.2% of his receptions and 64.5% of his receiving yards. Along the way, Golden had a big fourth down catch in Dallas to keep the Packers’ final drive alive in what turned out to be a 40-40 tie.
Golden missed three games in November with shoulder and wrist injuries, then averaged 18.8 over the next four games.
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Golden had his best game of the season, however, in the Packers’ biggest contest – their Wild Card loss to Chicago. Golden finished the night with four receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown.
Golden joined Davante Adams as the only Green Bay rookie wideouts to post 80-plus receiving yards and a TD reception in a playoff game. Golden also showed that his ceiling can be incredibly high.
“I’ve seen him take a few steps forward this offseason by going out there and playing faster, playing more loose,” Green Bay’s Christian Watson said of Golden. “That’s the best way to play and I’ve seen that from him so far, I’m excited to see where he goes this year.”
Wideout Jayden Reed agreed.
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“It’s going to be a big jump for MG, man,” Reed said. “You can see that the game is slow for him, he has learned to play much better.
“I can speak from my perspective. Going into Year 2, it was very smooth even knowing the playbook. So, he gets that confidence and he’s going to be a threat in this offense.”
Golden said things have been slow for him. He added muscle this offseason and feels strong. And with Romeo Doubs now in New England and Dontayvion Wicks in Philadelphia, there should be plenty of opportunities for Golden in the Packers offense.
As Golden showed in the Wild Card loss against Chicago, that would be a very bad development for Green Bay.
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“To be honest, I don’t think (people) have seen anything,” said Golden. “I am very confident and I know what I have done, for me there was nothing yet, I know there is more, I enjoy it.
“I know I’m going to be good. I know there are guys around me who are going to lift me up. I feel like we have a big brotherhood here. Everybody in this locker room, we lift each other up and we always trust each other a lot. As long as we keep doing that, it’s going to be great.”
This article was originally published on Forbes.com
