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0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. The Green Bay Packers ' leading receiver last year was Romeo Doubs. Not Jayden Reed. Not Christian Watson. Not Tucker Kraft. Doubs.
Doubs finished with a career-high 724 yards and six touchdowns on 55 catches and 85 targets, all of which led the team. But Doubs left in free agency and the Packers also traded away Dontayvion Wicks, who posted a respectable 332 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 30 catches (46 targets) last season.
That's over 1,000 receiving yards and 130 targets walking out the door — and Green Bay brought in nobody at the position to replace them. That's a clear signal they believe in what they already have, and it's probably because they're expecting a big year from Matthew Golden.
Golden was the 23rd overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the fourth receiver off the board behind Travis Hunter, Tetairoa McMillan, and Emeka Egbuka. But his rookie numbers were disappointing. He finished with just 361 yards on 29 catches (44 targets) and zero touchdowns.
However, that was with him buried in a crowded receiver room and battling injuries for stretches of the season, including shoulder and wrist injuries that caused him to miss three games.
Then he broke out in the Wild Card Round against the Bears, going for 84 yards on four catches and a touchdown on just five targets. That showcased what he's capable of doing and why scouts saw him as a first-round talent to begin with.
Now he's fully healthy and has less competition for targets. With Doubs and Wicks gone, Golden is in line to at least double his rookie target total, and the Packers clearly view him as a true starter alongside Reed and Watson.
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"He's always been able to catch the ball and run through the football, and that's what great receivers do. His hand-eye coordination, I'd say, is one of the better ones I've been around," said passing game coordinator Jason Vrable . "But now the mental part, he's starting to become a lot more confident ... We're all fired up about him."
Golden put up 987 yards and an SEC-leading nine receiving touchdowns on 58 catches in his junior year at Texas in 2024, averaging 17.0 yards per reception. He then ran a blazing 4.29 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine , drawing some comparisons to Chris Olave.
Watson and Reed may still be ahead of him in the pecking order, but Jordan Love has already shown he can feed multiple receivers on a high-powered offense. It's also worth noting those other two are far more injury-prone — Watson, in particular, has yet to complete a full 17-game season.
With Golden's draft pedigree, his elite speed, and now a clear runway for targets, this is shaping up to be the year he finally breaks out.
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