GREEN BAY — The ritual began when Matthew Golden was 6 years old.
And it continues to this day, although the goals have had to be updated, since the Green Bay Packers 21-year-old rookie wide receiver has already realized the dream he’d had back then’
Be an NFL first-round draft pick. Golden would scrawl those words on the mirror wherever he lived, so the goal would be staring back at him whenever he’d brush his teeth or comb his hair.
“I remember seeing everybody walk the stage, and I kid you not, I had this written down on my mirror everywhere, everywhere I lived,” Golden, standing inside the Packers’ newly renovated locker room, recounted in advance of Friday’s third practice of training camp.
“You know, I was in-and-out of households. But everywhere I went, I put on the mirror that I wanted to go first round. And that’s something that happened.
“I put in so much work, I didn’t come here just to stop. So now that I’m in the door, I’m still working. Still competing.”
And still writing his aspirations on his mirror.
“Oh yeah. I’m definitely writing on the mirror. I’ve got my goals written down already,” Golden said, smiling. “I’m not going to tell y’all what those are, but I definitely got that down.”
Growing up in and around Houston, Texas during an oftentimes transient and challenging childhood, Golden, along with his mother and grandmother, changed residences frequently, sometimes renting rooms at local hotels for days at a time.
Leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft, the University of Texas receiver had shared how his grandmother, who’d helped raise him, lost her house several years ago, the one place Golden could truly call “home” during his youth. He vowed to use the money from his first NFL contract to buy back the house.
But Golden also revealed during the team’s rookie minicamp in May that times were occasionally so difficult when he and his mother, Geri, were on their own that they were homeless.
“Me and my mom, at times, we stayed in hotels and there was times we couldn’t pay for a room, so we stayed in front of Walmart in Brenham, Texas,” Golden recalled. “So I reflect back to that whenever I am playing football, it just keeps me motivated to keep going.
“Everything that happened to me, everything that I went through, it happened for a reason. That’s what got me here. To be in this position, you know it wasn’t easy getting here. I know what I did, the people that I had around me that helped me get to this point.
“What it took to get here wasn’t easy, but I always stayed grounded, stayed committed to the process and whatever opportunity that came to me, I made the most of it. Just knowing that’s what it took to get here and that’s what going to keep me here.”
Two practices into camp, it is easy to see why the Packers liked Golden so much that they put an end to the more than two-decade streak of not drafting a wide receiver in the first round. It may have taken them 23 drafts to do it, but it looks as though they have picked the right guy to handle the expectations that come with such a choice.
“He’s pretty resilient,” said Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst, who made the call on picking Golden despite having a host of receivers—but not a clear-cut go-to guy — on the roster. “That’s part of the National Football League, getting used to playing in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and the spotlight that’s on this organization. But I’m pretty confident he’ll be able to get through that.
“For any of these guys that are coming in for their first year, you don’t know the opportunities that are going to be presented to them, and they’ve got to respond. We think he’s got a chance to certainly make an impact for our football team, and I think it’s going to be a competitive group.
“We took him for a reason. At the same time, he’s a third-year college kid — [played] two years at Houston, one year at Texas. But so far, so good.”
That’s for certain. On Wednesday, Golden’s exquisite grab on a touchdown pass from backup quarterback Malik Willis during a red-zone period was one of the highlights of the first practice of camp.
On Thursday, starter Jordan Love deftly moved around the pocket to avoid a pair of converging pass-rushers and zinged a ball across the middle that Golden snagged between two defenders. The play typified everything the Packers liked about him — his unique speed and quickness, his smooth route-running, his excellent hands.
“He’s been looking good,” Love said. “I think from the get-go, from Day 1 when he got here, he’s showcased just the versatility he has running routes, the speed he has and his ability to catch. I think for him, every day he’s been getting better just understanding what he needs to do.
“The faster he can pick up everything — which I think he’s been doing a great job of — understanding where he needs to be and the more he can stay locked in with all that, I think he’s definitely going to be a playmaker for us. I’m excited to see how far he can go.”
The balancing act for head coach Matt LaFleur at this early point in camp is determining just how much Golden can handle and how diversified his role can be.
While one school of thought is to put Golden in one specific wide receiver position and let him master that, LaFleur believes in a more holistic approach and Golden’s versatile skill set gives him all kind of options within the Packers’ offense, which effectively utilizes motions and alignments to scheme receivers open.
“I think it’s easier initially to start with a primary position. But it’s really, how much can they handle?” LaFleur explained. “The more he shows that he can handle, that’ll just naturally occur.
“We always try to teach concepts and where you fit within the concept. The more the player proves that can handle that and move them around, then he gets more opportunities.”
For his part, Golden says he is ready for however those opportunities present themselves. After all, he’s got his mirror goals to accomplish.
“It’s still having that mindset to go get it — being present, trying to get better day-by-day, focusing on what I need to do to help the team, and then just doing whatever the coaches ask me to do,” Golden said. “I always had the vision that whenever my opportunity came, I was going to take the most of it.
“I definitely feel like it’s starting to come along for me. The more I’m with the coaches and around the organization, things are starting to click for me. As much as I’m on the field, that’s where I feel the most comfortable.
“It’s starting to get to that point where I can just go out there and know, ‘This is what I’ve got to do.’ And just go out there and play freely.”
COPYRIGHT 2025 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.