GREEN BAY — Matthew Golden may have only caught one pass in last Saturday night’s preseason opener, but the Green Bay Packers rookie wide receiver might have gained two fans in the process: New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner and wide receiver Garrett Wilson.

Golden said he had never met either player before bumping into them in the aftermath of the Jets’ 30-10 victory over the Packers at Lambeau Field.

“We just crossed paths. [I] went and dapped them up and I guess they recognized me,” Golden recounted after practice Monday. “Just told me what they had to say, and we just went on from there.”

And what did Wilson and Gardner tell him?

“They gave me some feedback,” Golden said. “Just told me to keep going, rookie year, just stay confident, keep playing hard.”

For a first-round draft pick looking to make an immediate impact, there aren’t many better supporters than the Jets’ duo, since both of them know exactly what it takes to play at an elite level right away.

In 2022, Gardner won the NFL defensive rookie of the year award after being the No. 4 overall pick in the draft, and Wilson won the NFL offensive rookie of the year award as the No. 10 overall pick.

Heading into their fourth seasons, Wilson has eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in each of his first three years in the league, while Gardner is a two-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All-Pro.

“I didn’t get a lot of action,” Golden said. “But the action that I did get definitely helped me realize a lot of different stuff.”

Golden only played 12 snaps against the Jets and was targeted twice, catching a slant on third-and-7 against Jets cornerback Brandon Stevens to pick up a first down, and drawing a 6-yard pass interference penalty on Gardner on a third-and-6 pass from quarterback Jordan Love for another first down.

“I’ve seen a lot of great things from him in practice, and to go out there and execute a slant route like that and then obviously draw the P.I., that’s two good reps for him right there,” Love said. “But there’s going to be so much more that we’re going to have to build on to keep building this thing, keep figuring each other out and understanding timing and different things like that.

“But you always want to be able to see the practice, things like that translate to the game. So I’ve got a lot of confidence in ‘MG’ right now.”

Added head coach Matt LaFleur: “There’s a lot that he needs to learn in terms of the detail of being able to execute each route versus every look that could be presented against him, but we feel pretty good about where he’s at. I think he’s only going to get better and better and better.”

For his part, Golden admitted that while he played in plenty of big games in college — including the SEC championship game and two college football playoff games during his only season at the University of Texas last year — there was something special about his first NFL game, even if it was only preseason.

Given the Packers’ injuries at receiver, Golden figures to get more work this Saturday against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium, too.

“It felt good just being able to get out there, play against a different opponent, just get some action,” Golden said. “For me, it was just trying to get my feet wet, first NFL game. The first catch, it felt good. First catch of my career. But I’ve still got a lot of work to do and I’m ready for what’s in front of me.”

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