Green Bay Packers rookie Matthew Golden played only 12 snaps in his preseason debut and has yet to appear in a regular season game, but general manager Brian Gutekunst is already seeing the kind of encouraging signs that suggest Golden will be a “good player” at the NFL level.
A smooth adjustment to the pro environment in Green Bay and a consistency of making big plays during training camp practices have Golden on the right track to start his career.
Advertisement
“For a third-year player coming out of college, I think he’s done a really good job adjusting to our culture here. His work habits have been excellent,” Gutekunst said Tuesday. “He’s one of those rookies that has made one or two plays every day, and when you start to see that consistency of that, there’s a lot of history here that those guys make it and are pretty good players in the league. He’s just scratching the surface. He’s still learning quite a bit, but he’s made plays when he’s had opportunities to make plays, and that’s a good sign. Certainly a lot more out there for him, and he’s working hard to get to those next places.”
Not a day of training camp has gone by without Golden making a notable play in 1-on-1s or team periods. He’s consistently run with the first-team offense, and he started the Packers’ preseason opener against the New York Jets at receiver, catching one pass for seven yards to convert on 3rd-and-7 and drawing a pass interference penalty on Pro Bowler Sauce Gardner.
Gutekunst said every new experience — good or bad — is an opportunity for a young player like Golden to learn, improve and grow.
While Golden’s long speed is real, his combination of smoothness and suddenness has made him hard to cover, and coach Matt LaFleur recently said Golden has the most “natural” hands he’s seen in his time at the pro level. That combination of separation talent and aggressive, consistent hands have made Golden a trusted target and a big-play threat this summer.
Advertisement
The Packers made Golden — who spent two years at Houston and one at Texas before declaring for the draft — the 23rd overall pick in the first round in April. It didn’t take long for Golden to make a big first impression, especially with his quarterback.
“He’s shown up since Day 1 and just really showing his play style, showing what he’s all about,” Love told ESPN’s Kevin Clark. “He came in really polished and has been making plays since Day 1. He’s got very aggressive hands, he’s a smooth route runner, he’s got speed.”
Love said Golden is going to be a “stud.”
As an organization, the Packers have done nothing to hide their excitement over Golden’s potential as a player. LaFleur’s team has big plans for the rookie in 2025 and an increasingly optimistic outlook on Golden’s long-term potential as an impact player.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers GM sees encouraging signs from rookie WR Matthew Golden in training camp