Fans react to the Green Bay Packers pick of Matthew Golden
NFL draft attendees react to the Green Bay Packers pick of Texas Longhorn wide receiver Matthew Golden during the 2025 NFL draft in Green Bay.
Green Bay delivered a superb party for the 2025 NFL Draft, bringing in hundreds of thousands to the parking area around Lambeau Field for a once-in-a-lifetime showcase.
From someone on the ground (the first two days, at least), here were the lasting takeaways:
It seemed … totally amazing?
There’s a danger in calling something an unqualified success, because there were so many people and, no doubt, many perspectives on how this worked. But it sure seemed like a home run for Green Bay and for the fans at the draft.
At the risk of saying wholly nice things about a corporate monstrosity like the NFL, the sheer volume of infrastructure was a sight to behold.
The temporary measures — massive tented venues and seating areas, fencing around the perimeter, restrooms, boosted cellular capabilities — makes you realize this isn’t the league’s first rodeo. It knows how to build quickly and staff properly. Workers and signage were everywhere (though perhaps not for shuttle-bus routes).
You can even be slightly conflicted that they built a dive bar out of whole cloth in one exhibit to capture Wisconsin culture and say to yourself, “but the whole point of a dive bar is to have a grungy, longstanding, lived-in space.” I digress and still appreciate the concept and execution.
There were bound to be some hiccups, like rainy and cold weather on Day 2, long drink lines on Day 1 or, in this case, hundreds of people who showed up and couldn’t get in (we’ll get to that in a second).
But in general, this was a lot of fun, and it felt like an unforgettable moment for all the right reasons.
Mark Murphy provides the best moment of the draft
If Matthew Golden works out as a receiver in Green Bay, Mark Murphy’s introduction to the first-round pick, “For the first time since 2002 …” will live forever in Packers lore.
The energy on the grounds went through the roof with those words, dawning quickly on the savvy Packers fans that he was saying the team had just selected a wide receiver in the first round.
That Golden was in attendance heightened the moment all the more, especially when he grabbed the microphone to address the crowd directly. We’ll obviously forgive the call-and-response chant of “Green Bay!” instead of “Go! Pack! Go!” for someone so new to the community.
But it’s especially perfect that Murphy, the outgoing president whose work to bring the draft to Green Bay might be his crowning achievement, got the chance to shine.
In the crowd, this was easily the moment of the draft.
The number of people who couldn’t get in to the stage area
I wasn’t prepared for the notification that arrived with a half-hour before the start of the draft on Day 1, indicating that the venue had reached capacity.
I hadn’t considered that something like that was going to happen, and neither had the thousands of fans who didn’t get a chance to walk into the NFL Draft Experience area that includes the stage.
This was, after all, a free event to attend, so it perhaps comes with the risk of becoming too crowded. But I certainly hadn’t considered the possibility that those flocking to Lambeau Field — many from far away — faced the threat of not getting a chance to set foot in the stage area. I walked past multiple parties who were expecting to meet others inside, only to learn they’d been stopped short of entry.
Those fans did have a place to go, with access to Lambeau Field’s atrium and the seating bowl, plus areas outside the fenced-off perimeter to see the draft on a big screen.
And, if we’re looking at the philosophical big picture, there really isn’t much to gain watching a pseudo-event like the draft while crammed into a space shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers vs. watching on TV.
But obviously, it’s a bummer so many people got left at the gate.
Fans take a break from booing the Bears … but only temporarily
From Clay Matthews’ presidential-inspired pronouncement from the stage that “The Bears still suck” to the playful ribbing from WWE star and Bears fan Seth Rollins on Day 2, the tete-a-tete between the Packers and Bears was an ongoing storyline during the draft.
Rollins pointed out that quarterback Caleb Williams was undefeated across the street at Lambeau Field (at 1-0). Booooooo.
But I was impressed with the respect paid to the stage when commissioner Roger Goodell began speaking before announcing the 10th pick, recognizing former Bears defensive lineman Steve McMichael, a recent Hall of Fame inductee who just died this week after a long battle with ALS. McMichael also happened to play his final year in the league with the Packers.
The booing stopped as Goodell spoke about McMichael. But the second he moved on to announcing the pick, the booing resumed, like a switch had been flipped. The perfect mix of rivalry and reverence.
The red carpet is probably something we could do without
I was among the representatives from the Journal Sentinel lucky enough to cover the “red carpet” inside Lambeau Field, waiting for prospects to parade past so we could ask silly questions about fashion, expectations, anticipation, etc.
Along with several other members of local media outlets, we were stationed at the very end of an 80-yard strip of land intended to set up brief, exclusive interviews with a litany of NFL media, partners and influencers.
By the time the athletes got to us, most of them were understandably tired of the gauntlet and passed without acknowledging us. That wasn’t true for everyone — Shemar Stewart, Tyler Booker, Ashton Jeanty, Will Campbell and, most serendipitously, Matthew Golden, were among those who still chatted with us at length.
I admit this is going to sound like a media complaint, but, yes, it was a little frustrating for all local media to get chiseled into a small spot at the end of a long runway and wait for hours, only to miss out on numerous athletes.
But who can blame the athletes for being exhausted? That is a lot of interviews, coming on the heels of a media availability Wednesday and mere hours from the biggest night in their lives, when cameras will continue to be following them. By the time they get to us, they’ve already answered the same litany of 4-6 questions probably 25 times.
More than that, Lambeau Field filled up with a few thousand fans trying to catch a glimpse of the athletes, but the setup includes a backdrop-laden wall that shields the “red carpet” walkers from view in the stands. So it’s not particularly comfortable for the media or the athletes, and not ideal for the fans in attendance.
Which brings me back to the main issue: Why are we doing this, again?
If it’s all about the fashion, it feels like that can just get handled by an official photographer? I love the access and think it’s important to include the local media, who have a vested interest in relaying every angle of the draft experience. But it feels like something that solely exists to generate a viral moment of some kind, all the while annoying just about everyone involved.
Everybody loves A.J. Hawk
Speaking of Packers drafts, A.J. Hawk was often seen as a disappointment as the No. 5 overall pick in the 2006 draft, even though he had a reasonably suitable career for nine years with the Packers as an inside linebacker. But the tide has changed on Hawk.
Now better known as the straight-faced sidekick on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Hawk’s name was getting all-out chants from Packers fans on hand trying to glimpse a filming of the show on the Lambeau grounds. Guests on the progrum (if you know, you know) included former Packers coach Mike McCarthy, who also got some cheers from the fans in attendance.
Speaking of former Packers players on hand as media members, Desmond Howard learned on air that first-round pick Matthew Golden would be donning No. 81, the same number Howard wore when he was named Super Bowl XXXI MVP for the Packers. Howard was part of the ABC “College GameDay” crew.
Melvin Gordon with a clever dual fit
Day 2 featured numerous Wisconsin Badgers players and alumni announcing picks, with a clear attempt to get the state’s lone Division I football program heavily involved in the ceremony.
Former UW running back Melvin Gordon took his Wisconsin connection to a fashion-forward level, wearing a Brewers-logo jacket with the colors of the team he represented, the Chargers.
Emotion of the moment wins the day
Every draft gets remembered for the elated reaction by players in attendance:
The joy of Alabama guard Tyler Booker hugging everyone in sight and bouncing out to the stage as a new Dallas Cowboy or when Jihaad Campbell became a Philadelphia Eagle.
The emotion that forced new Patriots tackle Will Campbell to pause his on-stage interview.
Of course, the way Golden took hold of the crowd with his address.
And then, a surprise: Packers fourth-round pick Bradyn Sorrell, who was in attendance, unannounced. He made a surprise emotional journey to the stage when his name was called early Saturday, then descended the stage to high-five Packers fans.
How awesome.