Expect Jordan Love’s deep passing to improve with Golden in the mix
When the Green Bay Packers used their 2025 first-round pick on Texas wide receiver Matthew Golden, it was famously the first time in 23 years that the team had used a first-rounder on a player at that position. Given that he’s the first wideout on whom they used a first-round selection since Javon Walker in 2002, it should come as no surprise that the Packers have very high hopes for what he can bring to the offense.
“I’m excited to see just his potential on the football field,” quarterback Jordan Love said of Golden, via The Athletic. “But just the start we’ve had, doing routes on air and things like that, he looks like a stud, looks like a very polished receiver, so I’m excited to see just how far he can take it.”
The Packers have a crowded wide receiver room, with Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Dontayvion Wicks, Bo Melton and the injured Christian Watson joining Golden, third-round pick Savion Williams and free-agent acquisition Mecole Hardman. But the combination of speed and crisp route-running Golden brings to the table is unique among the group.
“The speed speaks for itself. Running a 40-yard dash, any time you get a 4.2, that’s some blazing speed right there, so I’m excited to see how fast he is on the field,” Love said of Golden, who is 30 to 1 to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, per FanDuel Sportsbook. “I’ve seen all the highlights, all the good stuff, so we’ll see once we get practice rolling and everything how good he is.”
Head coach Matt LaFleur also reference the speed when talking about what Golden can bring to the table, and specifically how that speed can help the team’s deep passing game.
“You always want to kind of connect with the quarterback when you give him some pieces, so I Facetimed him and he’s like, ‘Man, sub-4.3 … I gotta get that arm loose,’ ” LaFleur said, referring to a call he and Love had after the team selected Golden. “So he can roll, and I said, ‘Hey, man, you’re just going to have to get that ball up on time and out early.’ ”
Love threw deep (20-plus yards downfield) on 16% of his pass attempts in 2024, according to Tru Media, good for the second-highest rate among qualified quarterbacks. But his production on those deep balls was only average: He ranked 16th in completion percentage, success rate and explosive plays per dropback, as well as 14th in EPA per play. All this despite throwing catchable passes at the league’s sixth-highest rate, again via Tru Media. It’s just that his receivers didn’t come down with those catchable passes very often, as 39.7% of his catchable deep passes fell incomplete. That’s compared with a league average of 32%.
Last season at Texas, Golden finished tied for eighth in the country with 13 receptions and four touchdowns on throws at least 20 yards downfield. And he did so despite seeing just 22 downfield targets, which makes it even more impressive. If he can come anywhere close to replicating that production in Green Bay, it will go a long way toward helping the Packers’ offense reach the level it fell short of achieving despite high expectations come into last season.