There has been nothing but positive buzz surrounding second-year wide receiver Matthew Golden at Green Bay Packers OTAs. However, Moe Moton of Bleacher Report is not buying it. Moton is selling the offseason hype of Golden.
It is fair that everyone looks good around this time of the year, and all coaches are trying to spin positive buzz heading into training camp. So reports that Jayden Reed is high on Golden, or that he is emerging as a top target for Jordan Love in practice, can be taken with a grain of salt.
Beyond that, Moton notes that Green Bay is not an offense to dial in on one player. They just extended Christian Watson, they already extended Jayden Reed, and they are talking extension with Tucker Kraft. All of them are going to be in the mix to steal targets from Golden.
Golden would have to get hurt to be as unproductive as his rookie season, given the chances he should get. However, predicting a breakthrough because the team lost Dontayvion Wicks, Romeo Doubs, and he is ascending is not quite realistic.
Matthew Golden Struggled in His Rookie Season With the Green Bay Packers
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)GREEN BAY Packers WR Matthew Golden
It was expected that Golden would start his career on the sidelines. Despite being a first-round pick, the team had four receivers ahead of him, so he could not necessarily get a lot of work. However, the real issues lie with what happened when he did get on the field.
Golden averaged 1.35 yards per route run. For comparison, Dontayvion Wicks was 1.39, Romeo Doubs was at 1.73, Jayden Reed was 1.83, and Christian Watson was all the way up at 2.51 YPRR. Even fellow rookie Savion Williams averaged 1.81 yards per route run, although he saw the field even less than Golden. Still, when he did see the field, he was more efficient than Golden.
He ranked fifth amongst qualified rookies in YPRR and was well behind his fellow first-round pick, Tet McMillan, and Emeka Egbuka. McMillan averaged 1.84 YPRR, and Egbuka was at 1.75. If Golden had low volume stats, but strong efficiency numbers, it would be one thing. However, right now, he is a blind bet on potential that has not been shown.
Setting Realistic Expectations For Matthew Golden
As of right now, Mike Clay of ESPN has Golden projected to create 874 yards on 67 receptions. That might not be a full-on breakout, but that would be much better than the season and much better than most expectations at this point.
The ascension of Golden would not just help the box score, but would free up a lot of the offense for the rest of the skill players. Jayden Reed is primarily a slot, while Christian Watson tends to be a deep ball merchant.
The team has Tucker Kraft, who can be used in a variety of ways, but he takes on tight end duties. The team does not have an outside threat that can beat press coverage to create separation in tight spaces. That was Wicks and Doubs’ role last year. The production might not matter as much as the impact he has in the room.
Analyst Throws Cold Water on Matthew Golden OTA Hype