To say that Matthew Golden's rookie season was disappointing wouldn't even tell half of the story. Expectations were sky-high for the Green Bay Packers' first first-round wide receiver in decades, but he only showed flashes.
Of course, plenty of that also falls on Matt LaFleur and his coaching staff. He took things slowly with their first-round wideout, just like this team usually does with rookies. Now, it's time to take the training wheels off.
It's early in training camp, but it looks like Golden has taken big strides between seasons. According to Packers Report's Jacob Morley, his arrow is trending up after making some big-time catches in practice.
Matthew Golden can save the Packers' controversial offseason
"I hope you didn't sell your Matthew Golden stock," Morley shared on X.
Having Golden take a leap is huge for self-explanatory reasons. That said, there are other benefits beyond the obvious, such as validating the front office's polarizing decision to tear up the wide receiver room.
Romeo Doubs was always a long shot to return, and he was an unrestricted free agent, so that one's not necessarily on the Packers. However, trading Dontayvion Wicks was a controversial move, especially given the set of unproven guys left on the roster.
As things stand now, Christian Watson is the clear-cut WR1 in Green Bay, but as a former first-round pick, one can only hope that Matthew Golden can claim that spot from him in no time, hopefully as soon as next season.
As good as he is, Watson simply can't be trusted to stay on the field. And while Golden isn't the biggest or sturdiest guy out there, he has the physical tools to be the team's primary offensive focus if he figures things out. He's trending in the right direction, and that should only help him earn more touches after drawing just 44 targets in his rookie season.
His speed can make him the big-play threat they've missed for years, but he's far from a one-trick pony, and it'll be up to Coach LaFleur to figure out how to get him involved in all three levels of the field and facets of the offense.
The Packers went from having a logjam at wide receiver to rolling the dice on an injury-prone guy, a second-year breakout candidate, and Jayden Reed. It's nice to see that their gamble is paying off early on in training camp. Hopefully, he can keep the momentum going when it actually counts.
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