Last year, the Green Bay Packers broke a 23-year streak. Matthew Golden became the first wide receiver taken by the Packers in the first round of the NFL Draft since they took Javon Walker No. 20 in 2002.
We're talking about an organization that never spent a first-round draft pick to give Aaron Rodgers a wide receiver. As such, expectations were understandably sky-high for the speedy Golden, who ran a 4.29-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine.
All things considered, that's also why his rookie campaign was so disappointing. And, now that the Packers seem ready to unleash him in year two, they might be getting themselves into some dangerous waters.
The Packers don't have a Plan B for Matthew Golden
The Packers traded Dontayvion Wicks and let Romeo Doubs walk away in free agency. They didn't make any big move to replace the two departed pass catchers, hinting at a bigger usage for their first-round pick in year two.
Granted, some of his struggles were clearly due to his usage -- or lack thereof -- and the Packers usually err on the side of caution with their rookies. That said, they may not have seen enough from him to give him such a huge vote of confidence.
If he's healthy, Christian Watson will be this team's undisputed WR1. Jayden Reed can also help take some pressure off his shoulders, and Tucker Kraft should reclaim his spot as the team's prime chain-mover once he gets back to full strength.
That said, Golden will also have to do much more than he did in his first year in the league if Matt LaFleur's team wants to stand a chance in the stacked NFC North. The Packers' head coach has a sharp and creative offensive mind, and he must put his young pass catcher in a position to succeed.
All in all, Golden finished his rookie campaign with 29 receptions on 44 targets for 361 yards, and he failed to reach the endzone before finally finding paydirt in the Wild Card loss to the Chicago Bears. He also had ten carries for 39 yards.
There will always be a learning curve and some ups and downs with first-year players, and blaming Golden for what went wrong last season would be accurate and unfair. Still, who's to say he's not going to be a bust like so many former first-round picks before him?
The Packers probably can't afford to enter the Stefon Diggs, Tyreek Hill, or Deebo Samuel sweepstakes, and maybe they don't even need to aim that high. Still, they went from having a logjam at wide receiver to potentially being extremely thin at the position.
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