Training camp is still a few weeks away, but the conversation around the Packers is already shifting toward who’s ready to take the next step on offense.
With Green Bay having moved on from a few pieces on that side of the ball this offseason, the door is open for someone to grab a bigger role. In Matt Schneidman’s view at The Athletic, that player is Matthew Golden.
Golden’s rookie season didn’t match the hype that followed him into the league. Schneidman pointed to the numbers: “The Packers’ 2025 first-round pick didn’t have the season anyone thought he would.
Golden ranked tied for 85th among wide receivers last season with 44 targets, tied for 84th with 29 catches and 78th with 361 receiving yards, according to TruMedia,” Schneidman wrote. “He didn’t score his first career touchdown until the playoffs.
With the offseason departures of Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks, the Packers have a defined top three wide receivers of Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and Golden, who should get plenty more opportunities in the passing game with a year in Green Bay’s offense under his belt.
That’s the opening Golden has been waiting for. He came into the league with plenty of buzz, but the Packers had so many mouths to feed in the passing game that his chances never really lined up the way people expected. Now the picture is cleaner, and Jordan Love should be looking his way more often.
Golden has the talent to make this jump, and Year 2 is shaping up as his chance to prove it. With the offense needing to settle in early, his development could become one of the bigger storylines for Green Bay as it tries to position itself among the NFC’s best again.
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Packers Have A Hidden Backfield Problem That Could Derail 2026
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Chris Brooks is viewed as the third-down option, while MarShawn Lloyd is next in line if Green Bay has to reach deeper into the depth chart. That is where the concern starts to sharpen for 2026, because the Packers are one injury, one setback, or one stretch of missed time away from asking a lot more of their backups than the roster may be built to handle. [Read more 🡒]