The Green Bay Packers are hosting Texas wide receiver Matthew Golden on an official pre-draft visit ahead of the 2025 NFL draft, according to Bill Huber of SI.com. Golden posted a story on his Instagram account showing him flying into Green Bay on Thursday night, suggesting the visit is set for Friday.
Every team is allowed to host up to 30 prospects on visits before the draft. It appears the Packers will use one of their 30 on a speedy playmaker.
Golden (5-11, 191) ran the 40-yard dash in 4.29 seconds, the fastest time by a receiver at the NFL Scouting Combine. The Houston transfer caught 58 passes for 987 yards and nine touchdowns across 16 games with Texas last season. Over three collegiate seasons, Golden caught 22 touchdown passes and returned two kickoffs for touchdowns.
Golden is currently the No. 19 overall player on the consensus big board, suggesting the Packers -- who hold the No. 23 overall pick -- would have to use a first-round pick to acquire him later this month.
Golden was excellent in big games for Texas last season, producing 162 yards against Georgia in the SEC title game and 149 yards against Arizona State in the College Football Players quarterfinals -- both wins for the Longhorns.
"Golden’s starting-level traits and big leap forward as a go-to playmaker have him primed to become a productive catch-maker with the potential to develop into a WR1 in the future," Lance Zierlein of NFL.com wrote of Golden in his draft profile.
Could the Packers break an over two-decade run without taking a first-round receiver by taking Golden at No. 23 overall? The team will have a full evaluation profile on Golden after attending the Texas pro day and bringing Golden to Green Bay for a visit.
The Packers certainly have a need at receiver, where Christian Watson is recovering from a torn ACL and is entering a contract year, Romeo Doubs is coming off a season with two concussions and a bizarre one-game suspension, and both Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks struggled to finish catches. A draft pick at receiver could be needed to help charge up the passing game in 2025 and stabilize the position in 2026 and beyond.
Golden was the No. 64 player on Brennen Rupp's "Unpacking Future Packers" draft preview series at Packers Wire.
Packers Wire's full tracker of the team's 30 pre-draft visits can be found here.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers hosting Texas ...
