Does Matthew Golden’s Rookie Season Spell Doom for His Future?

He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers earlier than most pass catchers in franchise history and underwhelmed to start his career.

A stable quarterback, injured teammates and training camp flashes opened the door for early opportunities. Instead, a myriad of setbacks stunted his development.

He missed time with injuries of his own and didn’t capitalize often enough when he had chances to make plays. The word bust was thrown around plenty, given preseason expectations and disappointing performances.

I’m, of course, talking about Davante Adams.

And the comparison is a significant reason Matthew Golden deserves the benefit of the doubt heading into the 2026 season, and beyond.

Adams has become one of the great receivers in the game over the last decade. He’s so great, in fact, it’s become easy to forget the growing pains the 2014 second-round pick from Fresno State faced.

As a rookie, Adams only caught 38 balls on 66 targets for 446 yards, tallying more drops (four) than touchdowns (three). In 2015, when Jordy Nelson tore his ACL in the preseason, Adams’ role was projected to expand significantly. After tons of training camp buzz, the only number that skyrocketed was his 12 drops. He had 50 catches, 483 yards and just one touchdown in his sophomore slump of a season.

Adams owned his down year, discussed not being proud of it and worked to improve on it.

The cliché third-year breakout from Adams happened, hauling in 75 catches for 997 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2016. He then made the Pro Bowl each of his next six seasons.

This isn’t to say Matthew Golden will be the next Davante Adams, but there are parallels to the trajectory a decade later. Even if the Golden breakout doesn’t happen as hoped in 2026, Adams remains one of the notable examples of why patience is essential.

No, Golden did nothing to stand out among a wide receiver group viewed as good, but lacking a true superstar. He only caught 29 passes for 361 yards. The number zero jersey he wears reflected his touchdowns scored as a rookie.

He played 59 % of the snaps or more in six of his first eight games. From Week 9 on, Golden exceeded a 37 percent snap share just once and dealt with shoulder and wrist issues that sidelined him in Weeks 10, 12 and 13. It was also that latter half of the season that saw Christian Watson emerge as the team’s best playmaker upon returning from a December 2024 ACL tear in Week 8.

Despite the shortcomings and challenges to see the field, Golden did show the ability to get open. He was second in the league with 3.5 yards of average separation, according to Next Gen Stats, even with the limited sample size. Eleven of his 29 receptions also moved the chains on third and fourth downs, which shows he was a capable option when the Packers needed to convert in big moments.

Golden’s path to emerging is twofold: Continue putting in the work, and Matt LaFleur must do the same. He needs to increase Golden’s snaps to get him in a rhythm instead of rotating him among a handful of solid, experienced pass catchers.

The depth chart has become less crowded heading into 2026 as the team has chosen its direction at receiver. They let Romeo Doubs sign with the Patriots in free agency and traded Dontayvion Wicks to the Eagles. They inked Watson and Jayden Reed to new deals after injury-limited 2025 seasons. Those moves present an encouraging window to boost Golden’s outlook this year.

It is now an eerily similar receiver room to Packers teams a decade ago.

Watson is the big-bodied, downfield threat with a high yards-per-catch mark like Jordy Nelson. Reed has played a significant amount of his career snaps in the slot in 11-personnel and has been a gadget guy much like Randall Cobb.

That leaves Golden to develop, like Adams, into the team’s most polished receiver who can get open at all three levels and seize opportunities.  

Golden was around fantasy WR90, depending on format, in 2025. He ranks outside the top 50 wide receivers in redraft heading into 2026, which feels about right given the lacking numbers as a rookie.

Hold onto Golden in dynasty leagues, though, and gauge the buy-low options from a disappointed manager if not currently rostered.

Dig deep into patience, and the chance to strike Golden is a very real one.