2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Matthew Golden
- Jack Gaffney
- Apr 1
- 6 min read
In an intriguing wide receiver draft class, the most interesting name here is Texas' Matthew Golden: A transfer to the Longhorns after a two-year run with the Houston Cougars and was a standout performer for Texas in their unsuccessful push for a National Title. He would put up a combined 15 catches for 311 yards and a score in just the SEC Championship Game vs. Georgia and the Peach Bowl vs. Arizona State alone.
Even with the postseason heroics being a nice feather in Golden's cap, it's fair to mention he's never had a 1000-yard campaign (he was less than 15 yards shy in 2024), has missed several games in both of his seasons with Houston, and doesn't have much to show on the trophy shelf. Has that stopped his hype one bit? Absolutely not. He's peaked on the MockDraftDatabase Consensus Big Board at 19th (and sits 20th as of March 31st), and several high-profile draft analysts have him graded/ranked higher than Arizona's Tet McMillan. Most notably, the NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah, the (sadly outgoing) 33rd Team's Kyle Crabbs, and Todd McShay.
Golden's key trait that has been lauded for is his speed. He barely broke into the high 4.2 range in the 40-yard dash on the combine, and even better is that he's not just a go-route guy, the exact opposite, actually. Hayden Winks and Josh Norris go over this in their breakdown, but he ranks 45th in this WR class in go route target percentage in 2024 at just 26%, and his ability on hitches is something you've potentially seen mentioned as a plus. All that being said, with the lack of hype before 2024, is the Texas product the best pure (aka non-Travis Hunter) wide receiver in the 2025 NFL Draft?
Player Bio
Name: Matthew Golden
Jersey: No. 2
Position: Wide Receiver
School: Texas (by way of the U. of Houston)
Class: Junior
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 191 lbs
Games Watched: vs. Michigan, Georgia (Both Games), and Arizona State (Peach Bowl) (2024)
Major Injury History: Golden would miss around a month of action in his freshman season with a rib injury. Then, in his sophomore season, an early November foot injury ended his 2023 early.
RAS Comparison:
Player Breakdown
Hands/Ball Security (8.5/10)
While concentration drops have been a common critique of Golden's game, I can't say I saw any across these four 2024 games. That said, drops have been a historical concern for him, with 14 over the last three years, and there was definitely one fumble in a very odd play vs. Georgia in the SEC Championship, which ultimately didn't result in a fumble. Ultimately, his hands were better than expected, especially high pointing the ball and a few grabs out of his frame that popped up, but not one of his defining traits.
Contested Catch (8.75/10)
This is another area where, on the whole, Golden was solid but did make strides in 2024. Between his two years at Houston and one down in Austin, he's a career 47% contested catch receiver, which would put him a fraction behind Brian Thomas Jr. as a reference point. Only counting last year, however, he was 11-for-18 according to A-to-Z Sports, aka 61.1%, which is great. It's not near Tet McMillan or Travis Hunter, but you can live with something between those numbers for a guy like Golden. I would also like him to box out more in some cases. There were a couple of out routes that were admittedly not great passes by Quinn Ewers but certainly catchable, where leaving some room for the corner led to interceptions.
Tracking/Ball Skills (9.25/10)
Golden's ability around the ball popped up big time in the SEC Championship Game vs. Georgia and then the Peach Bowl vs. ASU. As well as the regular season game vs. Georgia here. (Kirby Smart's reaction as the play is going is TREMENDOUS, by the way)
His hand-eye coordination in these situations, working vertically especially, was excellent, and that should, in theory, travel with him to the league.
Route Running (9.5/10)
In my book, route running is the best ability Golden brings to the table. He's excellent at hitch routes in that he can control the pace of whoever's in front of him perfectly, and that will serve him well in the NFL, given the frequency of how the league has boundary guys run them. While I can't say I saw him running every single route on the tree, I thought his ability to work laterally was excellent, and there's some potential to get better and do real damage on post and corner routes if the game speed could improve a little bit. It's worth noting that Golden was dealing with a high ankle sprain at the very end of the year.
Separation (9.5/10)
Touched on this a matter of seconds ago, but Golden's ability to generate separation working laterally and on hitch routes is superb. His usage of speed manipulation and good route-running technique makes a world of difference. He had one Georgia DB, sophomore Daniel Harris, in the 1996-97 Lex Luger Torture Rack in the SEC title game, specifically on second-level in-routes.
Release (7.5/10)
The one thing that would scare me about Golden, which ties into his release package, is his ability, or lack thereof, to produce coverage against (press) men. His yards per route run vs. man coverage is extremely low compared to his peers in this class, and that's something you could see on tape. He struggled with extra physicality and being jammed and needs to find ways to make up for that without sacrificing his game speed.
Run After the Catch (8.75/10)
The biggest thing that would help Golden be an even better YAC guy is bulking up to ward off contact and at least become adequate at forcing missed tackles, but he's fully capable of being a playmaker after the catch. Take this opening offensive play vs. Arizona State in the Peach Bowl, for instance.
Vertical Speed (9.25/10)
Now, having seen a healthy share of game reps for Golden, I can say I didn't see the 4.29 speed with him, which is a bit odd. That said, he's certainly fast enough to make defenses nervous as a true three-level threat, and he spent a ton of his non-target snaps doing some good clearout work underneath. Defenses clearly respected/feared his speed, even if he's not a 99th percentile speed guy.
Burst/Acceleration (4.75/5)
Golden's first step/jolt off the snap is spectacular, which certainly explains his 1.47-second 10-yard split in the 40. That serves him extra well on these hitches/comebackers, speeding defensive backs up to generate extra space, stopping on a dime, and getting back up to speed again.
Athleticism (4.75/5)
Golden didn't do any athletic testing outside of the 40, but judging by his game tape, I imagine he would've scored very well in the explosion and agility metrics. This shouldn't come as a surprise either, but Golden was a track and field athlete in high school, primarily as a sprinter.
Blocking (3.25/5)
While not spectacular, Golden had a notably better sample of blocking snaps than either Tet McMillan or Travis Hunter. Assuming he adds some mass, he should be fine moving forward in the NFL.
Versatility (4/5)
Golden can line up all over the formation, and Steve Sarkisian wasn't shy about using him in pre-snap motion, either. I do think he'd be limited a bit as a slot or X in year one, and his best usage would be as a primary Z receiver with some X usage against some lighter/smaller corners.
Player Summary
Golden's lack of production compared to others in this class will/already is being used against him, but he's an exciting prospect who's better than his numbers suggest. His ability to create separation, run routes at a high level, and be a multi-level pass-catching threat should make him a sought-after guy in the first round this month. I don't know how the dynamic would work beyond this year, and they'll not go WR in round one anyway; but I would LOVE Golden to end up with his hometown team, the Texans, and play off of Nico Collins as a Z receiver.
Realistically, though, I guess Golden will wind up coming off the board in the 17-24 range. While I have him graded above Tet McMillan, I'd expect him to be the third receiver off the board behind him and Travis Hunter. Keep an eye on a team like the Seahawks, Packers, or Steelers (there's no way they keep DK and Pickens on the same team, imo, too much volatility) as likely destinations for the Longhorn product.
Rookie Projection: Starting Z Receiver
Third-Year Projection: Elite No. 2 Wide Receiver
Final Grade: (87.75/100) Mid-First-Round Talent
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