A transfer from Houston, Matthew Golden blew away most scouts and analysts over the course of the 2024 season. He served as the teams leading receiver and kick returner in 2024. His production was spotty over his career, but good in 2024 surrounded by a lot of talent. Golden was able to stand out as a man among his peers, something that should help his projection in the 2025 NFL Draft.

HT: 5115
WT: 190
Year: Junior
HS: Klein Cain (Houston, TX)
HS Rate: 4 star (92.35)
Transfer: 4 star (92.30)

The best thing about Matthew Golden is that he has an overall good skill set. With the right scheme, he can be a very productive receiver in the NFL.

WR Matthew Golden, Texas

Pros:

• Has good speed, long strider. Moves faster than he looks like he’s moving.
• Very quick and sudden movement and change of direction ability.
• Excellent acceleration and explosiveness.
• Good, strong hands. Made some one-handed grabs look easy.
• Shows a very solid catch radius.
• Very good receiver through contact. Made some spectacular plays through contact.
• Has a phenomenal release, sets up his second move expertly.
• Very solid route runner overall. Fairly nuanced as a route runner.
• Tracks the deep ball very well, handles catches over his shoulder well.
• Very strong RAC ability, uses good field vision and high-end change of direction ability to manipulate defenders in space.

Cons:

• Average body control.
• Displays some issues with concentration drops.
• Doesn’t always display the ability to work the sidelines very well. Struggles at times to get two feet down in-bounds.
• Not a very consistent run blocker, struggles on the perimeter.

Projection: 2nd/3rd Round

Projected Role: Low-End WR2/High-End WR3