The wide receiver room has received some reinforcements.
After years of clamoring for a first-round pick at receiver, the fanbase got its wish with Matthew Golden arriving in Green Bay.
Not content to just add one receiver to the pass catching group, general manager Brian Gutekunst selected another receiver in the third round, TCU’s Savion Williams.
Golden and Williams will likely see time on the field this coming season.
Whether or not they become starters remains to be seen.
The most likely role for Golden will be as the team’s speed threat.
Does that put him on the field as a starter? Maybe not, but he’ll see plenty of snaps with Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks all rotating.
Golden’s advantage comes in that he has positional versatility. He played both outside and in the slot while at Texas, which is something Steve Sarkisian lauded him for.
The Packers have had a lot of success with receivers that have that versatility as well. Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams are a few players who come to mind.
Williams will be the chess piece of this group.
The Packers say they view him as a traditional receiver, but that would be a waste of the skillset that Williams provides, especially as a rookie who likely will have an adjustment period at the pro level.
Williams lined up all over the place at TCU. He played receiver but also as a running back and wildcat quarterback.
The Packers will likely have a special package of plays in their offense for him, while he will likely be one of the team’s primary kick returners.
Deebo Samuel and Cordarrelle Patterson are going to be popular comparisons thrown around, but Williams runs more violently than either of the aforementioned players, which makes his potential as exciting as it is.
From a usage standpoint, the Packers likely would use him in the same manner they once used Tyler Ervin.
Ervin was the team’s jet-sweep guy, kickoff returner and occasionally lined up in the backfield.
Ervin was a useful player, especially during the 2020 season, when the Packers were one of the best offenses in football. Aaron Rodgers won the league’s MVP that season.
Adding two receivers also likely means there will be some subtractions from the room.
That’s true both now and at the conclusion of the 2025 season.
For now, it’s hard to envision two of Bo Melton, Malik Heath and Mecole Hardmon making the roster.
After the season is over, Watson and Doubs are set to have their contracts expire.
It’s possible that one or both of those players will be playing their final season in Green Bay.
Both have had issues with injuries. Watson will likely miss most of the 2025 season, making his future even cloudier than it would have already been.
Doubs had two concussions last season, including a scary instance where he had to be physically flipped over by the training staff in Philadelphia.
He also was suspended last season for conduct detrimental to the team.
Both players could be on their way out, with Reed and Wicks next on the list of players who have contract decisions coming up.
Regardless of what the Packers decide, they knew they had to bring in some reinforcements.
The draft appears to have done just that, starting with their first round pick.
Javon Walker
Golden was a historic selection because of the drought that preceded him. Every year during the draft cycle, we hear the stories how the Packers had not drafted a receiver in the first round since 2002.
That year, then general manager Mike Sherman traded up to select Javon Walker out of Florida State to give Brett Favre another weapon as they chased a second Super Bowl win with Favre under center.
Walker took a little time but did find his way into a starring role.
Walker caught 63 passes in his first two seasons for just over 1,000 yards.
The leap, however, was foreseeable as he caught nine scoring passes from Favre in 2003.
Without question, Walker’s most memorable game came in 2003 when Favre was playing with a heavy heart in Oakland. Favre’s father, Irvin, had just died.
Walker and the rest of the receivers made a pact to catch anything Favre put in the air.
They did, with Walker’s game being the biggest.
He caught four passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns. One of the scoring strikes from Favre came among three Raider defenders.
Walker coupled that performance with a big wild card game against the Seattle Seahawks, where he had 111 yards receiving.
Walker’s breakout year came in 2004.
He caught 89 passes for 1,382 yards and eight touchdowns.
He had begun to blossom into the team’s best receiver.
Unfortunately, Walker tore his ACL in the season opener in 2005.
That was the last time Walker would wear a Packers uniform. After he would threaten to retire rather than play for the Packers again prior to his injury, the Packers decided to move on.
He was traded to Denver during the summer of 2006 for a second round pick.
That pick eventually turned into three more picks, which landed them Darryn Colledge.
The Packers would also draft Walker’s replacement, Greg Jennings, in the same draft class.
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