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In the 2025 NFL Draft, the Packers selected …
Matthew Golden | WR
Anthony Belton | OT
Savion Williams | WR
Barryn Sorrell | EDGE
Collin Oliver | EDGE
Warren Brinson | DL
Micah Robinson | CB
John Williams | OT
Green Bay Packers | Draft Grade: D-
The Packers, who played host to this year’s draft, used the occasion to let their hair down. After years of eschewing receivers in the first round in deference to infrastructure positions, the Packers took WR Matthew Golden at 1.23. They weren’t done, double-tapping WR Savion Williams two rounds later.
Golden blazed a 4.29 40 at the NFL Combine, the eighth-fastest showing by a receiver since 2013. Golden proved in college that he could win at all three levels from either the slot or boundary. Over his three-year career, Golden was 85th percentile in separation rate, per PFF.
In 2024, Golden was 89th percentile in receiving grade against single-coverage. Of the consensus top-5 receivers in this class, only Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan had a higher target share in the middle and deep sectors of the field than Golden in 2024.
WR Savion Williams is the illegitimate love child of Cordarrelle Patterson and Laviska Shenault. He’s an elite athlete with great burst and speed, and he runs with power. But Williams utterly lacks route-running feel and ball skills. You must manufacture his touches close to the line of scrimmage.
Ian Hartitz: On the one hand, Golden's first-round draft capital could result in him leading Green Bay's passing game in routes and targets. On the other hand, it's far from a guarantee that Matt LaFleur kicks his incumbent foursome to the curb. I'd expect the Texas speedster to replace Dontayvion Wicks in the starting lineup, but similar to the Egbuka-McMillan equation, we aren't guaranteed to see the rookie run away with a true full-time role inside an offense that loves to keep plenty of WRs involved. Still, Jordan Love and LaFleur have demonstrated the ability to operate this passing attack at a high level. I have the 23rd overall pick neck-and-neck with his new teammate Jayden Reed in the high-end WR4 range for the time being.