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When Matthew Golden went out of the green space at the 2025 NFL draft in Green Bay this last Thursday, he appeared as a member of Packers – and the fans of the hometown let him hear how excited they were.
The surreal moment still feels like a dream for Golden.
“Just as it happened, I feel like God made it happen like that for a reason. It’s something that will stick to forever,” he told Pakinomist Digital, while also discussing his time working with tides at the draft.
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The broad recipient Matthew Golden of Texas sets with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and president and CEO of Green Bay Packers Mark Murphy after being elected twenty-third overall election of Green Bay Packers during the first round of 2025 NFL draft at Lambeau Field on April 24, 2025 in Green Bay. (IMagn)
Golden’s answer about his draft day moment says it all in terms of how much faith plays a big role in his life.
Houston, Texas, natives said he “grew up in the church house”, where he learned to play the drums of six years old.
Packers’ Matthew Golden untouched for pressure after historical choice: ‘I have something to prove’
The strong faith as well as a strong family connection has helped to drive the Golden to the NFL’s heights today. And he knows he would not be in this position without these two supports in his life.
“There were times of hardship, hit me, and God was the one who was there for me,” Golden explained. “There were times that people doubted me and I would sometimes give up. But to return to God, he decided to get a hit.”
NFL Draft Prospect, Matthew Golden from Texas, signs autographs under the NFL Draft Red Carpet event at Lambeau Field in Green Bay on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (IMagn)
One of the biggest pieces of adversity came in 2023 when Golden suffered a foot injury while playing for Houston Cougars. After a solid nine games, he had to miss the rest of the season because of it.
“It was the first time football was taken away from me,” Golden said of the injury. “So I didn’t know how to handle it and I was frustrated. But at that time my relationship with God grew much stronger and I began to understand that it happened for a reason.”
Golden would enter the transfer portal in December of that year, and he landed with Longhorns and remained in Texas not so far from home.
Golden posted his best college season in his one year with Texas, where he stood 58 receptions in 987 yards and nine touchdowns over 16 games to help the team reach college football playoffs.
He later ran a 4.29 40-yard strike at the NFL scouting combination and cemented his place as one of the best recipients of this year’s class, and Packers jumped on the opportunity to create franchise history.
The broad recipient Matthew Golden embraces NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, after Packers chose him with the 23rd election during the first round of the 2025 NFL draft on Thursday, April 24, 2025 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The draft runs through April 26. (IMagn)
For the first time since 2002, Packers chose a recipient in the first round of the NFL draft, and Golden is ready for this next chapter in his football career.
“When I look back, it certainly makes sense, and as I said, God brought me through everything I went through in my life for a reason. I feel like it really is what made me who I am today and that’s why I am who I am.”
