The Packers got a glimpse of first-round rookie wide receiver Matthew Golden, but not much more than that, in Saturday night’s preseason opener against the New York Jets.
Golden caught one pass for seven yards and later drew a pass interference penalty, showing a bit of the impact that his speed can have on the game.
While Golden is likely to see his playing time pick up over the next two weeks, even if quarterback Jordan Love is sidelined due to a thumb injury.
Packers WR Matthew Golden’s PFF Grade Revealed
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Golden’s limited playing time still afforded him an opportunity to have one of the better performances by a rookie across the league.
According to Pro Football Focus, Golden finished as the 28th-ranked rookie in Week 1 of the preseason, while garnering a 65.6 overall grade.
“Golden was officially targeted only once in his NFL debut. He hauled that slant pass from Jordan Love in to record a first down against veteran Brandon Stephens,” Dalton Wasserman writes for PFF. “On another occasion, Golden ran a slant route against Sauce Gardner that fell incomplete, but Gardner was called for pass interference. The Packers will likely figure out how to better use Golden’s skill set as they expand his playing time.”
How Golden’s development this summer is impacted by Love’s absence remains to be seen, but the Packers are optimistic that the Texas product can become a focal point of the passing game, in a receiving corps that has been plagued by dropped passes and inconsistency the past two seasons.
Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
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