The Green Bay Packers have historically been one of the franchises across the NFL that leans the furthest into building through the NFL Draft.
However, general manager Brian Gutekunst and the Packers’ haul in the 2025 NFL Draft class didn’t just leave much to be desired; they barely made an impact on Green Bay’s season, which came to an end last Saturday night at Soldier Field in an NFC Wild Card loss to the Chicago Bears.
Packers’ rookie class ranked near bottom of the NFL
While some rookies are making direct impacts on their team’s postseason run, Packers first-round rookie receiver Matthew Golden’s big plays against the Bears were merely too little, too late, both in the game and in his rookie season.
Over at ESPN, Aaron Schatz ranked each team’s rookie class’s impact on the 2025 season, with the Packers finishing No. 29 in the league.
“Golden caught only 29 passes for 361 yards and a touchdown in 2025,” Schatz writes for ESPN. “Look for him to play a bigger role in the offense in future years. We’ll also see how Savion Williams develops; the third-round gadget receiver had 11 carries for 37 yards and 10 catches for 78 yards and a touchdown.
“The Packers also got seven starts from second-round offensive lineman Anthony Belton and contributions from defensive linemen Warren Brinson (13 tackles) and the undrafted Nazir Stackhouse (12 tackles).”
One season is far too small a sample size to completely judge any of these picks as players, but, it was an inauspicious start for Green Bay’s rookies.
How Golden, Williams, Belton, and others elevate their game in 2026 will be pivotal, both to their career trajectory and the Packers’ chances at making a deep postseason run.
