The 5-foot-11, 191-pound wideout might not have the measurables, but he plays strong, tracks the ball well downfield and can finish through the catch point. Golden needs to work on his route breaks and become a better downfield blocker, but the 21-year-old offers the upside of a go-to target.

Golden also returned two kickoffs for touchdowns. With the NFL expecting more kickoffs in play with the tweaked rules in 2025, the speedster could also play a special teams role.

“Obviously he has elite speed,” Gutekunst said of Golden. “His ability to stretch the field outside the numbers is really, really important. And when you watch him, we thought he arguably had some of the best hands in the draft, not only going back to it, running through it, but when he tracks it over his shoulder and stuff, too. He’s a strong athlete. He’s really versatile. He’s going to do a lot of things.”

Regardless of how many roles he fills in Green Bay, Golden will arrive as a beloved selection primarily because he’s the first receiver taken in the first round since the prime years of the Brett Favre era. After trading Davante Adams to Las Vegas in 2022, the Packers spent their next two first-round picks on defenders in 2022 and 2023, and chose Arizona tackle Jordan Morgan 25th overall in 2024.

Their receiving corps — largely built on Day 2 and Day 3 choices — has rounded into form in the last couple of years, but has lacked a top target with a premier draft pedigree. The selection of Golden finally changes that, at least on paper. Golden will arrive with plenty of expectation but won’t be expected to play savior. Instead, he’ll be asked to fit into (and stand out among) a young group privileged to run routes for a rising star in quarterback Jordan Love.