From now until the 2025 NFL Draft, we will scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top-10 picks, down to Day 3 selections, and priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on Texas WR Matthew Golden.
#0 MATTHEW GOLDEN/WR TEXAS – 6-0, 195 POUNDS. (JUNIOR)
MEASUREMENTS
| Player | Ht/Wt | Hand Size | Arm Length | Wingspan |
| Matthew Golden | 6-0/195 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Dash | Short Shuttle | 3-Cone | |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Broad Jump | Vertical | Bench Press | ||
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
THE GOOD
– Vertical threat with great straight-line speed
– Runs very crisp, sharp routes to make quarterback-friendly windows to throw to
– Creates good separation with speed and quick routes that break back to the quarterback
– Excellent ability to change speeds based on coverage and route
– Makes some great “above the rim” grabs and shows off his vertical skills and big catch radius
– Has the traits/ability to work on all three levels
– Able to get away from press without delays
– Big accelerator off the line of
– Eyes find football quickly for back-shoulder adjustments
– Finds an extra few inches of catch radius for high throws
– Quick to get upfield after catch
– Make-you-miss runner with above-average YAC potential
– Uses hands effectively to create distance from cornerbacks
– Gives good effort on run-blocking plays and knows where his landmarks should be
– Kick return potential with speed, elusiveness, and planning of angles
THE BAD
– Too many drops for a receiver with his traits over the past 3 years (14 total)
– Needs to get stronger and bigger to optimize YAC potential ability
– Has to play through contact better
– Developing better hand counters with more physical, longer cornerbacks in press coverage
– Injury history (5 missed games prior to 2024)
– Can struggle to sustain blocks on running downs
BIO
– Born 08/01/2003 (21 years old) out of Houston, TX
– 1,128 total snaps at receiver (902 wide, 226 slot)
– 129 special teams snaps (118 kick returner, 7 FG block, 3 punt return coverage, 1 kick coverage)
– 30 starts in 3-year career (2 years at Houston, 1 at Texas)
– Career: 135 catches, 1,990 yards, 14.7 YPC., 22 TD’s, 5.6 YAC, 11.5 ADOT, 14 drops, 17/36 contested catches, 26 forced missed tackles, 9 penalties, 25.8 YPR on kick returns
– 2024-25 season: 58 catches, 987 yards, 17.0 YPC., 9 TD’s, 5.2 YAC, 13.5 ADOT, 4 drops, 11/18 contested catches, 8 forced missed tackles, 4 penalties, 20.1 YPR on kick returns
– 2024-25 Started all 15 games this year at Texas
– 2024 transferred from Houston to Texas
– 2023 ESPN Midseason All-America Honorable Mention as a kick returner (31.2 YPR)
– 2022-23 Played in 20 total games with 17 starts while at Houston University
– 2023 suffered foot injury that caused him to miss the final 5 games of the season
– 2022 4-star prospect by 247Sports
– 3,242 receiving yards and 32 touchdowns across three seasons in high school
– Ran track and field in high school (100 meters, relay, and long jump)
TAPE BREAKDOWN
Matthew Golden was an instrumental part of Texas’ run towards almost reaching the 2024-25 college football national championship this year. Before this past season, he played for two years at Houston University, where he put up modest production but not nearly the capabilities he displayed under Steve Sarkisian’s offense at Texas. He wasn’t consistently targeted in the first half of the year to utilize his skillset, but during the second half of the year, when the ball was thrown in his direction a lot more, the whole Texas offense opened up. It’s hard to tell the reason(s) why that was the case, but his stats might be significantly better if he was utilized optimally from start to finish.
He is an extremely savvy, intelligent, and dynamic route runner who wins by manipulating defensive backs prior to and post-snap. Golden is very explosive out of his stance and has an incredible tempo to know when to accelerate and decelerate his speed. Watch him here giving the secondary just enough bait to keep them flat-footed with the stutter-step before climbing his way to the end zone.
He is No. 2 for Texas in the following clips:
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) January 19, 2025
His route tree is well-developed at all levels, but he wins consistently in the intermediate and short routes. He shows great long speed from his track background to break away from defensive backs. He often wins with incredible concentration, high-pointing at the right time, contorting his body, and leveraging defenders to know where he needs to be.
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) January 19, 2025
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) January 19, 2025
That being said, he has too many concentration drops that he’ll need to clean up in the NFL. He tracks the ball well on downfield routes but does have some drops when doing so, and he’ll take his eyes off the ball due to trying to plan what he will do after the catch. The other big thing that he’ll hopefully work on at the professional level is just getting stronger so that he can break away more from tacklers and help with his blocking. This is especially true in his upper body. He lacks the mass to break tackles after the catch but can set up blockers and shimmy his way through defenses.
However, if a defender takes a poor angle on him, his acceleration will leave them hanging. He’ll have to improve on winning against man and press coverage in short-yardage situations. There were times when he would get jammed at the line of scrimmage due to his hands being stalled on his release.
The benefits far outweigh the negatives with Golden, though. His understanding of route concepts, coverages, and body control are exceptional for his age and experience, as he is only a true junior. Here he comes in motion pre-snap, looks like he’s making a nice comeback route, and then leverages the outside shoulder of the cornerback to make the incredible post-route catch.
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) January 19, 2025
For a guy who has modest height, length, and body mass, he sure knows how to make contested catches (11-of-18 this past year – 61-percent according to PFF stats). He knows how to adjust to throws from multiple angles, as shown here in the following clip.
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) January 19, 2025
His footwork and ability to start-stop on a dime leave defenders’ heads spinning often. He can shake corners at the top of the stem with route fakes and stutter steps before sinking his hips, bending into his break, and accelerating. Golden runs sharp comebacks and curls but doesn’t consistently work back down the stem to meet the ball. He subtly pushes off at the top of the stem when he feels the coverage is too tight, and he’s good at knowing not to overdo it. Golden stems vertical routes outside before snapping back inside on posts.
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) January 19, 2025
He is a willing blocker but lacks the play strength to sustain blocks. He gives great effort and wants to. When he gets matched up on linebackers, you notice his lack of strength to keep attached to defenders. An added bonus is that Golden has special teams experience as a kick returner. He didn’t wow anyone with his return abilities this year, but he had two touchdowns in the previous year at Houston, so he has the potential to break a big play open. He is good at knowing where the holes are, setting up his blocks, and changing direction quickly. The issue he has is that he’s not a “burner” and tends to accelerate quickly and then stay in that gear of speed rather than pulling away from coverage.
CONCLUSION
Golden can play all receiver positions due to his versatility, ability to win downfield, route running, and explosiveness. He is truly a weapon on offense, dependable, and can be relied upon to get open in any area of the field. There is no system where he wouldn’t fit in seamlessly. To say whether he can be a #1 WR option on a team eventually is debatable, but he can come in and be a high-impact starter right away. Golden showed a lot of similarities to Greg Jennings this past year at Texas.
He can win in various ways and knows how to get open consistently at all levels. I could see Pittsburgh being very interested in him for the pre-draft process because the development curve for him to come in and make an impact right away would be high. The Steelers could use someone like him who has a diverse skillset, is able to separate well, has desirable speed, and makes plays for an offense that needs some spark in it.
Projection: Late Day One-Early Day Two
Depot Draft Grade: 8.8 – First Round (Year 1 Quality Starter)
Games Watched: at Arizona St. (2024), vs Ohio St. (2024), vs Texas (2023), at Texas Tech (2022)
