Back during the pre-draft process leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft, one of the prospects the Dallas Cowboys were most connected to was Texas receiver Matthew Golden. We all know Jerry Jones loves his Longhorns, so it was a surprise he didn't get more consideration given the need at WR.
Obviously, this buzz didn't go anywhere, as the Cowboys instead drafted Alabama guard Tyler Booker with the 12th overall pick in 2025 and traded for George Pickens a few weeks later. But Golden ended up getting drafted 23rd by the Green Bay Packers, where he's broken out after a quiet rookie season.
After playing behind Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, and Dontayvion Wicks in 2025, the Texas native has capitalized on Doubs and Wicks' departures. Now with an expanded role, Golden is currently ninth in the NFL in receiving yards and is averaging 16.5 yards per reception on the year.
And unfortunately, he won't be an easy matchup for Dallas in Week 6. The Cowboys will travel to Lambeau Field to face off with Golden and the Packers on Sunday Night Football this week, and it's not like this defense hasn't been bad enough to face a Green Bay offense that's heating up.
Jordan Love is also coming off of one of his best starts of the season in a 31-7 win over the Bears, and given the Packers haven't had much success running the football (which is good news for the Cowboys), they're gonna look to air the ball out in this one and test this struggling defense.
The Cowboys may struggle to contain Matthew Golden on SNF
The 23-year-old Golden has two 100-yard games in his last three contests, and when you factor in all of the Cowboys' defensive instability (both on and off the field) with Christian Parker, this will be a matchup where Golden and the Packers can take advantage and ignite the passing game.
Since Joey Porter Jr. could spend most of this game shadowing Watson, who's been even better this year, that could mean DaRon Bland spending the night in coverage on Golden, and that is not a matchup Cowboys fans should be excited about because it has not been Bland's season at all.
Bland has allowed the 13th-most yards among all cornerbacks this season and has surrendered five receptions for 80+ yards in each of the last two weeks. Last week against the Bucs, he got torched by Tez Johnson on a deep ball, and Golden is a whole lot better downfield than Johnson is.
According to Pro Football Focus, Bland's 45.0 coverage grade is 92nd out of 104 qualified cornerbacks, while his 45.3 PFF grade is also 92nd of 104. And it's not even like he's generating takeaways anymore. Just a pure turnstile in coverage who is on the hook for a lot of dinero.
So yeah, a guy who knows how to set off explosives in the passing game is going to take advantage of this favorable matchup after catching six passes for 123 yards last week. While Watson is becoming Love's main deep threat, he's the better YAC receiver, which isn't ideal for this defense either.
Matthew Golden is becoming one of the NFL's brightest young receivers, and while I'm sure he wishes this one were back in his home state of Texas, it won't matter: he's going to give this Cowboys defense a fit regardless, since they'll potentially be more focused on limiting Christian Watson's impact.
Add us as a preferred source on Google