In its judgment, Bleacher Report feels the Denver Broncos should avoid drafting Texas wide receiver Matthew Golden not because of scheme fit or value — but because of who he'd be catching passes from.
BR columnist Brent Sobleski recently adopted this take, deriding the Broncos as the "worst" potential landing spot for Golden, a likely first-round pick in next month's 2025 NFL Draft.
"In a best-case scenario, Golden remains in-state after the Dallas Cowboys select him with the 12th overall pick so he and CeeDee Lamb can from a dynamic receiving duo. The Denver Broncos are another team in need in another receiving threat, though quarterback Bo Nix doesn't necessarily have the arm talent to consistently take advantage of Golden's downfield playmaking ability," Sobleski wrote in an article published Wednesday.
The Nix slander, though predictable and largely unnecessary, is also untrue as he finished his record-setting rookie campaign third in the NFL in deep passing yards (819) and uncorked the second-longest pass by air yards (67.0) of any QB since 2016, according to Next Gen Stats.
Putting that aside, Golden (5-11, 191) profiles as a legitimate option for the Broncos at pick No. 20. The Longhorns standout — who totaled 134 receptions for 1,975 yards and 22 touchdowns across 36 career games — blew up last month's Scouting Combine with a blazing 4.29 forty-time and would be an excellent complement to Denver's skyscraping WR corps.
"Golden works all three levels of the field with similar consistency and productivity," NFL.com's Lance Zierlein noted in his scouting profile. "His route-running needs refinement, but he does a decent job of altering tempo and separating at break points. Golden has the ability to play all three receiver spots. He also has the agility and body control to turn near-misses into highlight catches. Focus drops still pepper his play, but he’s a willing participant in traffic and took command of contested catches with better physicality and catch strength in 2024. Golden’s starting-level traits and big leap forward as a go-to playmaker have him primed to become a productive catch-maker with the potential to develop into a WR1 in the future."
