Dan Orlovsky’s prediction for Green Bay Packers offense leads to huge expectations in 2025, ‘they’re going to be…’

It had been 23 years since the Green Bay Packers drafted a wide receiver in the first round of the NFL draft. Aaron Rodgers had seemingly begged, the Packers kept passing on pass catchers, including the year they drafted Jordan Love . In 2025, they finally ended the drought, drafting high-potential playmaker Matthew Golden at the draft held in their own backyard.

Green Bay stacked with talent and Orlovsky has major belief

The Packers have been searching for a 1,000-yard receiver since Davante Adams accomplished it in the 2021 season. Ever since he left, they’ve been looking for a reliable target to take on the primary role in the offense.

It’s looked like it could be any one of a few guys in recent years, with several playmakers showing occasional flashes. Christian Watson started to dominate vertically in the second half of his rookie season in 2022, after some early struggles connecting with Aaron Rodgers.

Then it was Jayden Reed in 2023, a second-round pick who has had some big games since he arrived, but still not quite the consistent domination required for a superstar receiver.

Reed has led the team in receiving in each of the past two seasons, but his career-high is still 857 receiving yards from the most recent season. He’s a great scorer, with 14 touchdowns in two years, but the Packers have still been missing something until now.

In the 2025 NFL draft, Green Bay selected wide receiver Matthew Golden with the 23rd overall pick. They took a big risk with a very small sample size, but the belief is that Golden can be the productive threat they’re looking for consistently. At the very least, he can stretch the defense and make it difficult for secondaries to contain Jordan Love and the group of receivers.

Golden spent the first two seasons of his college career at the University of Houston before transferring to the Texas Longhorns in 2024. Late in the season, he stepped up into a lead role in the absence of Isaiah Bond, and strung together elite performances in the Longhorns postseason push.

The wide receiver caught eight passes for 162 receiving yards against the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship game, and then caught seven balls for 149 yards and a touchdown in the overtime win against Arizona State in the college football playoff.

Despite never having a 1,000 yard season in his three years in college, the Packers loved what they’d seen and prioritized the receiver in the draft. Dan Orlovsky was watching it live and loved the selection in the moment.

“The Packers could have one of the biggest pass games, one of the best pass games in the NFC. Dude, they got two good tight ends, good offensive line. Obviously (Josh) Jacobs. So now they have Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and Matthew Golden. That’s a great pick by Green Bay.”

Green Bay Packers young offense surrounding Jordan Love with playmakers

Jordan Love is heading into his third season as the starter for the Green Bay Packers at 26 years old. They’ve had the youngest team in the NFL for multiple seasons now, and their pass catchers are a major reason why.

Christian Watson has been the ‘veteran’ for a while, and he’s only 26 years old. Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed are 25, and Dontayvion Wicks is 24. Matthew Golden is still only 21 years old, and the Packers drafted Savion Williams in the fourth round, who is 23.

Even the two tight ends, Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft, came in together, and are now both 24 years old.

The Packers won’t be able to keep everybody long term, as they’re all currently playing on rookie contracts. That said, they have so much youth on the roster, and those that build the best connection with Jordan Love will become a part of a group of playmakers that could be around for a long time.

Green Bay has so many options offensively heading into 2025, and maybe they finally find their next 1,000 yard receiver.