Wide receiver appears to in play for the Detroit Lions in the upcoming draft, based on what head coach Dan Campbell said at the league meetings earlier this month about the depth chart at the position.
"We would love to bring in more competition, particularly some youth. That would help, and let them all mix it up. Get in there and see where it all falls,” Campbell said.
The Lions have one known top-30 pre-draft visit with a wide receiver, Arkansas's Isaac TeSlaa. But over the weekend they had another, with Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reporting Texas wide receiver Matthew Golden was in for a visit over the weekend.
After spending his first two college seasons at Houston, Golden transferred to Texas and had a breakthrough with 58 receptions for 987 yards and nine touchdowns. A big performance in the College Football Playoff against Arizona State (seven catches for 149 yards and a touchdown) was notable, and a 4.29 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine has helped make him a likely first-round pick.
Lions' visit with Matthew Golden might be bad for Jameson Williams
At the aforementioned league meetings a couple weeks ago, Lions general manager Brad Holmes confirmed the decision to pick up wide receiver Jameson Williams' fifth-year option. But the rest of his comments acknowledged how it might be tough to keep Williams in place beyond the next two years.
"In terms of extensions, again, there's a lot of extensions that are hopefully coming, but it's just one that you don't know what's gonna happen from a financial standpoint," Holmes said. "Because a wide receiver is very expensive. Look, these are good problems to have."
Depending on how you classify Travis Hunter, Golden is widely-regarded as either the second or third-best wide receiver in this year's draft. His relative lack of size might be a thing from some teams (5-foot-11, 191 pounds), but he is more than the speed merchant his 40 time may pigeon-hole some into thinking he is.
Via Dane Brugler of The Athletic:
"Fluid in and out of his breaks, Golden shows a plan as a route runner — I love his ability to break down corners by keeping his eyes, hips, and feet in sync. That coordination also translates to the catch point with his very natural ball skills to track, frame, and finish. Overall, it might bother some teams that he doesn’t have better size, but Golden also doesn’t have any glaring flaws to his game that would keep him from becoming a productive pro. He can play inside or outside and become the go-to target for an NFL offense."
An easy comp for Golden is New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave.
In general the Lions making a notable trade up from the 28th overall pick feels possible, and that's what they'd have to do to get Golden. If they do so and draft him, Williams' long-term future in Detroit will be easy to question.
