Matthew Golden declares for 2025 NFL Draft after strong finish to 2024

Matthew Golden is ready to play football professionally.

Golden told ESPN’s Pete Thamel that he has declared for the 2025 NFL Draft. He had 1 full season of remaining eligibility, playing 2 seasons at Houston before transferring to Texas ahead of the 2024 campaign.

Breaking: Matthew Golden, Texas’ leading wide receiver in 2024, is leaving school early and declaring for the NFL draft, sources told @PeteThamel. pic.twitter.com/vQZ35QWSBb

— ESPN (@espn) January 13, 2025

Golden finished his only season in Austin as Texas’s top pass-catcher. He came up just shy of a 1,000-yard season, recording 58 receptions for team highs of 987 yards and 9 touchdowns.

Golden came on particularly strong in the postseason, turning in his best performances of 2024 against Georgia and Arizona State. In the SEC Championship Game, Golden had 8 catches for 162 yards. In the Longhorns’ thrilling College Football Playoff win over Arizona State at the Peach Bowl, Golden recorded 7 catches for 149 yards and 1 touchdown.

Thamel relays that Golden projects as a top-50 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Over his career, which started with two seasons a at Houston, he accounted for 2,697 yards. That included 2 kick returns for touchdowns at Houston and 24 total touchdowns.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 13, 2025

Andrew Olson

Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.