GREEN BAY, Wis. – It was only a couple of years ago when Jayden Reed was in Matthew Golden’s shoes.After a promising rookie season, Reed in 2024 took the Year 2 jump that coaches covet. Not only did he lead the Green Bay Packers in receptions and receiving yards, he finished first among NFL receivers in passer rating when targeted, fifth in yards per catch and fourth in yards per target.The Packers are hoping for – no, they are counting on – a similar jump by Golden.“It’s going to be a huge jump for M.G., man,” Reed said after OTAs on Tuesday. “You can tell the game is slowing down for him. He’s learned to play much better. You can tell he’s just more comfortable out there.“I can speak from my point of view. Me going into Year 2, it was way more smooth just even knowing the playbook. So, he’s gaining that confidence and he’s going to be dangerous for this offense.”That’s what Golden is expecting.He’s bigger and stronger. He’s just as fast. He knows the offense. And there should be a lot more opportunities after Romeo Doubs left in free agency and Dontayvion Wicks was traded.“To be honest, I don’t feel like they’ve seen anything yet. I have a lot of confidence in myself and I know what I have done. To me, it wasn’t anything yet. I know it’s a lot more out there.Matthew Golden“I’m excited,” he said on Tuesday. “This offseason, I focused on getting everything right – physically, mentally – and just making sure when I came back I was in a better space. I was physically better and I’m excited for this year. I know it’s going to be a good year, not only just for me but the team. We added a couple new pieces and I feel like the guys we have in here are going to make a good impact.”It was a challenging rookie season for Golden. His professional career started with the highest of highs as he became Green Bay’s first first-round pick at receiver in about two decades. It was an electric moment, with the draft held outside Lambeau Field and Golden present for the magical moment.Golden had a superb training camp and was an impact player at the start of the season. However, opportunities were fleeting at times. With his own injuries, and the return from injuries by Reed and Christian Watson, Golden got lost in the shuffle.During the final 11 games of the season, of which Golden played in eight, he caught 11-of-21 targets for 112 yards.“I would say it happened exactly how it was supposed to,” Golden said. “I feel like it developed me and mindset to just have a chip on my shoulder, just how to go about things. I wouldn’t change anything that happened last year. I feel like for this year, it’s a part of the plan, man, and I’m excited.”The final game of the season provided plenty of reason to be excited. In the playoff loss to Chicago, he caught 4-of-5 targets for 84 yards and scored his first career touchdown.“I definitely did” finish strong, he said. “Like I said, it happened how it was supposed to where I ended up scoring. We didn’t get the win. That’s obviously something we wanted, but to build off last year, that was everything I was looking forward to. I’m looking forward to this year, and I got the mindset to attack everything as it comes.”That mindset was apparent on the touchdown – the first of his career – when he spun around, jumped over and ran through about half of Chicago’s defense for a 23-yard score that included 29 yards after the catch.Green Bay Packers receiver Matthew Golden hurdles a defender to score against the Bears in the playoffs. | Matt Marton-Imagn Images“I wasn’t going to go down, man,” he said.“That’s just scratching the surface of what I can do,” he added. “I know there’s a lot in there and I know it. I’m excited for the opportunities that’s going to come this year and I’m going to make the most of it.”This, obviously, will be a huge season for Golden. Last season, Jordan Love and Green Bay’s quarterbacks threw 489 passes. Doubs and Wicks were on the receiving end of 131, or about 27 percent. That’s a lot of opportunities that have to go somewhere. Watson, Reed and Golden are the clear-cut top three at receiver and the only established receivers on the roster.A healthy Tucker Kraft will be a big factor, too, but the team’s success will hinge on Golden playing up to expectations.“A lot of balls thrown to those two guys, obviously,” he said. “My mindset going into Year 2 is make the most plays that I can. With the confidence I have now, I have no doubt whenever I step on the field, I’m going to be in attack mode.”He’s done his part to get ready for what should be a greatly expanded role, including getting bigger and stronger this offseason.“It’s not going to hurt to add a little bit of extra weight,” he said. “I feel like early on in the season, when I had dealt with injuries, it probably was because of my weight. Now I feel like the weight that I have, I’m pretty much good.”Golden finished last season with 29 catches for 361 yards and zero touchdowns. Among the rookie class of receivers, he was ninth in catches and eighth in yards. Twenty rookies found the end zone.However, in the playoffs, Golden even while playing in only one game was second in yards. He was the only rookie receiver to score a touchdown.It was a sign of things to come, he said.“To be honest, I don’t feel like they’ve seen anything yet,” he said. “I have a lot of confidence in myself and I know what I have done. To me, it wasn’t anything yet. I know it’s a lot more out there.“I’m excited for it. I know I’m going to prove myself right. I know I got guys around me that’s going to uplift me. I feel like we have a great brotherhood here. Everybody in this locker room, we uplift each other and we always have the most confidence in each other. As long as we keep doing that, it’s going to be good.”From the outside, the pressure is on. The Packers had perhaps the deepest receiver corps in the NFL last season. Without Doubs and Wicks, the depth is gone.It will be up to Golden, Watson and Reed to stay healthy and carry the load.“I wouldn’t say pressure,” he said. “We got guys all around the room. Not just me, but we got guys on the team who can all make plays. I wouldn’t even put that on myself. I would just say I got to be ready for the opportunities that I get. I know the guys we got in our room is going to make the most of their opportunities. As long as we come together and just attack it one game at a time, I feel like we’ll be really exciting to watch.”SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY PACKERS NEWSLETTERAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow