Texas Longhorns wide receiver Matthew Golden (2) stiff arms Kentucky Wildcats defensive back Maxwell Hairston (1) in the first quarter of an NCAA college football game at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas on Saturday, Nov. 24, 2024. / Ricardo B. Brazziell/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesMany mock drafts as of late have the Kansas City Chiefs selecting either an offensive or defensive lineman in the first round of this year’s draft.While it’s a valid prediction, who the Chiefs take is still very much up for grabs. On the offensive side, you could say that receivers Marquise Brown and Rashee Rice are coming off injury-filled seasons and the Chiefs might need some very real insurance options when it comes to their wide receiver room.
For that reason, Yahoo Sports’ analysts Nate Tice and Charles McDonald believe it’s in the Chiefs’ best interest to grab yet another offensive weapon for their quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Kansas City Chiefs — Matthew Golden, WR, Texas
Offensive line is very much in play here, and there are some interesting names the Chiefs could look at. They instead dip their pen back into the Longhorn ink and take another Texas wide receiver in Golden. He is a smooth athlete who can win against press. He would give Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense yet another weapon to open things up, beat man coverage and hold the fort until Rashee Rice returns from injury.
Playing three seasons with the Texas Longhorns (the alma mater of Chiefs’ second-year Xavier Worthy), Golden only really broke out in 2024. Last season, Golden fell just one yard short of doubling his total yardage from his first two seasons combined, finishing with 987 yards compared to 988 from the previous two years. In his junior season, Golden also notched a career-high in touchdowns (9) and receptions (58).
However, there’s one thing that makes Golden so interesting compared to the rest of the draft class, and it’s the same reason the Chiefs traded up with the Buffalo Bills to select Xavier Worthy last offseason. His speed.
At the NFL Scouting Combine, Golden had the fastest 40-yard dash of any wide receiver (4.29 seconds) and was also the only receiver to crack into the 4.2s. A combination of Golden and Worthy running by defenses and tiring out defenders would prove a major threat to any NFL team that has to go up against the Chiefs.
