GREEN BAY – Randall Cobb knew the score when the Packers drafted him in the second round back in 2011.
The former Kentucky standout was staring up at a robust receiving depth chart featuring Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, James Jones and Donald Driver, a unit that helped catapult Green Bay to a Super Bowl XLV championship earlier that year.
And Cobb understood where he fit.
"I knew I wasn't going to play more than 10 offensive snaps in a game my rookie year," said Cobb at the start of last week's Tailgate Tour. "That's just kind of what it was."
It was part of the formula that Packers perfected under former general manager Ted Thompson – draft, develop and produce. Treating every offensive snap as an opportunity, Cobb soon blossomed into a Pro Bowl receiver and one of Aaron Rodgers' most trusted targets.
More than a decade later, that blueprint for success largely remains in place with how Green Bay and General Manager Brian Gutekunst approach roster-building.
Never pressed into drafting for need, the Packers selected Matthew Golden in the first round (No. 23 overall) in last year's NFL Draft despite returning veterans Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, and Dontayvion Wicks.
In discussions with Golden, Cobb gave the young wideout a quick lay of the land in Green Bay and imparted some advice about what it might be like adapting to the Packers' offense.
"That was one of the conversations I had with Golden when he was drafted last year," Cobb said. "Just letting him know that you don't have to put the pressure on yourself. I know you'll probably hear a lot of outside noise about what the expectation is, but just know that your time is going to come."
Patience was necessary for Golden during a promising but patchy rookie campaign that saw the 22-year-old receiver miss three games due to a shoulder injury and finish with 29 catches for 361 yards and no touchdowns in 14 regular-season games.
Coincidentally, Golden's production was nearly identical to Cobb's 2011 season in which he had 25 receptions for 375 yards and one touchdown in 15 games as a rotational rookie.
Of course, Golden saved his best performance for the Packers' NFC Wild Card playoff game against the Chicago Bears. He caught four passes for 84 yards and broke several tackles to score his first NFL touchdown in the fourth quarter.
The Packers lost 31-27 to their NFC North rivals, but the game encapsulated all the traits that made Golden a first-round pick: speed, grit and unmistakable playmaking ability.
"To see him end the season the way that he did in Chicago, I was so proud of that moment and for him to have the opportunity," Cobb said. "Obviously, wish the game would have turned out differently but I think that's something to build on and it's something to realize that he has the capability."
With the 2026 season quickly approaching, Golden's path to increased playing time is clear after Doubs signed with New England as an unrestricted free agent and Wicks was traded to Philadelphia for a pair of draft picks.
Those moves clear the way for Golden and fellow 2025 draft classmate Savion Williams to partner with Watson and Reed, two of Green Bay's offensive pillars over the past three seasons.
Jones, who joined Cobb on this year's Tailgate Tour, likes what he's seen in Golden and believes the 5-foot-11, 191-pound wideout has "everything you want" in an elite NFL receiver.
"You talk about lightning, he got way more than I had," Jones said. "That's just being honest. He got way more than I had. Way more juice, way more moves. I may have had the ability to go get the ball a little bit more, but the dude's going to be a superstar."
Every receiver's transition to the NFL is different. Jones caught 47 passes for 676 yards as a rookie in 2007 but still admits there were times his "head was spinning." It wasn't unusual for Jones to get charted for double-digit missed assignments in a game.
The same goes for Cobb and Nelson, who had just 100 catches for 1,268 yards and six TDs through three NFL regular seasons before his emergence was cemented in Super Bowl XLV.
Even a receiver on a Pro Football Hall of Fame trajectory like Davante Adams had to battle through a few early setbacks before developing into a six-time Pro Bowler.
That's how it goes sometimes, but Golden's promise is real and the Packers' receiving fraternity believes the youngster has what it takes to be the next standout pass-catcher in Green Bay.
"When you're playing in an offense like this, you need multiple guys that can make plays," Cobb said. "Yes, he (Golden) was a first-round pick and, yes, the expectations were probably really high, but I think his ceiling is really high."
