Overview

Position: WR

College: Texas

Class: Junior

Age: 21

 

Measurables

Height: 5’11”

Weight: 191 lbs.

Arm length: 30 5/8″

Hand size: 9 1/2″

 

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: 4.29 sec.

10-yard split: 1.49 sec.

Vertical jump: N/A

Broad jump: N/A

Bench press: N/A

3-cone drill: N/A

Short shuttle: N/A

 

Strengths

Top-tier speed. Good strength and build for a deep threat. Very precise overall route runner. Things look the same before breaking at the top of routes. Exceptional separation burst out of cuts. Great ball skills. Catches passes away from his body. Quick eyes and hands to snatch passes after getting his head around. Terrific ability to bring in one-handed grabs. Breaks as a downfield route runner are very crisp. Very deceptive with head and body manipulation on double moves. Crisp on post-corner routes. Clean on deep corner routes. Good pacing on slant-and-go double moves. Can hit another gear after stacking cornerbacks. Tracks the ball very well on downfield throws. Secure catching down the field with defenders closing in. Late hands to haul in downfield passes. Fights through physicality to draw penalties with the ball in the air on vertical opportunities. Has a knack for drawing downfield pass interference by slowing down while tracking. Excellent leaping ability. Impressive concentration to make twisting grabs in contested coverage. Able to contort and get his feet down along the boundary. Excellent release footwork. Sudden to win inside or outside on releases. Smooth on quick out cuts. Crisp on short post routes. Creates easy separation on in-breaking routes. Quick throttling down on curl routes and works back to the ball. Able to separate in the red zone. Experience in the slot and will clear things out on crossing routes. Smooth turning into a runner after the catch. Great juke move in space with an ability to string them together in succession. Intelligent blocker that works to position himself. Able to sustain blocks on the outside. Does a nice job to block inside from outside alignment. Had a nasty double move for a touchdown in overtime versus Arizona State in College Football Playoff matchup (2024).

 

Weaknesses

Doesn’t appear to have top-tier twitch for a deep threat. Not overly dynamic with the ball in his hands. Failed to get across blitzing safety inside the box that resulted in a safety against Arizona State (2024). Was behind the play but didn’t even start to get into a sprint after interception on eventual touchdown by Clemson (2024).

 

NFL comparison

Terry McLaurin

 

Conclusion

Overall, Golden is an extremely fast, smooth, and crisp deep threat that will capitalize on downfield passes and shows an impressive ability to separate on shorter routes. He should be a great selection in Round 1 for teams hoping to add a vertical element to their offense.

 

Big Board ranking: #22 | Positional ranking: #3