Steelers Now
In his first mock draft of the 2025 NFL Draft cycle, NFL.com draft guru Daniel Jeremiah has projected that the Pittsburgh Steelers will select Texas Longhorns wide receiver Matthew Golden.
Jeremiah predicted the Steelers will stick at pick No. 21, and have their pick of top wide receivers at that point, with all three of Golden, Missouri’s Luther Burden and Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka on the board with Pittsburgh general manager Omar Khan on the clock.
“I don’t think the Steelers could go wrong drafting Golden or Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka here,” Jeremiah wrote. “They go with Golden in this case, but they are both professional route runners with outstanding hands and toughness.”
The only wide receiver that went earlier than pick No. 21 was Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan, who Jeremiah projected to go No. 8 overall the Carolina Panthers.
Golden is a junior who played one season at Texas after transferring from Houston in 2024. The 6-foot, 195-pound Houston native saw his stock rise dramatically late in the 2024 season. As Texas made a run to the College Football Playoff semifinals, golden was a key part of the Longhorns’ offense.
He had his two best games of the season on Dec. 7 in the SEC Championship Game against George, when he caught eight passes for 162, and then in Peach Bowl against Arizona State, when he caught seven passes for 149 yards and one touchdown.
Matthew Golden’s route on the #Longhorns game-tying TD in OT was ridiculously filthy
🎥: He faked like he was running to the corner before snapping it back upfield
You don’t get this open by accident – notice he sells the corner route without throttling down pic.twitter.com/R7ylOrA5pJ
— The Draft Room (@TheDraftRoomNFL) January 2, 2025
Golden’s average position at NFL Mock Draft Database was No. 225 on Dec. 24, but he’s skyrocketed since and now sits as the No. 39 players on the consensus big board.
The Steelers have had an obvious need at wide receiver ever since trading starting wide receiver Diontae Johnson last March. Van Jefferson and Mike Williams, who both tried to fill the gap in 2024, are set to become unrestricted free agents.
