Texas insider claims Matthew Golden has serious challenge ahead after clocking 4.29s on the 40-yard dash

NFL: Combine - Source: Imagn — Texas insider claims Matthew Golden has serious challenge ahead after clocking 4.29s on the 40-yard dash (Image Credit: Imagn)

At the 2025 NFL Combine, Texas wide receiver Matthew Golden ran a 4.29-second 40-yard dash. That placed him second in the entire Combine, only placing behind Kentucky CB Maxwell Hairston who ran the event in 4.28 seconds. Although the time was impressive, it came as a surprise to many analysts and fans.

Matthew Golden is viewed as a player with speed, but not one with serious top-end speed compared to other top wide receivers. Notably, his teammate Isaiah Bond was viewed as a faster player during the season, and he ran the event in 4.39 seconds. As a result, many fans question the translatability of his 40-yard dash time to NFL games.

On Tuesday, 'On Texas Football' released an episode speaking about various things to do with Texas football. On the show, analyst CJ Vogel discussed the speed of Matthew Golden (9:20):

"For Golden, it's tremendous in the sense that the ceiling his higher, but also how can you bring that speed out on a consistent basis if that's all most folks thought you didn't have in you?

"We've seen you for three years, how can you consistently bring out that elite speed when it was evident with Xavier Worthy, it was evident with at times with Isaiah Bond who ran a full tenth slower."

Vogel continued:

"To bring that out is going to be the next challenge and task at the next level. I don't think anybody is saying they're not gonna take Matthew Golden because he looked slow on tape or didn't run a 4.29.

"With the hands and the route running, he's going to be a heck of an NFL player and he's gonna go really early in this year's draft."

Matthew Golden is projected to be a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft

While there are concerns by fans that Matthew Golden's speed will not translate to the NFL, he is still viewed as a top prospect for this year's draft. According to Pro Football Focus, he is the No. 22-ranked player in the draft and the No. 4-ranked wide receiver.

Additionally, Golden has gone high in several mock drafts from respected media outlets. ESPN's Mel Kiper released a new mock draft on March 18 which had Golden going to the Los Angeles Chargers with the 22nd pick. 'The Athletic' released a new mock draft on Monday and had Golden going 12th to the Dallas Cowboys.

About the author

Alexander O'Reilly is a journalist at Sportskeeda from Kingston, Ontario with over seven years in the field at companies including SenShot, RVBlogger, Monarch Media, WordAgents, GSeC LLC, and IGC.

His favorite college team is Duke, and his favorite sporting memory was Duke winning March Madness in 2010. JJ Redick was Alex's favorite college player when he was young but more recently, Caleb Williams gets the nod. As the Chicago Bears are Alex's favorite NFL team, this was a perfect match.

Alex's proudest moment came when he was interviewed by a radio station in Ottawa on his opinion on recent moves by the Ottawa Senators, which gave him a confidence boost and the knowledge that he could succeed as a writer.

Aside from sports, Alex likes to spend his time playing games. He is also very passionate about running and strives to improve at the half and full marathon distances.

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Edited by Rajdeep Barman