2025 NFL Draft: Rams Linked to Star Pass-Catcher

Mock drafts are the epitome of inexact science, but Mike Band has proven more accurate than most over the last two decades. And after the Rams were lauded for the NFL’s best free agent signing, Band predicted Los Angeles will add another wide receiver.

Matthew Golden, considered by some the best wide receiver in the draft, fell to the Rams at 26 in Band’s second and final mock draft, published Monday.

“After the signing of Davante Adams to pair with Puka Nacua (both possession-style receivers with 4.5 to 4.6 speed), the Rams' 11-personnel-heavy offense lacks a true vertical threat to stretch defenses,” Band wrote Monday. “Golden offers that missing element with his top-end acceleration and explosive playmaking ability. His presence would help open space underneath for Adams, Nacua and Kyren Williams in Sean McVay’s layered passing attack.”

The Rams’ 11 personnel – the numbering system is used by coaches to describe the total running backs (first number) and tight ends (second number) lined up in formation – in other words, one running back and one tight end – would be lethal with those three wide receivers.

And for a franchise with the Greatest Show on Turf in its history, that’s a dangerous thought. Golden ran a furiously fast 4.29-second 40-yard dash at the combine.

The 5-11, 191-pound underclassman spent one season at Texas but used that speed to average 17.0 yards on 58 receptions, leading the Longhorns with 987 yards and nine touchdown receptions. He also completed a 30-yard pass and returned 14 kickoffs while starting all 16 games for Texas last year.

Golden spent his first two college seasons (2022-23) in his hometown at the University of Houston, before transferring to Austin. A foot injury in 2023 limited him to nine games but he still tied for the team lead with six touchdown catches.

Band has a refined system for assembling mock drafts, helping him achieve the fifth-most accurate score among national experts over the last five years, according to TheHuddleReport.com. Last year, his mock draft ranked second in accuracy among 172 entries, and his resume includes the most accurate first-round mock draft on record, from 2009.

“This is now the 21st straight year I've assembled a first-round mock draft,” Band said. “As mentioned in my last first-round simulation, my approach is research-driven: I blend insider reports, team needs, scheme fits, apparent organizational philosophies and betting odds to connect dots and predict what each club's decision makers will do when they're on the clock.”