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GREEN BAY, Wis. -- So this is what a first-round pick is supposed to look like. Forgive Green Bay Packers followers for not quite knowing that Matthew Golden, the No. 23 pick in this year's draft, could walk right in and make play after play after play. And why would they? First-rounders Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt didn't in 2022. Lukas Van Ness didn't in 2023. And Jordan Morgan barely even played last season. So while Golden has been one of the standouts of training camp, the Packers are still hoping their previous four first-round picks can fall into the better-late-than-never category when it comes to finally seeing major contributions from some of general manager Brian Gutekunst's recent underachieving picks. Here's a closer look at what each faces this season: After playing only 186 snaps last season as a rookie -- and none of those at left tackle -- Morgan has made a late push to unseat Rasheed Walker, who has started 35 of the Packers' past 37 games, including playoffs. This after Gutekunst all but named Walker the starter when camp opened, saying "There's a comfort level there that something would have to overtake that, I would think." Morgan, whose rookie season was cut short by a shoulder injury, might be on the verge of doing just that. A groin injury to Walker opened the door for the 2024 No. 25 pick. Previously, Morgan had been splitting snaps with Sean Rhyan at right guard. Since then Morgan, who said from the minute he arrived that he wanted to be a left tackle, has drawn praise from the coaches in recent days. "Way more comfortable," Morgan said of the difference between this year and last year. "I mean way more confident out there. I feel really good out there. Everybody tells me that. All the coaches tell me I look confident out there and I feel confident, so it adds up." In fact, after last Saturday's preseason game against the Colts, coach Matt LaFleur said the left tackle spot is "100% a competition." "He's done a really good job, and that was the big thing, just see how he goes out there and plays," offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. "He played against a really good D-end [versus the Colts on Saturday] and did a good job on [Laiatu] Latu. So, yeah, it was encouraging to see him out there and, yeah, it was good to see." Even if Morgan doesn't unseat Walker to start this season, it's a good sign that he might indeed become a starter in 2026, when both Walker and Rhyan will become free agents. Given that Gutekunst also drafted a tackle high this year, second-round pick Anthony Belton, it's a strong message that he may not re-sign Walker. "We all know that Jordan, he's a really good athlete," offensive line coach Luke Butkus said. "His movement skills are great, he's getting bigger and stronger. It's the confidence you get with reps. So, he has improved. There's still things that we need to fundamentally keep working on -- hands and pad level -- but I like the direction he's going." Van Ness was a bit of a project, and the Packers knew it even though they used the 13th pick of the 2023 draft on him. He did not start a single game at Iowa. While he has played in every game in his first two NFL seasons, he had not played in more than more than 39% of the defensive snaps in either year. He has bounced between being a hand-in-the-dirt defensive end to a stand-up outside linebacker and back to defensive end. He had four sacks as a rookie and three last season, although a cast on a broken thumb last year may have limited him. The entire defensive line underachieved last season and resulted in a position coach change. Enter DeMarcus Covington, the former Patriots assistant who Van Ness said has done wonders for him. "More than anything with our new defensive line coach, D.C., I think he's allowed me just to not think," Van Ness said of Covington. "I think that's a part of the game [where] I feel like I'm a pretty aware guy. And I think I take a lot of information in, and I think that hindered me to a point where I'm always trying to think too much or overthink the game, and I think he's allowed me to play free and not do that, and I think that's been good for me." It showed almost immediately. Van Ness has regularly been in the backfield during training camp practices and had a big day in last week's joint practice against the Colts. "He wants to be good," Covington said. "He wants to be a good player, and that's my job to get him to go out there and perform at a high level, which I think he's done a hell of a job of in his practice, in his approach to practice and really just trying to create good habits during practice, which is going to carry over for games." Taken six spots apart, Quay Walker and Wyatt were teammates at Georgia. Walker, at No. 22, was the pick the Packers got from the Raiders in the Davante Adams trade. He was the first off-ball linebacker the Packers have taken in the first round since A.J. Hawk in 2006. Wyatt, at No. 28, was ranked by some as the No. 2 defensive tackle in the 2022 draft behind another Georgia defender, Jordan Davis, who went No. 13 to the Eagles. While Walker has arguably been more productive, it was Wyatt who had his fifth-year option exercised this offseason, which means he's under contract through 2026. Part of it was cost. Walker's fifth-year salary is $12.938 million, while Walker -- because he is technically lumped in with the higher-paid outside linebackers/edge players -- would have commanded $14.751 million. That makes this season make-or-break for Walker. He did not get off to the best start. He didn't take part in any of the offseason practices and missed the early portion of training camp because he underwent offseason ankle surgery. Since he has returned, his team (11-on-11) snaps have been limited in practice and he did not play in either of the first two preseason games. Still, he says he feels more comfortable in Year 2 of defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley's scheme. "I'm flying faster, [and] I know the defense way, way better," Walker said recently. While he is 25 years old and seemingly has a lot of football in front of him, the Packers will have to decide whether it's a worth a long-term investment in a player who has been solid but unspectacular. Even though Walker became an immediate starter as a rookie and led the Packers in tackles in each of his first three seasons, the splash plays haven't been there. He doesn't have a forced fumble or fumble recovery. He has one interception, perhaps not unusual for an inside linebacker, but doesn't have massive sack or TFL numbers, either. "I thought there was a stretch last season where he was playing some really good football," LaFleur said. "He was getting more comfortable within our scheme, what we were asking him to do, and he was playing at a high level."
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