Count Texas wide receiver Matthew Golden as one of the big winners of the 2025 NFL scouting combine.
With a blistering time of 4.29 seconds on Saturday, Golden topped the wide receiver position group in the 40-yard dash and was second among all players in the exercise, ranking behind only Kentucky cornerback Maxwell Hairston’s 4.28-second time.
The run was initially measured at 4.30 seconds but was later upgraded to 4.29 (video above).
That number was well ahead of Longhorns teammate Isaiah Bond, who pledged to break former Texas star Xavier Worthy’s 4.21-second record and instead topped out at 4.39. Golden’s 1.49-second 10-yard split, which reflects explosion more than top-line speed, also led the position group, ranking .02 seconds ahead of Bond and two other receivers.
Golden entered the combine as a back-of-the-first-round, early second-round kind of prospect. Yahoo Sports’ Nate Tice and Charles McDonald had him in the first round in just one of their first six mock drafts, calling him a “late riser” last month and having him taken 26th overall by the Los Angeles Rams.
However, throwing down a sub-4.30 time could vault Golden into a higher tier of wide receiver prospect. He came up huge for Texas in the postseason, recording 162 receiving yards against Georgia in the SEC championship game and 149 yards against Arizona State in the College Football Playoff, and that 40-yard dash should further burnish his reputation as a big-play threat.
Golden led Texas with 987 receiving yards and nine touchdowns last season after transferring in from Houston, where he earned second-team All-Big 12 honors.
Fastest 2025 NFL combine 40-yard dash times
1. Maxwell Hairston, Kentucky CB: 4.28 seconds
2. Matthew Golden, Texas WR: 4.29 seconds
T-3. Darien Porter, Iowa State CB: 4.30 seconds
T-3. Dont’e Thornton, Tennessee WR: 4.30 seconds
5. Bhayshul Tuten, Virginia Tech RB: 4.32 seconds
6. Caleb Ransaw, Tulane CB: 4.33 seconds
T-7. Chimere Dike, Florida WR: 4.34 seconds
T-7. Jaylin Lane, Virginia Tech WR: 4.34 seconds
9. Jacob Parrish, Kansas State CB: 4.35 seconds
T-10. Zah Frazier, UTSA CB: 4.36 seconds
T-10. Arian Smith, Georgia WR: 4.36 seconds
