Join FOX 11’s Mark Leland, Michelle Melby and Ryan Wing as they recap the 2025 NFL Draft, held outside Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers.
0:00 Introduction
1:57 Recap of Packers’ draft picks
2:45 Packers Hall of Famer Johnnie Gray’s analysis
6:17 Profile of first-round pick Matthew Golden
8:06 Fourth-round pick Barryn Sorrell’s magical day in Green Bay
11:54 Fan fun & attendance recap
16:38 Packers president/CEO Mark Murphy’s reflections
22:02 How draft leftovers helped charities
24:08 Drone show highlights
Full NFL Draft coverage: https://fox11online.com/news/local/2025-nfl-draft
#nfldraft #nfldraft2025 #packers #greenbay #greenbaywisconsin
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Your all accessess pass to the draft starts now. This is Fox 11 News continuing coverage of Fox 11 draft 25. I apologize to the entire community. I got it completely wrong. I thought 250,000 people would come to this draft over 3 days and you have completely blown that number out the doors. Exceeding all goals, the NFL was all smiles as the biggest event in Green Bay history wrapped up. This is Green Bay. There’s nothing better than this. Title Town, Green Bay Packers, best atmosphere in football. Fans of NFL teams from across the country descended on Title Town. Everyone is so friendly here. Really, the town has just been so welcoming and all the people have been really great. And so, we’re loving the food. We’re loving the atmosphere and everything. It’s been great. the food, the entertainment, and of course the star of the show, the draft. It says, “My fellow Americans, the Bears Steel Sun.” Packers first pick in the draft, wide receiver, Matthew Golden. We got another Golden Boy. So, we’re looking forward to that. I think it was a great pick. I think good things are going to happen. The roads are open, the stage is down, the city is quiet. Now, Pittsburgh is on the clock. We hit it out of the ballpark. It was uh not only a home run, it was a grand slam. Well, being completely modest. It is hard to believe that after 2 years of all of the setup, planning, preparation that the draft is over. Good evening everyone and welcome to the Fox 11 Draft 25 touchdown in Title Town special. Got Title Town capitalizing on this historic event, welcoming more than 600,000 fans to the 3-day event. You know, it was tied at second most fans in attendance with u that was with Nashville only behind Detroit. Yeah. And the Packers giving Green and Gold Faithful what they’ve always wanted, taking a wide receiver in the first round for the first time since 2002. That wide receivers’s name, Matthew Golden, out of Texas. They followed that up by adding depth to their offensive line, selecting Anthony Belton out of NC State. At pick 87, they doubled down on wide receiver, taking Savon Williams from TCU in the third round. With their first pick on day three, edge rusher Baron Serell from Texas. The Packers went defense in rounds five and six. Colin Oliver from Oklahoma State and edge rusher and Warren Brinson, a defensive tackle from Georgia. They waited until the seventh round to grab a quarterback, Micah Robinson from Twain. And with their last pick in this year’s draft, the Packers adding another offensive lineman, John Williams, from Cincinnati. And I caught up with our Packers Hall of Famer, Johnny Gray, to get his full thoughts on what the Packers did in this draft. I’m joined now by our Packers Hall of Famer, Johnny Gray. Johnny, we talked right after the draft. Now that you’ve had a little bit of time to to digest, what one pick are you most excited to see in 2025? I want to see the third pick. Uh Williams, wide receiver, 6’4. He’s got a boatload of talent and he just he’s a matchup nightmare. So, you heard coach talk about inside the red zone, but in training camp, they do a lot of the some blitz drills where the receivers are matched up against a linebacker and just him that size, athletic ability, what he can do, what those guys can do with him on the football field. Really looking forward to that. Yeah, and we had talked the entire draft process. We thought they’d go edge rusher fairly early. They waited until day three, but they got two guys that I think would be really interesting, Baron Serell and Colin Oliver. Well, guys that they can utilize up front. And I I think they really wanted to go after like beefing up that a little bit uh that defensive line. They kind of got tossed around a little bit in that Philadelphia games. So, I think they wanted to come back and get a little stronger up front and just have a little bit more tenacity. I think the guys that you’re going to see in training camp are going to bring that that extra vigor. And you talked about getting tossed around a bit. A guy that’s hard to move around is the the the second round pick Anthony Beltton out of NC State. A mammoth human being that he is. And again, I’ll go back to that. you know, you have to go back to the to the Super Bowl or the the game that they lost in in the playoffs because you say, “Well, why do we get beat? How do we get beat?” Well, we got kind of outmanded a little bit here and there. We got kind pushed around a little bit. So, yeah, hey, this uh draft, let’s go out and find some bodies that that we know that fit our personality that can go out there and and go toe-to-toe with those guys like that. And then didn’t draft a corner until the seventh round. Micah Robinson out of two lane. We’re still kind of up in the air on the gy situation. We don’t know. But listen, Carrington Valentine was a seventh round pick. He played right away. What do you expect out of Robinson? Well, expect the same. He’ll he’ll get his opportunities to get out there and and show his worth or what he can do, but again, you know, yeah, you get excited about the draft, but it’s until you get to training camp where you really get a chance to look at their talent and their athletic ability. Yeah, we’ll we’ll get a chance to really see them in mandatory mini camp. That’s early in June. And then once you get to training camp, you really get to see what the 2025 Packers are going to look like. I’ll ask you quickly, what was your one big takeaway from the schedule? Well, it it’s a it’s a challenging schedule, but it’s a beatable one. So, I I like their chances on what they can do. Yeah, it’ll be interesting because they have the earliest buy in the NFL week five. In week three to week nine, they did not have a single team that made the playoffs last year. Got to make then because it is backloaded. Absolutely. Take advantage of it. All right. It should be fun to see what the 2025 Packers will look like. Johnny Gray joining me, our Packers Hall of Famer. Speaking of that schedule, let’s take a look at the first half of the season. Week one, the Lions come to Lambo September 7. First time the Packers have opened at home to start the year since 2018. A quick turnaround to Thursday Night Football against the Commanders. The Packers first road game against the Browns in week three. That will be right here on Fox 11 at noon. The following week, they’re in Dallas to take on the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. The Packers then have the earliest buy in the NFL. That’s week five. They return to Lambo for week six in a showdown with the Cincinnati Bengals and quarterback Joe Burrow. Then back-to-back road games first in Arizona. A 325 kickoff against the Cardinals on Fox 11. And then Pittsburgh for week eight. That’s a Sunday night game. Maybe Aaron Rogers on the Steelers. Boy, would that be interesting. Packers are back home week nine against the Panthers. That is a noon kickoff right here on Fox 11. And one of the guys most likely to make an appearance in the first half of the season, of course, is likely to be the Packers first round pick. Right now, Fox 11’s Cody Crup has more from Matthew Golden and Brian Gutens on what the wide receiver brings to the team. What a great cool moment for Green Bay. People said that Greenway was too small. Just really, really a cool scene out there. For the first time since 2002, it was a crowd reaction unlike many in draft history. left the wide receiver, Matthew Golden, wide receiver of Texas. Without even playing a snap yet for the Packers, Matthew Golden delivering one of the franchise’s most memorable moments. Last time they took a wide receiver in the first round, he wasn’t even born yet. It was definitely different, man. That that was the best feeling I had my whole life. I can’t even explain it, you know. Uh just being out there, you know, it feel like I I was just out there having fun. And you know, that’s definitely something I’m bringing. you know, uh, I’m bringing that mindset to come out here and win, but, you know, just enjoy football. You know, I feel like that’s where it all go back to. And now he could be that missing piece to a position that this whole offseason felt like it had more questions than answers. We thought you arguably had some of the best hands in the draft. Um, you not only coming back to it and run through it, but when you track it over his shoulder and stuff, too. Guys are coming in and making an impact quicker. And, um, I certainly think Matthew has the opportunity to do I think he has a chance to contribute and you know not only as a receiver but I think he’s got some special team returnability as well that could help us. Whenever the lights turn on I’m always at my best and you know that’s something that’s always been with me. You know whenever my back against the wall always come out on tops and I got a chip on my shoulder and you know it’s never going to leave me. That’s something I bring with me everywhere I go. I’m going to bring that energy man. I’m glad to be here. Reporting here from Lambeau Field. Cody Crop Fox 11 sports. It’s a unreal feeling. I mean, I I really don’t have any words to describe it. I mean, it’s definitely going to be one of the best memories I I’ve had in my life. This this day has been great. My mom and her and my dad, they they sacrificed so much for me to be they sacrificed so much for me to be here. And I’m just happy that I get to share this opportunity with them because they deserve it. They deserve it so much. And Man, uh, I’m thankful. I’m just I’m thankful to have them as my parents. I’m thankful that they’re here. Players often share how incredible it was to hear their name called during the NFL draft, but for Barrenell, his experience might just take the cake. Yeah. Fox 11’s Ellie French has more on the Packers fourth round pick and that magical moment that he was at the center of during this year’s draft in Green Bay. With the 124th pick in the 2025 NFL draft, the Green Bay Packers select Baron Serell. Baron Serell surprised everyone when he walked the stage on day three of this year’s NFL draft. The Texas defensive end had been in Green Bay for four days. Had to make a decision this morning. Do I do I go back and do I uh go home and you know do do it that way? Sell chose to stay. Just so blessed and thankful that I made the decision to come back cuz I mean it couldn’t have turned out better, man. After joining Packers fans in the crowd at the draft, Sell then made his way over here to Lambeau Field, taking in all the sights and sounds of his future home and of course doing his first ever Lambo Leap. Lambo Leap, man. It’s just the energy and the way they embraced it, man. I that was that was a great experience. With his family in attendance, Serell discussed how much they helped to make his NFL dreams come true. They sacrificed so much for me to be here and I’m just happy that I get to share this opportunity with them because they deserve it. When you see that kind of pure emotion, joy, all that kind of stuff, it’s not shocking because you kind of know who the person is and and how hard they’ve worked to get there. And when you put the time in like like he has particularly um and overcome some of the things he’s overcome, you understand why that emotion’s coming out, which is was cool to see. Reporting on the Packers, Ellie French, Fox 11 Sports. News of the draft being hosted in iconic Title Town created high expectations for the city to live up to this. So the NFL could possibly be tempted to bring the big event back to Title Town. So how did things go? Our Ben Crumb Holtz hit the draft footprint for feedback on the 3-day event. And with less than two months left in his tenure, Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy sits down with our Ben Crumb Holtz as he reflects on the success of the NFL draft and what surprised him the most. And as we head to our first break, we take a look back at some of the highlights of the NFL draft in Title Town. The Fox 11 Draft 25 touchdown in Title Town special. Will be right back. We will welcome in the next generation of stars into the NFL and bring hope to every NFL team. And we may have a few surprises for you tonight. The Bears still for the first time since 2002. Draft the wide receiver. Matthew Golden, wide receiver. [Music] When it comes to April in Wisconsin, you never know what you’re going to get weatherwise. You never do. But when it came to the final day of the draft, Mother Nature saved the best weather day for the last. It meant plenty of big crowds and families dominating the scene. Fox 11’s Ben Cromholt has a look back at what this day meant to Title Town. The reviews for the 3-day NFL draft have been overwhelmingly positive from both organizers and attendees. It’s an amazing experience. Um, it’s very family orientated. They’ve really worked hard to make a a beautiful celebration that will be a lasting memory for a lot of people. When an event receives as much hype as the NFL draft in Green Bay did, it can be difficult to meet expectations. I mean, everything is it’s in order and it looks nice, wellkept. But NFL officials who put on the draft, Super Bowl, and International games each year say local organizers and fans exceeded all goals. I apologize to the entire community. I got it completely wrong. I thought 250,000 people would come to this draft over 3 days. And you have completely blown that number out the doors. That led us to ask, is this truly a once- ina-lifetime event or could it someday return to Green Bay? I absolutely love the question and I love the passion. and I would say, “Let’s get through today and then on uh on Monday, let’s have that conversation.” How about that? John Barker, the NFL’s global head of major events, says the plan is to keep rotating the draft among cities who aren’t in the conversation to host a Super Bowl. One thing the league hopes to replicate is the kids bike parade that kicked off the draft’s final day, a final ode to the Packers training camp tradition. the idea of doing something Saturday morning with the community and the kids, it really struck home. Uh what we saw this morning with those kids coming out and riding those bikes was really special. So that’s something we’re definitely going to take away. With the actual crowd numbers blowing past the projections, the same should happen for economic impact. The statewide economic impact was projected at $94 million. Discover Green Bay and the NFL will both be putting out independent studies on that in the coming weeks. in Green Bay. I’m Ben Crumb Holes. Total attendance over all three days was 600,000 people. It ties Green Bay with Nashville for the second most attended draft. Let’s take a look now at the numbers. Roughly 205,000 people attended day one of the draft. Thanks to some rain, showers, chilly temperatures, day two saw just 175,000 attendees. But mother nature sure made up for it on Saturday when a whopping 220,000 people attended the final day of the draft. It’s safe to say that Title Town blew past the 250,000 total attendees that league officials had predicted. In May of 2024, Governor Tony Ivers had the privilege of receiving that draft themed football in that handoff from Detroit. Now, more than a year later, he reflects on the success of Title Town’s largest event in history. The Packers are the Packers. They did everything right. And uh you know, to have that many people showing up and to have that over three days, it’s just an amazing organization and uh uh I’ve just been very pleased with the way we’ve done. The NFL draft in Green Bay blew away attendance expectations. It was also the icing on the cake for Mark Murphy’s tenure. It truly was as it was one of the last big events for the Packers president and CEO before his retirement in July. We sit down with Murphy one-on-one to get his reflections on this year’s draft. And as we head to break, another look at some of the highlights of the NFL draft here in Title Town. The Fox 11 Draft 25 touchdown in Title Town special continues after this. Even though it’s raining and it’s cold, we’re all making the best of it. I’m cold, but it’s really nice. I traveled from Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Traveled here from Chicago, Illinois. I came from Philadelphia. I traveled from Dallas, Texas. I traveled from Ukraine. Thank you. Thank you very much. With the 23rd pick in the 2025 NFL draft, the 13time world champion Green Bay Packers for the first time since 2002 draft a wide receiver. Matthew Golden, wide receiver of Texas. Bringing the NFL draft to Green Bay has been a longtime goal for Mark Murphy. Yeah. Planning efforts started not long after the event first hit the road in Chicago back in 2015. Fox 11’s Ben Crumb Holtz sat down with Murphy to reflect on the accomplishment. You’ve got a little time now to digest the draft. Um, after years of planning, what’s it like having it over now? Definitely a sense of relief. I know I’m a little biased, but uh I think uh in my mind it’s been the best draft that the NFL’s uh ever had since since they start take started taking it on the road. Why why would you say that? I’d say uh the excitement level uh and you know what the statistics you know smallest city by far in the league and we had 600,000 people there. just speaks well I think the kind of support that we get particularly from our fans. The TV ratings were phenomenal. The Thursday night uh 13 and a half uh was the most ever to watch the draft other than co there was obviously an awful lot of interest. Anything surprise you? Uh I was a little surprised by the you know particularly the turnout on Saturday. I thought that that might dip a little. Yeah, I think that was We had more people on Saturday than any day. The weather cooperated, but uh no, it was uh just overwhelmingly positive. Have you talked with the commissioner or anyone else about the potential of it ever coming back? Uh I have not, although I I did talk to Roger. He was uh very very uh complimentary. He thought uh he was really pleased with the draft. You know, I think other cities, other communities seeing what we did, I think uh 20 cities now that uh have expressed an interest in uh hosting the draft. So, uh we we’ll love to have another draft here, but likely going to be, you know, quite a few years down the road. So, as your time is, you know, coming to a close here, where does hosting the draft rank among your accomplishments as the Packers president and CEO? Uh, no. Oh, it’s definitely something that uh again, you know, it was a it’s a it was a team effort and organizational effort, but uh it’s very high. I’d say probably right below one in the Super Bowl. And Mark Murphy isn’t the only one with great memories of the draft. We caught up with some Packers fans and some former players to hear what they’re going to remember most about Title Town’s biggest event yet. because of the hype to get here to this point and now it’s done and you’re seeing everything go away. You hope it comes back. The crowd the crowd and how how um it was just everyone was having fun. It was uh it didn’t matter what your background was. Didn’t matter where you were from. Didn’t matter what your team you were from. Didn’t matter who you voted for. It was just people that wanted to be there for a good time, be around each other. I’m super proud of Green Bay, uh, the organization, just the the city in itself and just the community because it it was pulled off beautifully, you know. I think I’ve never seen that many people in one setting before. That was pretty crazy. Scan the QR code on your screen to head to the 2025 NFL draft section of our website. There you’ll find all of our draft content from the months leading into the event. We’ve also included a photo gallery highlighting all of the festivities from the 3-day event. Those in Title Town for the draft needed somewhere to eat. And there were a lot of restaurants and vendors that certainly cashed in, but some were left with more food than they imagined. Yeah. Still ahead, how local shelters and food pantries benefited from that extra food, and how local charities benefited from the truckload of materials left behind. As we head into our final break, another look at some of the highlights of the NFL draft here in Green Bay. The Fox 11 draft 25 touchdown in Title Town special. We’ll be right back. The Green Bay Packers select Baron Serell, defensive end Texas. Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] Earlier we shared with you the first half of the Packers 2025 schedule. Here’s the rest. Week 10 Monday Night Football here at Lambo. The defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles come to town. Then the Packers head east to take on the Giants in week three. Then three straight NFC North matchups. First the Vikings at home week 12. a trip to Detroit on Thanksgiving, week 13, followed by another home game against the Bears in week 14. All three games, noon kickoffs right here on Fox 11. In between that, the Packers head to Denver to take on the Broncos week 15 for out to Chicago to take on the Bears week 16 Saturday also right here on Fox. Week 17, home against Baltimore. And then the Packers close out the regular season in Minnesota. The draft drew in hundreds of thousands of fans for the event, but afterward thousands of pounds of food were left over. Instead of letting it go to waste, a nonprofit rooted in stepped in, collecting more than 7,100 lb of food. Not only does it keep the food from ending up in the garbage or the landfill, it helps hundreds of families facing food insecurity in Northeast Wisconsin. rooted in collected meal staples like meat, salads, dairy, fresh produce, cheese, and much more. To be able to feed people and we know who so desperately need the food um has been just put smiles on everyone’s faces. The food was distributed to 13 different area pantries, including the Salvation Army, Golden House, and the new community shelter. The first elements of the NFL draft stage were installed the weekend of March 29th. And over the next several weeks, the stage took shape. A whopping 1.4 miles of truss were used to support the stage. And over 3,400 automated lighting fixtures were used to illuminate the theater green room and draft experience. Now, after the workers broke down that NFL draft footprint, plenty of valuable materials were left behind. An estimated 25 to 30 truckloads of items including wood, fence, mesh, and metal. Metal flag poles were all donated, valued at roughly a half a million dollars. They were given to Green Bay Area charities. Habitat for Humanity, American Red Cross, and the United Nations were just some of the organizations to benefit. Green Bay may be small, but it’s mighty. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell saying it best on night one of the draft. Our small community of less than 106,000 people exploding in size over the 3-day event to host the second largest draft in history. We hope you enjoyed our look back at just some of the draft highlights in our Fox 11 draft 25 touchdown in Title Town special. Plenty more can be found on our YouTube page at fox1venonline.com. Hope you have a great night. [Music] Heat. [Applause] Heat. [Applause] [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music]
