I’m a big fan of Bo Melton. Some might even label me a Bo Melton stan, and I won’t push back much on that. I have been since he exploded onto the scene back in 2023 against the Vikings with his 6-reception, 105-yard, and 1-touchdown performance. Not only was he the leading receiver in that particular game, he was the first Packers receiver that season to break the 100-yard mark. Not hot-shot rookies Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks, nor second-year starters Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs — but Bo Melton. The slot receiver called up from the practice squad just weeks earlier, who torched a Vikings secondary en route to the last season win in the house of horrors that is Minneapolis.

He followed up that performance with a great touchdown catch in the Packers’ playoff loss in the divisional round against the 49ers just a few weeks later. All signs were pointing up for Melton heading into 2024. Unfortunately for him, 2024 did not go as planned. He was never really able to consistently crack the wide receiver rotation and only hauled in 8 receptions on 17 targets for 91 yards and no touchdowns. He did manage to add 21 yards on 3 carries as well during some jet sweeps but never established himself as a legitimate playmaker for Matt LaFleur and Jordan Love.

When Brian Gutekunst selected not one but two receivers in the 2025 NFL Draft this past April, all signs pointed to Melton’s chances of making the roster as nothing less than a long shot. Add in the free agent addition of Mecole Hardman, and Melton was no higher than 8th on the depth chart at best. It was shortly after the signing of Hardman, during the spring offseason program, that we started to see Melton working with both the receivers and the corners—getting his feet wet at a position he had never played at the college or professional level. Once training camp opened and it was announced his number changed from 80 to 16, it was official: Bo Melton was now a full-time cornerback for the Green Bay Packers.

A position change four years into an NFL career is never ideal, but in Melton’s case, it seems to be not only his best shot at making the team in 2025, but possibly his only shot. I was extremely skeptical at first and thought we were going down the road of a James Looney moving from defensive end to tight end or Alex McGough moving from quarterback to wide receiver—short-lived attempts at salvaging a player’s career. But it seems that not only does Melton have what it takes to hang with his cornerback peers, he has a legitimate chance at making the Packers roster out of camp. After all he has as many snaps at corner in the NFL as some of the players he's battling like Kalen King and Micah Robinson. 

He has caught the attention of both head coach Matt LaFleur and defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley. When asked how Melton has taken to corner, LaFleur said, “He’s done a nice job. When you watch him through the course of drills, the skill set is there—it’s just getting an adequate number of reps to go and get comfortable out there at a very difficult position to play. I’m really pleased with not only how he’s approached it, but how he’s gone out there and executed.”

Hafley, a former defensive backs coach at the NFL level, followed that up by saying, “He’s super athletic, and then you saw him do some defensive back drills, and as he backpedaled, you saw how quick his feet were and how he could transition.” He also threw in at the end of that comment that cornerback is a hard position to play at the NFL level and all expectations should be tempered—but the returns are promising. Melton had a few splash plays during practice on Wednesday. He had an interception while going up against Julian Hicks. Later in practice, toward the end during 11-on-11 red zone work, he broke up a pass that was intended for Malik Heath.

It’s not just plays being made against back-of-the-roster wide receivers. During Family Night this past weekend, while lined up one-on-one with speedy first-round pick Matthew Golden, Melton matched him step for step and helped break up a pass down the field. It should be no surprise that Melton can hang with Golden speed-wise—he ran a 4.34-second 40—but Golden has been one of the most impressive players in all of Packers camp so far, and making plays against him is definitely a head-turner. If some of that can translate over to preseason games, it will be very difficult for the Packers to cut ties.

Even with the cornerback depth chart behind the top three of Nixon, Valentine, and Hobbs still wide open three weeks into camp, Melton’s best path to the roster and playing time is going to be via special teams. Melton was used on 32 percent of the team’s special teams snaps last season when he made the roster as a wide receiver, and special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia isn’t shy about his affinity for him. “No matter what you ask him to do, we think he’s going to become an elite special teams player,” Bisaccia said. “He was big for us a year ago. He’s really just the ultimate team player right now, doing anything he’s asked to do.” As not only the coordinator of that unit but associate head coach, one would think Bisaccia has some say on who he needs on his units—and Melton is definitely a favorite.

Cornerback is as wide open as any position on this roster right now. With still three preseason games to go and two sessions of joint practices with the Indianapolis Colts and Seattle Seahawks prior to games with each team respectively, Melton still has a lot to prove against someone not wearing the same uniform as him. If he can take what he’s learned in the offseason program and training camp and apply it to real-time action, then perhaps Travis Hunter won’t be the only player in the league this year with the ability to play both ways.