GREEN BAY – Bo Melton isn’t looking to change his job description, nor have the Packers asked him to.
But when Matt LaFleur inquired last week about the second-year receiver taking a stab at playing cornerback, the team-oriented Melton told his head coach he was up for the challenge.
The move, unveiled at Tuesday’s first minicamp practice, sent shockwaves through social media after clips began to circulate of Melton working with Green Bay’s cornerbacks during individual drills.
It wasn’t only Packers fans who were surprised, either. Neither the offense nor defense knew Melton was going to be taking snaps at cornerback until practice was underway.
Even Melton’s younger brother Max, a cornerback for the Arizona Cardinals, was caught off-guard by the news.
“He kind of was shocked. I didn’t tell him,” Melton said. “So, when he saw it, he called me and was like, ‘What the hell are you doing?’ I didn’t tell him, just because I’ve been playing wideout. It’s just something that came up. I want to give it a shot.”
Make no mistake, Melton is still a wideout – the position at which he starred for Rutgers and has played since joining the Packers late in the 2022 season.
However, the notion of two-way players has gained popularity following Travis Hunter’s prodigious run at Colorado. While Melton quickly shut down any comparisons to the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft, the 5-foot-11, 189-pound receiver is intrigued by the idea of testing the limits of his versatility.
Known for his speed, Melton was first presented with the idea of playing cornerback while he was on Green Bay’s practice squad back in 2023. The coaches, impressed by Melton’s work on special teams, asked him if he’d ever played corner before.
Melton said he hadn’t since high school, though the idea was briefly bandied about after he enrolled at Rutgers. That was as far as talks went, though, as Melton emerged during the second half of the 2023 campaign.
With mounting injuries at receiver, Melton became the first Green Bay wideout to record a 100-yard game that year after a six-catch, 105-yard performance in a 33-10 win over Minnesota in Week 17.
“Obviously he’s a real talented player and has produced,” said LaFleur of Melton. “I just love everything about the guy. How he shows up every day ready to compete and give his best effort — matter of fact, I showed some clips of him in the team meeting (Tuesday) morning, just of what he does.”
Melton has been on Green Bay’s active roster since that breakout game, though his offensive opportunities were limited last year. He finished with eight catches for 91 yards while serving as a featured flyer on the Packers’ punt coverage unit.
The competition hasn’t gotten any easier in a loaded receiver room after Green Bay added two draft picks (Matthew Golden and Savion Williams) and veteran Mecole Hardman this offseason.
Looking to try something new during the final week of the offseason program, the Packers and Melton finally decided to give him a look at cornerback with Nate Hobbs, Kalen King and Micah Robinson all dealing with injuries.