Bo Melton's team-first approach has Packers believing he could thrive as a two-way player
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay's Bo Melton still considers himself a wide receiver first and foremost even as he spends part of the Packers' minicamp working out at cornerback.
Melton also isn't about to make any comparisons to Jacksonville Jaguars rookie receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter, who proved his credentials as a two-way player while winning the Heisman Trophy at Colorado last season.
But he's more than happy to test himself out in this role.
'It's just something that came up,' Melton said Wednesday. 'I want to give it a shot. I'm still a wide receiver, so I'm not really transitioning to cornerback, but if it works, it works.'
The 26-year-old Melton started giving cornerback a chance as the Packers opened their minicamp Tuesday, one day after Green Bay released two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander. The idea of testing Melton out on defense actually came up long before that.
Melton said it started shortly after the Packers signed Melton off the Seattle Seahawks' practice squad in December 2022. Melton hasn't played defense since high school — he says he worked out on defense early in his college career at Rutgers before getting assigned to receiver — but the Packers like the tackling ability he has shown on special teams.
'Coach (Matt) LaFleur came up and asked me, 'Would you ever think about doing it?'' Melton said. 'I was like, 'If it's going to help the team, I might as well,' you know what I mean? That's my motto since I've been here. I'm a team-first guy.'
The scenario still caught his teammates by surprise.
Packers cornerback Carrington Valentine said he wasn't aware of the possibility until Melton joined the defensive players in Tuesday's practice. Melton insisted he told his teammates this might be happening, but nobody believed him.
Melton's younger brother — Arizona Cardinals cornerback Max Melton — also was stunned. Bo Melton didn't tell his brother about it, so Max learned only after he went on social media Tuesday and saw evidence of Bo backpedaling like a cornerback.
'I'm like, 'What the hell?' … It's just shocking. I'm still in shock,' Max Melton said from the Cardinals' minicamp.
Max did say that he believes his brother can succeed as a cornerback. Bo agrees that this can work but realizes it will take time. That became apparent when a reporter brought up Hunter's name during Melton's time with reporters Wednesday.
'Travis is a different athlete, as everybody knows,' Melton said. 'He's a Heisman Trophy winner, won a lot of awards. I'm not going to compare myself to somebody that's done that. But what I will say is I like to run for days.'
He also possesses a work ethic that has enabled him to stick on an NFL roster as an undrafted free agent.
Melton was on Green Bay's practice squad late in the 2023 season when the Packers activated him for a critical game against the Minnesota Vikings. He caught six passes for 105 yards and a touchdown in Green Bay's 33-10 victory.
The Packers signed him to their active roster shortly afterward, and he caught a touchdown pass in a playoff loss at San Francisco. He played all 17 games for the Packers last season as a reserve receiver and special teams contributor.
'I just love everything about the guy, how he shows up every day ready to compete and give his best effort,' LaFleur said.
The Packers are set with Keisean Nixon, Valentine and Nate Hobbs as their top three cornerbacks following Alexander's departure, but they lack proven players behind them. Any contribution Melton could provide would add depth while increasing his value.
'It's just a feel thing right now,' Melton said. 'I still don't know if it's going to be true or not. Coach Matt, we'll figure that out. When I meet with Coach, we'll see what's going on. Right now I'm just going to go train for wideout. I feel like that's where I thrive at, that's where I make plays at. And defense, if it comes, it comes.'
Valentine likes what he's seen so far.
'He's been embracing it,' Valentine said. 'I've been trying to show him the ropes a little bit. Give him some DB 101. But he looks natural to me.'
Melton believes he can thrive in both spots. His younger brother is eager to find out, even as he gets ready for his own season about 1,800 miles away from Green Bay. Perhaps those cornerback skills run in the family.
'I'm looking forward to seeing how it unfolds, to be honest,' Max Melton said. 'I'm just excited.'
___
AP Sports Writer David Brandt in Tempe, Arizona, contributed to this report.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
7 minutes ago
- CBS News
Oakmont flexes its muscles against the world's best in opening round of the U.S. Open
The opening round of the 125th U.S. Open is in the books and Oakmont Country Club, as expected, flexed its muscles against some of the best golfers in the world. Only 10 players out of the 156 in the field finished their first round under par as hot and dry conditions helped fuel the firm and fast fairways and greens at Oakmont, combined with the thick rough and deep bunkers. Andrew Novak hits out of a ditch along the 9th fairway at Oakmont Country Club on June 12th, 2025 for the opening round of the 125th U.S. Open Championship. Mike Darnay / KDKA J.J. Spaun recorded the lowest opening score round at -4 while Thriston Lawrence, Sungjae Im, Brooks Koepka, Si Woo Kim, James Nicholas, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Jon Rahm, Thomas Detry, and Ben Griffin rounded out the list of players to finish their day below par. An additional nine players shot even par on the day where the scoring average across the field was 74.63, the highest first-round average at the U.S. Open since 2018. Defending U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau shot a +3 score of 73 with three bogeys on the back nine after making the turn at even par. DeChambeau said he wasn't fully on his game and was "pretty disappointed" with how he played. J.J. Spaun fires bogey-free 66 to set early tone For just the second time in the history of the U.S. Open at Oakmont, a player finished their opening round with a score of 66. J.J. Spaun got off to a good start immediately Thursday, chipping in for birdie on the 10th hole. The birdie kickstarted Spaun's round and sent him onto a front nine where he shot 31, the lowest opening nine holes played in Oakmont's ten U.S. Opens. J.J. Spaun chips in for birdie on the 10th hole at Oakmont Country Club on June 12th, 2025 in the 125th U.S. Open Championship. Mike Darnay / KDKA Spaun made four birdies in his first eight holes before making 10 consecutive pars to finish the day at -4. "It kind of set the tone for how the day was going to go," Spaun said. "You're not really expecting to chip it in." Spaun said the chip-in birdie was a nice way to start the day and he rode the momentum from the shot the rest of his way in for the bogey-free round. In 2016, the only bogey-free round across the entirety of the U.S. Open at Oakmont was carded by Dustin Johnson in the opening round en route to his winning the tournament for his first major championship. A couple of first-ever occasions at Oakmont While bogey-free rounds have been recorded before at Oakmont, a few things happened out on the course that had never been done before in the ten U.S. Opens the fabled cathedral of the game has hosted. Maxwell Moldovan had the crowds roaring early in the morning when his approach shot on his opening hole rolled into the cup for an eagle, the first time anyone ever made a two on the 1st hole in the history of the U.S. Open at Oakmont. "It was a cool feeling," Moldovan said. "You never really draw up your first hole that way. You kind of try to go fairway, green, two-putt and get out of there." Maxwell Moldovan walks onto the 9th green at Oakmont Country Club on June 12th, 2025 during the opening round of 125th U.S. Open Championship. Mike Darnay / KDKA Moldovan struggled following the opening hole eagle, shooting a +6 score of 76. Shane Lowry matched that long distance energy later in the morning, holing out from the fairway on the 3rd hole, another feat that hadn't ever been achieved at Oakmont in the U.S. Open. Lowry's eagle was the lone hole he played under par Thursday as he struggled to make his way around the course, carding a +9 score of 79 for the day. Patrick Reed's double eagle on #4 Birdies and eagles can be very hard to come by at Oakmont, so you can imagine how rare it is for double eagles to be made, especially during the tough test of the U.S. Open. Patrick Reed brought the crowds to their feet Thursday when he dunked his second shot on the Par 5 4th hole with a 3-wood from 287 yards in the fairway. Patrick Reed reacts after hitting a chip shot onto the 17th green at Oakmont Country Club on June 12th, 2025 during the opening round of the 125th U.S. Open Championship. Mike Darnay / KDKA When the ball dropped into the cup, Reed didn't see it, throwing his hands in the air asking if it went in. "I'd love to see it go in," Reed said after his round. "It's always fun watching the ball disappear. But hey, as long as it disappears, that's all that matters. I don't care if you see it or not. As long as it goes in the hole, that's all I really care about." Reed's double eagle is just the fourth since the U.S. Open began recording stats in 1983 and the first at the U.S. Open since 2012. A homecoming for Matt Vogt with a disappointing U.S. Open debut Matt Vogt had the hometown crowds pulling for him in his opening round of the tournament, but had a forgettable day on the course. Vogt, who is originally from the Pittsburgh area and a dentist by trade, carded an 82 with six bogeys and three double bogeys, shooting +12 on the day. "I made some really bad mental errors early on," Vogt said. "It's hard out here because you can't make physical and mental mistakes. You can sometimes get away with one or the other, but you can't get away with both. You just get behind the eight ball out here and your head starts spinning. It's honestly what it feels like." Mike Darnay / KDKA Vogt said that being back in his hometown with the crowd pulling for him has been incredible and he hopes to bring a lot of joy to Pittsburgh. "I hope that I represented the city, Oakmont with pride today," Vogt said. COMPLETE U.S. OPEN COVERAGE:
CBS News
7 minutes ago
- CBS News
Minnesota women's basketball coach Dawn Plitzuweit gets 2-year contract extension with raise
Minnesota women's basketball coach Dawn Plitzuweit has received a two-year contract extension that was approved Thursday by the university's board of regents. Plitzuweit is 47-29 over two seasons at Minnesota, including 13-23 in Big Ten play, with leading scorer Mara Braun missing much of them with foot injuries. The Gophers capped Plitzuweit's second year by winning the WBIT championship. They have not appeared in the NCAA Tournament since 2018. Minnesota head coach Dawn Plitzuweit watches play during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Washington, Feb. 26, 2025, in Minneapolis. Abbie Parr / AP The new deal, which covers the next six seasons through 2031, gives Plitzuweit a raise of roughly 7% to bring her base salary to $900,000 for 2025-26, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune, with annual increases of $30,000. That's in the middle of the pack in the 18-team Big Ten, which sent 12 of them to the NCAA Tournament this year. Plitzuweit was hired away from West Virginia, where she spent one season, to replace Lindsay Whalen. Plitzuweit is the 13th head coach in the program's history.
Associated Press
17 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Full-time dentist, part-time amateur Matt Vogt's US Open homecoming ends with a kick in the teeth
OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — Matt Vogt's dream-like week heading up to his somewhat unlikely journey to the U.S. Open at a course he once caddied at ended with what felt, perhaps fittingly, like a trip to the dentist's office. The 34-year-old amateur — a Pittsburgh-area native who has a dental practice in the Indianapolis suburbs — had the honors early Thursday morning, taking the opening shot of the national championship's 10th visit to Oakmont. Vogt knew full well the danger of going right. Wanting to avoid putting the ball along Hulton Road, he instead pulled it left. Way left. His 337-yard blast ended up on the edge of the adjoining ninth fairway. He somehow managed to save par, which ended up being one of the few bright spots on a day in which he shot 12-over 82. 'You just can't make physical and mental errors, you can like get away sometimes with one or the other, but you can't get away with both,' he said. 'And you just get behind the eight ball out here and honestly, your head starts spinning. That's honestly what it feels like. Your head starts spinning out here and it just gets away from you.' While Vogt who grew up about 30 minutes northwest of Oakmont, tried to tell himself he had 'zero expectations' after going through qualifying to make the 156-man field. Still, he was hoping to do a little better at the sprawling, links-like course than he did here at the 2021 U.S. Amateur, when he also shot in the 80s. Instead, he spent some time on the practice range Thursday afternoon, searching for something — anything really — to build on. 'I came into such optimism for this golf course, but it is so hard,' he said. 'It's just so, so hard. I'd say, in the moment, you feel like you get punched in the face, you know?' Youth is served Mason Howell not only is the youngest player in the field, he got to Oakmont with the lowest scores. The 17-year-old from Georgia had a 64 in local qualifying, and then rounds of 63-63 at Piedmont Driving Club to lead the five players out of Atlanta. The U.S. Open was different. Howell didn't make a birdie on his way to a 7-over 77. He was asked to compare the nerves of contending for a state high school title and playing Oakmont before a sellout. 'It's definitely way more here, like 10 times the people ... way more than that, actually,' Howell said. 'But high school golf and major championships are just a little bit different.' The closest Howell came to making birdie was on No. 1, his 10th hole of the day. He missed a putt just inside 10 feet. Still, it was an experience he wouldn't trade. 'It's definitely special off the first tee,' he said. 'First tee of a major, you're always juiced up and amped up. I was just ready to get started all week. Now I just don't want it to end.' History, and a humbling, for Lowry Shane Lowry had to smile a bit after holing out from 160 yards for an eagle on the par-4 third at Oakmont. That wasn't nearly enough to salvage a brutal first round for the Irishman. Lowry shot a 9-over 79, which included five bogeys, three double bogeys — and that history-making shot on No. 3. His eagle two was the first in U.S. Open history on that hole at Oakmont. Lowry started on No. 10, so by the time he reached No. 3, he was already 6 over on the day. Even the pars on Lowry's scorecard weren't necessarily routine. On No. 17, his tee shot went into the rough next to the green. His second shot didn't make it out of the rough. His third rolled across the green to the fringe on the other side. Then he chipped in from there. Pinball wizard Tony Finau's best par of the day looked more like pinball than golf. His second shot on the par-4 18th hole clanked off a sprinkler head at the back of the green, then into the grandstand, where it nearly hit a spectator, who reached down to pick it up before thinking better of that. Finau got a drop in front of the grandstand, then hit a towering flop shot that still rolled 41 feet away from the back hole location. But he made it to save par -- a rare highlight on a day when he shot 6-over 76. Wherever he may roam Thriston Lawrence gets around a lot. Maybe that's why it didn't take him long to get comfortable during his first trip to Oakmont. The South African, who put together a 3-under 67 to find himself one shot back of early leader J.J. Spaun, doesn't currently have a 'home base.' Lawrence is in his first full season on the PGA Tour — where he's made just 2 of 11 cuts — but returned to the DP World Tour to play a couple of events ahead of the U.S. Open. The lifestyle isn't new to the 28-year-old, who remembers playing upwards of 30 events a year when he was in elementary school. Asked if he gets homesick, he shrugged. 'I mean, it's not nice,' he said. 'I would love to be home.' That's not in the cards at the moment. Sometimes he crashes in Florida at DP World Tour member Thomas Aiken's house. Sometimes he just logs into Airbnb to see what's available, something that helps him 'not get attached.' 'It would be nice to get something, but I'm not yet sure where that is for now,' he said. ___ AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson, AP National Writer Eddie Pell and AP Sports Writer Noah Trister contributed to this report. ___ AP golf:
