The next Travis Hunter? Not quite, but Packers are working Bo Melton at WR and CB
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Packers wide receiver Bo Melton made it crystal clear that he's not switching to cornerback right now.
If anything, he's trying to play both positions.
Rich in wide receivers and perhaps lacking cornerback depth, head coach Matt LaFleur raised the idea last week of Melton working at cornerback. Why? The Packers have been impressed with Melton's special teams ability. He plays cornerback on their punt return unit, taking backward drops and getting physical with opposing fliers. He also plays flier on their punt coverage unit, so he has experience tackling in the open field.
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Trying Melton at cornerback wasn't just a recent thought. Not long after Melton signed with the Packers in December 2022, LaFleur asked if he had ever played cornerback. Melton played the position in high school and sparingly at the beginning of his Rutgers career, but he was drafted by the Seahawks in the 2022 seventh round as a wideout.
Videos of Melton working on his drops and ball skills with other defensive backs at Tuesday's mandatory minicamp practice took off online, but it's important to remember that this is a June experiment that might improve Melton's chances of making the 53-man roster, not a Jaire Alexander replacement plan.
'It's just something that came up,' Melton said after Wednesday's practice. 'I want to give it a shot. I'm still a wide receiver, so I'm not really transitioning to no cornerback, but if it works, it works.'
Jeff Hafley coaching up Bo Melton pic.twitter.com/k4voy4ln6H
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) June 11, 2025
Melton didn't realize how much his position addition would resonate with people until he checked his phone after practice.
'I was like, 'Shoot, maybe this is bigger than what I thought,'' he said. 'I just went out there, like I said, gave it a shot. I kind of liked it a little bit.'
Not only did Melton emphasize that he's not strictly a cornerback, he also made clear that he's no Travis Hunter. The No. 2 pick in this year's draft and reigning Heisman Trophy winner has taken the football world by storm. After playing both sides at Colorado, he'll do so for the Jaguars, too.
'Travis is a different athlete, as everybody knows,' said Melton, who himself might be the fastest player on the Packers. '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.'
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Melton played in only five games in 2023, but he was the team's first 100-yard receiver that season when he caught six catches for 105 yards and a touchdown in Minneapolis to keep the Packers' season afloat in Week 17. Despite being on the active roster all last season, however, Melton only caught eight passes for 91 yards. The Packers drafted wide receivers Matthew Golden in the first round and Savion Williams in the third, in addition to returning Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks. That group of five doesn't even include Christian Watson, who is ahead of schedule in his rehab from a Week 18 torn ACL. They also signed veteran wideout Mecole Hardman this offseason.
Christian Watson, cleats and gloves on, continues working his way back from his Week 18 torn ACL pic.twitter.com/OwW8ePcShc
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) June 11, 2025
At cornerback, though, the Packers are much lighter. After the Monday release of Alexander, their top three are Keisean Nixon, Nate Hobbs and Carrington Valentine, with a slew of unproven players behind them like Kalen King, Kamal Hadden and Gregory Junior. If Melton were only playing wide receiver, he might still make the initial 53-man roster as the sixth wideout because of his special teams ability, but would struggle to crack the regular-season rotation. Why not try earning a spot higher on the depth chart at a different position in addition to competing at your original one?
'I think versatility is critical and it creates added value for that player,' LaFleur said. 'I just love everything about the guy, how he shows up every day ready to compete and give his best effort.'
LaFleur even showed the team clips of Melton working out on Tuesday morning to demonstrate the coach's desired effort level.
'We just thought that if there is somebody that can potentially do both,' LaFleur said, 'he would be that guy.'
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Melton is familiar with route concepts from his time playing receiver, so he has a better understanding of how to defend certain routes as a cornerback. He doesn't want to take advantage of his fellow wide receivers too much, however, so he doesn't look at the offense's practice script that he has access to as a wideout.
'I was watching film last night and he's pretty sticky in coverage for his first time out there,' safety Evan Williams said. 'Any time we can get a guy like that who's just an athlete out there, it's pretty cool, in my opinion, for him to be as versatile as he is and play both sides of the ball.'
Despite the encouraging early feedback, Melton said he's still not the best cornerback in his family. That would be Max, his younger brother, who was drafted by the Cardinals in the second round last year to play corner. Bo didn't tell Max he was practicing at cornerback, so Max learned when he saw the news online and called his older brother with a simple question: 'What the hell are you doing?'
.@MecoleHardman4 had the offense turnt after this 70+ yard TD 🔥 pic.twitter.com/xjQxxoShTl
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) June 11, 2025
Max wasn't the only person caught off guard.
'That was definitely confusing,' quarterback Jordan Love said. 'During the jog-through, I was mentioning that it looked like Bo was a receiver out there (wearing his typical white No. 80 jersey), but he was actually playing DB. So I was trying not to throw it to him, but nah, it was fine and they actually switched jerseys and gave him a little green jersey later on.'
'I actually caught a pass and … I turned out, took a few steps and saw someone do a fly-by out of my peripheral,' tight end Tucker Kraft said. 'I turned around. I'm like, who was that? Like a wide receiver just decided to mess around and come tag off on me or something like that, but no, yeah, Bo was out there taking snaps at defense. I was very surprised, to say the least.'
Melton said that teammates learned he'd be practicing at cornerback when he stood beside them during individual drills on Tuesday.
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'Everybody turned and looked at me like, 'What are you doing?'' Melton said. 'I said, 'I'm with y'all today.' I was telling everybody before and they were like, 'You lying. You lying.' I started putting bets on it, so people owe me money now … it was fun just to see everybody's comments. I don't got Twitter. I've got Instagram, so I probably shouldn't have Twitter. I know that joint was probably jumping.'
Jumping it was, but as those who made the decision clarified, this is simply a trial run to see if a player everyone in the building already loves can add even more value to the Packers this season.
'There are very few guys who have done it in our league,' general manager Brian Gutekunst said. 'There have been a few and when a guy's able to do that, it certainly helps your football team. Bo is everything we want in a football player out there as far as his ability as a receiver, certainly on (special) teams. If he's able to add to his arsenal, that makes him really, really valuable to us.'
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