On one side of the ball, the Packers have an absolute glut of young wide receivers, with first-round pick Matthew Golden joining a group of productive, if not overwhelming, players including Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Dontayvion Wicks, Mecole Hardman and, when healthy, Christian Watson.
Opposite that group, Green Bay's cornerback corps is pretty limited, especially after the release of two-time All-Pro Jaire Alexander. Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine are expected to man the outside positions with new signee Nate Hobbs slated to play primarily in the slot.
Bo Melton has played in 22 games for the Packers across the last two seasons, catching 24 passes for 306 yards and a touchdown. He's flashed ability at wide receiver, but with so many young pass catchers ahead of him on the depth chart, and some solid ability displayed on special teams, Green Bay opted to try the former Rutgers star on defense during last month's minicamp. With training camp beginning this week, it appears that the Melton experiment at cornerback is ramping up.
General manager Brian Gutekunst confirmed Tuesday that Melton will be spending the majority of his time on defense.
"Bo's gonna spend most of his time at corner. We know what he is as a receiver and what he can do for us as a receiver and special teams," Gutkeunst said. "And he's been obviously a very important part of our football team the last couple of years. And we're excited to see what he might be able to do at corner for us on defense."
Packers GM Brian Gutekunst says Bo Melton will spend most of his time at cornerback during training camp and he’s switched his number from 80 to 16👇
— 97.3 The Game (@TheGameMKE) July 23, 2025
“He’s all for it.” pic.twitter.com/HPZO02EiXS
With a new position comes a new, more cornerback-appropriate number than the No. 80 that he's worn for his entire Packers tenure. Now, Melton will be sporting the No. 16, which wouldn't look too out of place at wide receiver either, should he pull some Travis Hunter-style double-duty.
Gutekunst gave Melton tremendous credit for attempting the move, despite being an NFL veteran on offense.
"He's all for it. That's not easy. He's obviously an established player. And to do something like this is not easy, but he's been all for it. We certainly support it. ... I'm sure there'll be good days and bad days like there is at any position, but he's kind of a rare mentally tough kid. We're excited to see where this might take him."
Melton was a seventh-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft by the Seahawks, but was waived by Seattle in August of that year, landing with Green Bay that December. After some intermediate playing time at his natural position, Melton is attempting to make a rare position change and see if he can make a real impact at a position of need as the Packers attempt to break through to Super Bowl contention.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Packers Double Down on Bold Position Change for Fourth-Year Wide Receiver.
