Let’s get this out of the way right here at the start. The weirdest/wildest/wackiest move the Green Bay Packers made this offseason is also the weirdest/wildest/wackiest move the entire NFL saw this offseason, as nobody could have genuinely foreseen Micah Parsons wearing the Green & Gold before Brian Gutekunst actually went out and pulled off the heist he did.
So, let’s not even pretend that anything else comes close to matching Micah. I should probably make some sort of joke about it being No. 1—you know, because that’s Parsons’ new number—but that just seems a little too easy.
My hilarity aside, the Packers did make another weird move during the offseason, but it had nothing to do with acquiring or giving up a player. Instead, it was head coach Matt LaFleur taking an existing member of his roster and having him switch positions.
That player, of course, is now-former wide receiver turned cornerback Bo Melton. And as it stands thus far, LaFleur’s little experiment is working out wonderfully.
Bo Melton’s move to cornerback is going better than anyone could have expected
A seventh-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks in 2022, Melton failed to make the 53-man roster as a rookie but was re-signed to the practice squad, where he remained until the Packers plucked him and signed him to their active roster late in the season.
The Rutgers alum never made it onto the field that year, but he’s been with the team in some capacity ever since. He bounced up and down between the practice squad and the main roster in 2023 before becoming a full-time member of the active roster a season ago, splitting his time between the offense and special teams.
READ MORE: Micah Parsons’ arrival will launch a Packers star toward All-Pro status
With Melton having just 27 total receptions to his name between the regular season and postseason over the last two years, and with the Packers adding extra wideouts during the draft in Matthew Golden and Savion Williams, LaFleur had a conversation with Melton about moving to cornerback in the spring. And after giving it a shot during minicamp in June, the move became permanent when Green Bay opened full camp in July.
And again, the experiment is actually working, as the 26-year-old had a strong camp, put forth some solid performances during the preseason, made the 53-man roster, and will now head into the Packers’ Week 1 matchup with the Detroit Lions as a second-string corner. Not bad for a guy whose only experience at the position was a two-week stint as a freshman at practice when the Scarlet Knights were hit hard by injuries.
Melton does have the benefit of being able to get some advice whenever he needs it, as his brother, Max, is a cornerback by trade and was taken in the second round of the 2024 draft by the Arizona Cardinals. But talking about playing cornerback at this level and actually doing it are obviously very different things, which is what makes what Bo Melton has done that much more impressive.
We’ll see if this experiment sticks once games that matter actually get rolling, but the Packers undoubtedly have to like how things have gone thus far.
