Green Bay Packers wide receiver Bo Melton has seemingly come out of nowhere in recent weeks, but he’s shown that this is more than just a hot streak. He has staying power.
It was Week 16 against the Carolina Panthers where we got our first true glimpse into what Melton can add to this offense. On the field for just 14 passing plays, Melton was targeted six times, catching four of those passes for 44 yards. An efficient performance.
Against the Minnesota Vikings the following week, Melton became the first Packers receiver in 2023 to eclipse 100 receiving yards in a single game while scoring a touchdown. Then, in Week 18, he totaled five more receptions for 62 yards.
“Bo made a bunch more plays,” said Matt LaFleur after the Bears game. “It’s been pretty cool to see a guy like that, that probably most of you have never really heard of, to see him get an opportunity to go out there and perform at a high level, and he continues to do it, and I think, again, it goes back to his approach, his work ethic, his mentality, attitude, all of that. The guy just works and gets better.”
Melton’s first real opportunity came, in part because of the injuries that the Packers have been navigating at the receiver position. Over the last month-plus the team has been without Christian Watson. On top of that, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks have missed time as well.
But these were also opportunities earned through what Melton had shown in practice, whether that be on special teams, working with the scout team offense, or when getting snaps with the starters. LaFleur has frequently praised Melton for his attitude and the approach he brings every day.
“He brings so much great energy to the room,” added LaFleur, “to practice every day, whether he’s on the show team or with the first team offense. He’s just always pushing people to be better, including himself. He gives great looks.
“We’ve mentioned it before, the level of excitement that guys have for him. Celebrating his success for what he’s been able to do the last couple of weeks. He’s just a well-respected and well-liked member of our football team.”
That in itself, how Melton goes about his business, could be enough to show us that he has staying power. But beyond the numbers he’s putting up on Sundays, it’s how he’s earning those yards that tells us he could be a factor not only in 2023.
Even without the ball in his hands, Melton can make an impact. He brings elite speed to the position, posting a 4.34-second 40-time coming out of Rutgers in 2022. We’ve seen the Packers use that to their advantage by utilizing him as the motion man pre-snap to stress defenses horizontally to create better spacing.
On a few instances, to keep defenses honest, Melton has gotten some designed touches out of the backfield to get him the ball in space where his speed can take over. And like the other receivers on the roster, LaFleur has the ability to move Melton around the formation, lining him up inside or out.
We’ve also seen Melton display really good feel, able to find the soft spot in defensive coverages along with making contested catches. In the last three games, he has caught 3-of-5 contested catch opportunities.
“First of all, he’s got a tremendous talent in the fact that he is really fast,” LaFleur said. “Obviously, you can’t coach that. It’s just good to see somebody go out there and do it in practice, then get opportunities and it translate over to the game. That’s what we are always trying to do. Take indy (individual work) to team, team to game day, and he’s been able to do that, but it’s a credit to all the work he’s put in.”
In a very short period of time, Melton has gone from being on the practice squad to playing a significant role in playoff-like matchups for the Packers, totaling 49 snaps and 45 snaps the past two weeks.
Even if the Packers receiver room were to get back to full health, Melton would likely still have a role on gamedays moving forward. He’s made that type of impact, and the process that has led to the level of production that we are seeing illustrates that this is more than just a hot streak.
