Max Melton Scouting Report

By: Michael Higgins

(Image courtesy of Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

School: Rutgers

Class: Senior

Position: CB

HT: 5’11

WT: 187 lbs

Sideline Prospect Ranking: #66

Background: Max Melton was a lightly recruited cornerback out of Mays Landing, New Jersey. He received a 3-star rating during his time at Cedar Creek High School. He comes from an extremely athletic background. His father, Gary, played running back at Rutgers from 1987-91 while his mother played basketball for Rutgers. His brother, Bo, is currently an NFL wide receiver. Melton played both sides of the ball for Cedar Creek at wide receiver and cornerback. He was named to All-State teams at both positions. It was fairly obvious where Melton was going out of high school. His family had strong Rutgers ties and he was a local product. He chose Rutgers over Purdue and Boston College.

College: Melton was a nice surprise for the Scarlet Knights right away. He started 6 of the 9 games in his freshman season. He was a cornerback that showed flashes of excellence and carried that into 2021 where he became a more consistent player. He was named Fourth Team All-Big 10 in both 2021 and 2022 as Rutgers’ top defensive performer. He has been a ballhawk at Rutgers. Always at the top of the conference in interceptions or passes defended. In 2023, Melton was named an Honorable Mention All-Big 10 as an effective boundary cornerback. Melton was invited to play in the Senior Bowl.

Strengths: Max Melton is a fast defender, flashing 4.4 speed. Melton is sticky in coverage and is able to diagnose a variety of routes from a variety of different route stems. Melton is, by far, the most athletic and physically gifted cornerback in this year’s draft class. His strength and physicality is displayed both within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage as well as at the catch point. He holds his own with even the most physical and strong X receivers. His frame may not suggest that Melton is a lockdown boundary corner, but that is exactly what it is. Melton is also shifty enough to cover the slot when need be. He is a jack of all trades in the secondary, expect him to be moved around the field as a rookie. When defending the run, Melton shows a willingness to get to the football and put his fingerprints on the play. He is not elite as a run defender, but he is effective and definitely not a liability. Lastly, man coverage and towing the line between being too grabby and being physical is Melton’s strength, he is also a solid zone corner who takes up his third of the field and can hand off routes to the safeties easily.

Weaknesses: Melton’s eagerness to be physical can come back to bite him as receivers can get outside and stack him if he doesn’t get his hands in their chest at the line of scrimmage. He struggles to jam receivers with any type of consistency. When attempting to make tackles in the open field, Melton takes poor routes to the football. He also is not the best tackler, often going for an ineffective arm tackle.

Conclusion: Max Melton can have a variety of different roles within a defense. He will be best suited as a shutdown man cornerback. He should not be asked to come in and immediately take on the opposing team’s best receiver, but he is certainly on that track.

Scheme Fit: Press Man Coverage

Ideal Role: Boundary CB

Best Team Fits: LAC, PIT, PHI

Player Comparison: Trent McDuffie

Player Grade: 81.1