Max Melton, CB Rutgers: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Melton was a three-star wide receiver/cornerback recruit from Cedar Creek High School in Egg Harbor City, N.J. in the class of 2020

Rutgers cornerback Max Melton is the best player to go through the program in more than a decade. The New Jersey native projects as a third round selection in the 2024 NFL Draft and could break into the second round with a strong showing in 2023.

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Max Melton, CB Rutgers: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Fourth-year junior outside cornerback from Mays Landing, N.J.

Background: Melton was a three-star wide receiver/cornerback recruit from Cedar Creek High School in Egg Harbor City, N.J. in the class of 2020. He was the No. 913 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 877 for On3.com. Melton was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 75 grade out of 100. He originally committed to Purdue before flipping to Rutgers. Melton led Cedar Creek to a 10-3 record and the NJSIAA South Group 2 Regional Championship game in his final season when he caught 60 passes for 785 yards and seven touchdowns. He also ran for 211 yards and a score. Melton earned Second Team All-New Jersey honors from USA Today in 2019. He was an All-South Jersey selection for the Philadelphia Inquirer and a Jersey Sports Zone All-Zone Team member in 2019 as a wide receiver. Melton was a Press of Atlantic City First Team All-Star on defense and a First Team All-South Jersey selection for the Brooks-Irvine Memorial Football Club. Melton’s brother, Bo Melton, played wide receiver at Rutgers from 2017-21 and was a seventh round pick for the Seattle Seahawks in 2022. His father, Gary Melton, played wide receiver at Rutgers from 1987-91. His mother, Vicky Melton, played on the Rutgers women’s basketball team from 1989-93. The younger Melton has some verified numbers from The Opening Regional in high school in 2019. He ran a 4.58 49-yard dash and a 4.38 20-yard shuttle and jumped 37.2 inches in the vertical.

Injuries & Off-Field: Suspended by team for three games in 2021 after being charged with three counts of aggravated assault and possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose following a situation with a paintball gun, missed most of 2021 Northwestern game with an injury

Awards: 2022 Honorable Mention All-Big Ten

Pros: Special teams experience on the punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units, blocked punts vs. Michigan and Nebraska in 2022, recovered a muffed punt return vs. Ohio State (2022), significant exposure to man and zone concepts, two years of ball production, appears to have NFL-caliber arm length, appears to have flexible ankles, quick to correct footwork on the fly, hips flip and open quickly, quick backpedal, flashes of explosive linear athleticism, able to carry receivers vertically from press, one-armed stab in press occasionally, stays attached on shallow crossers over a crowded middle of the field, compresses outside releases along the sideline, reads the quarterback’s eyes the whole way, plus level ball tracking, impressive vertical leap, competitive at the catch point to force incompletions, big hits at the catch point on short slants when driving on the ball from zone, quick to plant and drive on short throws from zone, sniffs out screens, swim move to defeat blockers, surprisingly good at dodging WR blocks, competes to get off blocks, high motor in pursuit, willing to come downhill and make tackles short of the sticks, comes up with some big hits for a lean defender

Cons: Committed three penalties in 2022, undersized, limited experience in the slot, speed is good but not great, steps are sometimes to wide and mess with his balance in press, missteps and opening his hips too early give the receiver an extra step, footwork near the line needs improvement, sits high in his backpedal, footwork allows some separation at the top of the stem (especially on intermediate to deep comeback routes), questionable acceleration sometimes allows receivers to blow past him, not much action in true press, sucked downhill by fake screens and play action, a couple of tough red zone reps against Marvin Harrison Jr. (2022) including two penalties, still needs to work on meeting throws at the apex, instances of trying to catch with his body, play strength and arm length aren’t always up to the task when required to defeat blocks, drops head and goes low on tackle attempts, should drive through ball carriers more often, runs himself out of plays with steep angles, over eagerness to block punts sometimes leads to penalties

Overview: Melton is a special teams ace with experience on the punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units. He blocked punts against Michigan and Nebraska and recovered a muffed punt return against Ohio State in 2022. Melton gained significant exposure to both man and zone concepts in Rutgers’ defense. He primarily played zone, off-man, and soft shoe press while aligning to both the field and boundary. Melton occasionally broke out a one-armed stab in press, but he didn’t show much in true press. He appears to have good but not great arm length for an NFL cornerback. The New Jersey native is a little undersized for an outside cornerback and doesn’t have much experience in the slot. He has a quick but high backpedal. Melton suffers from missteps and opening his hips too early in press, but his quick corrective footwork gets him out of trouble thanks to his flexible ankles and loose hips. He needs to clean up his footwork near the line of scrimmage and at the top of the stem. Melton allows some separation on intermediate and deep comeback routes because he takes unnecessary steps. The former three-star recruit has flashes of explosive linear athleticism and reps carrying receivers vertically from press, but his speed and acceleration aren’t good enough to stay in phase with burners. Melton stays attached on shallow crossers in traffic and compresses outside releases along the sideline. He’s at his best when allowed to read the quarterback’s eyes and key in on his decision-making. Melton is competitive at the catch point to force incompletions. He uses his ball tracking and impressive vertical leap to even the playing field with larger receivers. However, he still needs to work on meeting throws at the apex and avoid catching with his body. The All-Big Ten honorable mention drives from zone to deliver big hits at the catch point on short slants. He is quick to trigger downhill on short routes and sniffs out screens. Melton’s strength and arm length aren’t always enough to defeat blocks, but he uses a swim move and his agility to dodge wide receiver blocks. The fourth-year corner competes to get off blocks and is a high motor pursuit defender. He makes some big hits for a lean defender, but he should drive through ball carriers more often instead of dropping his head and diving low. Melton’s eagerness to come downhill sometimes leads to running himself out of plays with steep angles. He had a couple of tough red zone reps against Marvin Harrison Jr. (2022), including two penalties.

Overall, Melton is an intelligent, lunch pail cornerback who does the dirty work in every facet of the game to help his team succeed. His acceleration, arm length, build, and speed will require further analysis from NFL teams and could limit his projection as a prospect. However, Melton’s on-field approach to the game and ability to decipher plays from zone coverage are impressive. 

Role & Scheme Fit: Outside corner to the field in a zone scheme; possible slot corner

Round Projection: Early Third to Mid Third

Size: 6'0", 190 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 08-16-23