The Green Bay Packers are on a shortlist of potential Super Bowl contenders entering this upcoming season. They are among the top three or four teams experts are picking to represent the NFC in New Orleans on February 9. However, teams need superstars to elevate them from good to great to reach a Super Bowl, and Green Bay certainly has players who fit that description.
People expect players like Jordan Love, Rashan Gary, Jaire Alexander, Josh Jacobs, Xavier McKinney, and Kenny Clark to deliver performances worthy of their contracts every game day. Still, a team also needs a steady supply of role players to fill out the roster and contribute each week to reach the Super Bowl.
These players may not be superstars on mega contracts. However, teams can count on them to step up and deliver when their name is called. They are productive regardless of whether they get playing time due to injury, the ineffectiveness of a player above them, or simply being given an opportunity to exploit a mismatch against an opponent.
Bo Melton is one of the first players that comes to mind for the Packers in 2024.
One of Green Bay’s biggest surprises last year was the emergence of second-year wide receiver Miles Bokeem “Bo” Melton. The 25-year-old receiver from Rutgers did not have the smoothest path to consistent playing time in the NFL.
The Seattle Seahawks drafted Melton in the seventh round of the 2022 draft and signed him to their practice squad. He remained there until December of that season when Green Bay came calling with an opportunity on their active roster due to injuries at receiver and returner.
He didn’t see any action in 2022. However, the Packers signed him to a futures deal and brought him back for camp last year due to the depth and resources they poured into the young group. After failing to make the team again out of camp, they signed him to the practice squad, where he remained until the Thanksgiving Day game against the Detroit Lions. They cut him again after that game but re-signed him to the practice squad.
With injuries and ineffectiveness (looking at you, Samori Toure) hitting Green Bay’s receiver room again, the Packers signed Melton back to the active roster – this time for good – on December 17. Overall, he appeared in seven total games between the regular season and the postseason. Melton had 18 receptions on 24 targets for 244 yards and two touchdowns, one of which was a nifty catch in the divisional round against the San Francisco 49ers. Not bad for a player who was seemingly an afterthought until late November.
So why can he be a sneaky important player for the Packers in 2024?
First, there are injuries. While Green Bay possesses a young and deep receiving corps, each player has suffered from injuries early in their career.
We all know about Christian Watson‘s issues with staying on the field in his first two seasons, missing 11 games. Dontayvion Wicks and Jayden Reed have also had their share of time in and out of the lineup. Wicks missed two games last season and left another early due to an injury. Jayden Reed also missed a game last year with a toe injury and was in and out of practice at various points. He also started this camp on the non-football injury list with… a toe injury.
Reed and Wicks missing a few games a season isn’t the end of the world. However, the Packers have shown they can have a hard time getting the ground game going and have had to rely on Jordan Love and these receivers to move the ball and put up points. If Wicks, Reed, and Watson – or any combination of the three – are out of the lineup, it opens a spot for the next man up to deliver.
By all accounts, that will be Bo Melton.
Green Bay runs a lot of three-receiver sets, so Melton could be one injury away from significant playing time. Injuries can linger and add up and sometimes hit entire position groups simultaneously. (Anyone remember Letroy Guion playing guard in the 2016 NFC Championship Game?) If that happens to this year’s receiving group, Melton should be able to step in immediately.
I also think we can expect Green Bay’s offense to be more aggressive this season than last year’s unit. Love and his young offensive weapons had a significant learning curve, so the training wheels were on for most of the season. With Jordan showing a much-improved deep ball this training camp and preseason, more shots down the field should be in play.
Melton has a 4.34 40-yard dash time, so he could be a perfect candidate for the occasional deep shot on unsuspecting defenses. Teams expect those deep shots to go to Watson. However, if they have Watson and Melton on the field simultaneously, teams could have a hard time covering both burners deep, giving the team multiple deep threats to take the top off a defense at any moment.
If Watson’s hamstrings aren’t improved, the team won’t lose that threat entirely and can fill that role with No. 80. I would also expect Green Bay to be creative in getting all of these receivers on the field. The Packers should use wide receiver end-arounds, as they did with Melton in the first preseason game, and line up receivers in the backfield. That will help the offense get the ball in their playmakers’ hands and would be a great way to help get Bo and his game-breaking speed on the field and be a difference-maker in games.
Teams will try to take away the big four in Wicks, Reed, Watson, and Doubs. However, they won’t be able to take all of them out of games every week. Still, they could develop game plans to take away one or two, requiring others to step up and produce.
Bo Melton was one of Green Bay’s biggest surprise players of their 2023 season. While superstars win championships in professional sports, middle and back-of-the-roster players can contribute in a big way toward that ultimate goal. If used properly and given opportunities, Melton can have a bigger impact than most might expect and help Green Bay bring home a fifth Lombardi to Titletown.
