Bo Melton attempted a radical change from wide receiver to cornerback last summer. At the time, some speculated it was a last-ditch effort to make the team in some capacity.
Melton made the squad but didn’t log a snap at cornerback in the regular season. Now that it’s been made official that Melton is moving back to wide receiver, how does the numbers game change at wide receiver?
Bo Melton didn’t play a single snap at cornerback in 2025 despite being listed on the official roster at that position. Still, he logged 96 snaps at wide receiver and had a crucial receiving touchdown in the win at Lambeau Field over Chicago.
The move to cornerback felt a bit desperate, although whether that’s on Melton’s end or the team’s end is entirely up for debate. Despite having some subpar play at cornerback, especially down the stretch run of the season, the Packers never turned to Melton. Even calling him an insurance policy at the position felt like a stretch.
Before OTAs on Tuesday, head coach Matt LaFleur announced Melton would be switching back to wide receiver.
He’s really made a lot of progress. His ability to attack the football. He’s made a lot of plays for us, but I think he’s improved. You can tell he’s put in work from the time the season ended to where we‘re at now and showing some of the things we wanted to see him improve upon.
Last year, Green Bay emerged from training camp and the preseason with six wide receivers on the initial 53-man roster. The locks were Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Matthew Golden, Savion Williams, and Dontayvion Wicks. Christian Watson was still rehabbing a torn ACL and started on the PUP list. There were a couple of players on the bubble, and in that case, Malik Heath found himself the odd man out.
Again this year there are some obvious locks. The newly extended Watson isn’t going anywhere, nor Reed, or last year’s early-round draft picks Golden or Williams. Skyy Moore came in primarily as the return man but will also be listed as a wide receiver. Barring something fairly shocking taking place in the next three months, Moore will be on the roster.
That’s five. Doubs and Wicks are gone, and Melton would be a prime candidate for the sixth slot if Green Bay goes that route.
There are some other intriguing names in the mix like Isaiah Neyor, Will Sheppard, and 2026 undrafted free agent J. Michael Sturdivant. If any of those three wildly outperform expectations this summer, they could dethrone Melton for that sixth spot.
Mostly, it will come down to whether Green Bay wants to keep six wide receivers again. If that number drops to five, those spots are pretty well accounted for. It’s probably more likely to be six, though, in which case Melton has the inside track for the final spot.
LaFleur and the Packers have always seemed to have an infatuation with Melton, and he often justified their confidence as a reserve wide receiver. Still, his name isn’t written in ink on the 2026 roster.
Golden and Reed are the shifty, fast, undersized wide receivers of the group. Reed will likely play a ton of slot and will be sent in pre-snap motion. Golden can play on the outside. However, like Reed, he’s under six feet tall in a LaFleur offense that favors having more size at wide receiver.
It’s fair to ask if having Melton, another undersized wide receiver, would be a bit redundant. Even Moore is on the smaller side at 5’10”. The big difference is that he will be showing his value in the return game more than as a wideout.
Those other options behind Melton all have the frame that LaFleur typically prefers: Neyor is 6’4”, and Sheppard and Sturdivant are both 6’3”.
It’s all a numbers game, albeit one that slightly favors Bo Melton. But if another depth piece dazzles in the preseason or Green Bay chooses to roll with five WRs in 2026, Melton could find himself in the same spot Malik Heath did last year.
