Three cornerbacks that the Detroit Lions could be interested in at the 2024 Senior Bowl

Senior Bowl practices kick off Tuesday and here are 3 CBs we’ll be watching with the Lions in mind

The last 24 hours or so have been absolutely brutal for Lions fans. Not finishing that game against the 49ers to punch our ticket to the Super Bowl will always be in the back of my mind. No doubt, this Lions team can be back in the mix next year but they’ve got plenty of work to do.

Fortunately they can add more talent to their roster in the next few months. Whether it be free agency, trades or through the NFL Draft, it’s a promising time in Detroit. Especially when you consider how far this team got with the issues on defense, it’s encouraging.

With the season over, I now shift gears. With that, I begin breaking down the tape on a lot of the defensive talent here in Mobile, Alabama at the 2024 Senior Bowl. While there’s a plethora of a defensive talent here, I can’t help but think of ways that the Lions could improve their secondary. Adding talent at cornerback would be pivotal to the success on defense next season. Finding help opposite of Aidan Hutchinson and Cam Sutton have to be the top priorities this off-season. With that, here’s three cornerbacks that the Lions could have interest in this week at the Senior Bowl.

Max Melton, Rutgers 

The last time the Lions drafted a player that had a brother in the division, that player had played for the Green Bay Packers. In 2021, the Packers had Equanimeous St. Brown and the Lions drafted his brother, Amon-Ra St. Brown. Oddly enough, the Packers signed wide receiver Bo Melton from the Seahawks practice squad and now his brother, Max, enters the 2024 NFL Draft.

Much like his brother, he will perform at the Senior Bowl to show teams what he can do. While Max Melton doesn’t play wide receiver, he does do a nice job covering them. This season, Melton only allowed 24 receptions on 44 targets (per PFF) and he had three interceptions and six pass deflections.

When you put on the tape, you can see Melton consistently aligned in the face of receivers. Ready to jam them and take their lunch money, there’s much to be desired with the man coverage ability from him. In addition to that, he does show a good awareness in zone coverage. There are times that he gets square and flat footed rather than opening his hips to get in better position to run with receivers. However, he’s patient, physical and doesn’t shy away from tackling the opposition.

Quinyon Mitchell, Toledo 

This one is obvious…ball skills and more ball skills. The production from Quinyon Mitchell over the last three seasons has been incredible. He’s recored six interceptions and 45 pass deflections. That type of production normally means that a defender is getting targeted a bunch.

That would remain true for Mitchell but the results for offenses have been limited. This past season, he was targets 62 times and he only gave up 27 receptions for 290 yards (per PFF). Additionally, he didn’t give up a touchdown and he earned a 91.5 overall grade from PFF.

On tape, Mitchell is an instinctive cornerback that will also get physical with the opposition. He jumps routes constantly and is able to play through the catch point as good as anyone. Checking into the Senior Bowl at 6’0″ and 195 pounds with 31 1/8″ arms should only help his draft stock. It’ll be interesting to see if he can show the desired fluidity and competitiveness all week in Mobile. If he does, he could very much be in the cards for the Lions with the 29th overall pick.

Johnny Dixon, Penn State 

Depending on who you talk to this may be a hot take but I prefer Johnny Dixon over Kalen King at this point. Both players will be at the Senior Bowl this week so it’ll be interesting to see how it shakes out for both players. With that, King misses far too many tackles for my liking.

As for Johnny Dixon, he’s very much been under-the-radar to this point in the process. While he’s got 29 5/8″ arms, he did measure in at 5’11” and 192 pounds in Mobile. Additionally, he’s been productive over the last two seasons. He’s tallied 9.5 tackles for loss, 7 sacks, three interceptions and 13 pass deflections during that time.

When you put on the tape, you can see an instinctive corner that is well balanced in man and zone coverage. Additionally, he’s physical and is an effective when blitzing. When thinking about the ways Aaron Glenn used Brian Branch and Ifeatu Melifonwu, I can’t help but get excited about his usage in Detroit’s defense.

 

Former Rutgers Bo Melton scores TD for Packers in NFC Divisional game

Bo Melton had a big day for the Green Bay Packers on Saturday.

On Saturday afternoon, the Green Bay Packers season came to an end in a 24-21 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. While the Packers were unable to knock off the top seed in the NFC, there were a few bright spots. That includes former Rutgers star Bo Melton.

In his second career playoff game, the New Jersey native made his presence felt. With the Packers trailing by one in the third quarter, Jordan Love found Melton open for a 19-yard touchdown pass. It was Melton’s only catch of the game, but he made it count.

Additionally, the touchdown gave Green Bay a 13-7 lead before the 49ers offense came storming back. For the former Rutger star, it is a moment he will never forget.

 

While the Packers will now shift their focus to next season, Saturday represented an important milestone for Melton. He was activated from the practice squad on November 29 and appeared in five games during the regular season. In that span, he hauled in 16 catches for 218 yards. He also averaged 13.6 yards a catch.

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In the playoffs, Melton continued to make an impact with two catches for 26 yards. Although the Packers fell short of their goals, they surpassed all expectations with a young roster. Melton hopes to be part of their future and, with his first postseason touchdown, showed that he warrants some consideration.

Packers, 49ers trade touchdowns in third quarter

The Packers-49ers playoff game is seeing big plays in the second half

Big plays ignited the NFC Divisional Round game between the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers in the third quarter.

The seventh seed took a 13-7 lead after a PAT when Jordan Love hit Bo Melton with a pass and the wideout from Rutgers used some fancy football in the back of the end zone.

The Niners came right back with a TD of their own.

They went 75 yards in four plays with Christian McCaffrey covering the final 39 on a run.

After the PAT, the top seed in the NFC led, 14-13.

Bo Melton TD catch gives Packers a third-quarter lead over 49ers

Bo Melton drew a 41-yard pass interference penalty and then caught a 19-yard TD pass from Jordan Love.

One play after a defensive pass interference penalty gave the Green Bay Packers a chance inside the red zone, Jordan Love hit Bo Melton for a 19-yard, go-ahead touchdown pass with 9:27 left in the third quarter of Saturday night’s NFC Divisional Round showdown with the San Francisco 49ers.

The touchdown gave the Packers a 13-7 lead.

Melton drew the 41-yard pass interference penalty on 3rd-and-15 to set up the score. On the touchdown, the Packers drew up a fake bubble screen and Melton got behind the safety, who slipped down on the rain-soaked field.

The scoring drive went nine plays and covered 75 yards. The Packers got a first down on an overturned spot on third down and overcame an 11-yard loss on a botched pitch to Aaron Jones.

Here’s the touchdown from Love to Melton:

The touchdown was the Packers’ first in four red zone trips on Saturday night.

Melton, a 2022 draft pick of the Seattle Seahawks, became a go-to target for Love down the stretch. He was the team’s first 100-yard receiver after going over the century mark as a practice squad callup in Week 17 against the Minnesota Vikings.

From the practice squad to breakout player, Packers WR Bo Melton stayed ready

A practice squad player for most of the year, WR Bo Melton helped power the Packers to the playoffs over the final three games.

Coming off a demoralizing loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 15, the Green Bay Packers needed three straight wins to have a shot at the playoffs. That was when they stumbled upon an unlikely player to help lift them to the postseason. That player was wide receiver Bo Melton.

Over the last three weeks, Melton has turned 15 receptions into 211 yards and a touchdown. Not to mention, 13 of those 15 catches have resulted in first downs. Green Bay, of course, ended up winning all three games and will now face the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Wildcard Round. But it’s safe to say they couldn’t have done without Melton’s spark.

“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,” head coach Matt LaFleur said after his team’s playoff-clinching win over the Chicago Bears. “And he continues to do it, and I think it goes back to his approach, his work ethic, mentality, attitude, all of that. The guy just works and gets better.”

A seventh-round pick in 2022, Melton faced a tough road before becoming a breakout player for the Packers. He spent most of that first year on the Seattle Seahawks practice squad before Green Bay signed him to their active roster at the tail end of the season.

Melton competed for a spot on this year’s 53-man roster but was released during final cutdowns. Fortunately, another team did not sign Melton, and he was brought back to the practice squad.

That’s where Melton stayed until he was called up to play in his first NFL game against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving. Melton went on to play eight total snaps, but six of those were on special teams. A week later, he was back on the practice squad.

Rather than get discouraged, Melton stayed ready.

“I prepare myself during the week for the opportunity of playing on Sunday,” Melton told Larry McCarren of Packers.com in a one-on-one interview. “When the opportunity came, I treated it just like I was working in practice. So when I go out there, and my number is called, I already knew I was going to be ready for this because I already put in all the work in practice.”

He eventually got another opportunity when injuries became an issue in the receiver room. The Packers decided to elevate Melton against Tampa Bay, and he caught one pass for seven yards.

The following week, he did his part in Green Bay’s streak-starting win over the Carolina Panthers. Despite running just 14 routes, Melton offered a solid contribution, hauling in four catches for 44 yards.

Then, down to his final practice squad elevation, Melton provided an incredible performance on New Year’s Eve while visiting the Minnesota Vikings. He became the first Packers receiver to have 100 yards in a game this season, and he also scored his first career touchdown to make it an insurmountable lead. After that, Melton was here to stay.

Finally, to continue an impressive stretch, he added another five receptions for 62 yards in the finale against Chicago.

Over the past month, Melton has seemingly come out of nowhere. He has gone from being a practice squad player to propelling his team on a playoff push.

Green Bay likely wouldn’t be where they are without Melton, but he says it took a complete team buy-in to get to where they are now.

“We’re a whole team together,” he said. “These last three weeks were win and advance, and that’s what coach LaFleur was always saying to us. I think our team took that to heart. We wanted to win and advance to make it to the playoffs, and I think that our team bought in very well to that. We came out there and took that approach, so it was kind of like a team thing. I was just a part of it.”

Now, after proving himself, Melton will be a part of a potential playoff run.

Packers WR Bo Melton showing he has staying power

Bo Melton’s past three games suggest he could be part of the Packers’ long term plans at WR.

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.

Tunnel Vision – Final

Tunnel Vision – Huddle awards!

SUNDAY SALUTES
Quarterbacks Pass-Rush TD
 Josh Allen 359-67 2
 Carson Wentz 163-56 3
 Dak Prescott 279-0 4
 Derek Carr 264-6 4
 Nick Mullens 396-8 2
Running Backs Yards TD
James Conner 27-150
4-54
1
Breece Hall 37-178
2-12
1
Jonathan Taylor 30-188
2-8
1
Bijan Robinson 11-28
7-103
1
Joe Mixon  14-111
1-6
2
Wide Receivers Yards TD
Justin Jefferson 12-192 1
CeeDee Lamb 13-98 2
Nico Collins 9-195 1
Amon-Ra St. Brown 7-144 1
Dontayvion Wicks 6-61 2
Tight Ends Yards TD
Evan Engram 10-79 1
Dalton Kincaid 7-84 0
Sam LaPorta 5-29 1
Will Dissly 3-46 1
Donald Parham 5-83 0
Placekickers XP FG
Cameron Dicker 0 4
Blake Grupe 6 2
Mason Crosby 3 2
Daniel Carlson 3 2
Cairo Santos 0 3
Defense Sack – TO TD
Jets 7-2 0
Buccaneers 3-2 0
Giants 3-1 0
Cowboys 4-3 0
Chiefs 0 1

Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts

Players with 3+ missed games

Quarterbacks
Joe Burrow
Kirk Cousins
Kyler Murray
Deshaun Watson
Jimmy Garoppolo
Justin Herbert
Daniel Jones
Aaron Rodgers

Running Backs
Nick Chubb
J.K. Dobbins
Saquon Barkley
David Montgomery
Josh Jacobs
Austin Ekeler
James Conner
Kyren Williams
Rhamondre Stevenson
Khalil Herbert
De’Von Achane
Jonathon Taylor
Aaron Jones
Cam Akers

Wide Receivers
Justin Jefferson
Diontae Johnson
Marquise Brown
DJ Chark
Robert Woods
Kadarius Toney
Cooper Kupp
Christian Kirk
Tee Higgins
JuJu Smith-Schuster
Tank Dell
Michael Thomas
Christian Watson
Mike Williams

Tight Ends
Mark Andrews
T.J. Hockenson
Dallas Goedert
Hunter Henry
Darren Waller
Pat Freiermuth

The Huddle Awards

Best Player
QB –
Josh Allen
RB –
Christian McCaffrey
WR –
CeeDee Lamb
TE –
Travis Kelce
PK – Brandon Aubrey
DEF –
Ravens

Best Rookie
QB – C.J. Stroud
RB –
Jahmyr Gibbs
WR –
Puka Nacua
TE –
Sam LaPorta

Best Free Agent
QB –
C.J. Stroud: Actual QB10
RB –
Kyren Williams: Actual RB6
WR –
Puka Nacua: Actual WR5
TE –
Trey McBride: Actual TE8

Best Game
QB – 45.05 pts Josh Allen -Week 12 (rush 9-81-2 + pass 339-2)
RB –
51.3 pts De’Von Achane Week 3 (rush 18-203-2 + rec. 4-30-2)
WR –
52.2 pts Ja’Marr Chase Week 5 (rec. 15-192-3)
TE –
35.9 pts Travis Kelce Week 7 (rec. 12-179-1)

Best Fantasy Draft Pick
QB –
Brock Purdy: ADP QB20 – Actual QB5
RB –
Raheem Mostert: ADP RB40 – Actual RB5
WR –
Mike Evans: ADP WR31 – actual WR7
TE –
Sam LaPorta: ADP TE18 – Actual TE1

Worst Fantasy Draft Pick
QB – Aaron Rodgers: ADP QB 12, Actual QB72
RB –
Nick Chubb: ADP RB5, Actual RB88
WR – Justin Jefferson: ADP WR1, Actual WR31
TE – 
Darren Waller: ADP TE5, Actual TE24

Huddle player of the year

Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Christian McCaffrey  – I had five teams make the playoffs in a large contest and the only league champion that didn’t have McCaffrey was me in one league. CeeDee Lamb delivered the goods for the last month to be sure and was also well represented in all fantasy playoffs, but McCaffrey remained healthy and was the top running back by a huge margin. He took the last game off and still outscored all other running backs by over 100 fantasy points.

Salute!

2023-2024 NFL Playoffs

Saturday
Browns vs. Texans, 3:30 PM
Dolphins vs. Chiefs, 7:00 PM

Sunday
Steelers vs. Bills, 12:00 PM
Packers vs. Cowboys, 3:30 PM
Rams vs. Lions, 7:00 PM

Monday
Eagles vs. Buccaneers, 7:00 PM

all times Central Time

Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry

Comedy Yards TDs Tragedy Yards TDs
QB Carson Wentz 163-56 3 QB Patrick Mahomes 0 0
RB Kendre Miller 13-73
1-6
1 RB Christian McCaffrey 0 0
RB Tyjae Spears 3-25
3-41
2 RB Raheem Mostert 0 0
WR Quez Watkins 8-93 1 WR Keenan Allen 0 0
WR David Bell 4-68 2 WR Cooper Kupp 0 0
WR A.T. Perry 3-53 2 WR DeVonta Smith 0 0
TE Will Dissly 3-46 1 TE Travis Kelce 0 0
PK Blake Grupe   6 XP   2 FG PK Matt Wright 0
Huddle Fantasy Points = 158 Huddle Fantasy Points = 0

Now get back to work… and thanks for everything!

Packers WR Bo Melton becomes go-to player for Jordan Love on third down

Bo Melton’s 11 catches have produced nine first downs and a touchdown, including five conversions on third down.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Bo Melton, who was signed to the 53-man roster after producing a career-best 105 receiving yards on Sunday night in Minneapolis, has quickly become a go-to player in big spots for Jordan Love the Packers passing game.

Consider this: Melton’s 11 catches over the last three weeks have produced nine first downs and one touchdown, including five conversions on third down.

On Sunday night against the Vikings, Melton had four different conversions on third down, including a 9-yard touchdown catch that essentially put the game away in the third quarter.

Melton has played only 94 snaps and run 52 routes in 2023, but Love and coach Matt LaFleur clearly trust him in big spots.

In Carolina, Melton converted a 3rd-and-10 with an 11-yard catch and was targeted on two other third downs.

In Minnesota, Melton converted 3rd-and-1, 3rd-and-6, 3rd-and-3 and 3rd-and-7 with catches.

Melton has also converted a 2nd-and-10 with a 14-yard catch (in Carolina) and a 2nd-and-8 with a 28-yard catch (in Minnesota).

If there’s one blemish for Melton, it came on Sunday night. The second-year receiver attempted to make a sliding catch on fourth down near the scoring area but couldn’t finish the catch. With a better throw, Melton might have scored, but he still should have made the play and the conversion. It was just another example of Love and the Packers trusting Melton in a big moment.

He might be needed in more big spots in the season finale. Jayden Reed is dealing with a chest injury and could be in danger of missing Sunday’s showdown with the Chicago Bears. If Reed can’t go, Melton will be on the field plenty in a game where the Packers can clinch a playoff spot with a win.

Packers sign WR Bo Melton to 53-man roster, place WR Samori Toure on IR

The Packers signed WR Bo Melton to the 53-man roster and placed WR Samori Toure on injured reserve.

Fresh out of practice squad elevations and one day after producing 105 receiving yards in a win over the Minnesota Vikings, receiver Bo Melton was signed by the Green Bay Packers to the team’s 53-man roster on Monday. Melton will take the roster spot of receiver Samori Toure, who was placed on injured reserve.

Melton caught six passes for a career-high 105 yards and his first NFL touchdown on Sunday night at U.S. Bank Stadium. He had catches of 28 yards and 37 yards, and his 9-yard score put the Packers up 30-3 in the third quarter.

Over the last two weeks, Melton has caught 10 passes for 149 yards and rushed one time for seven yards. Of his 11 catches this season, 10 have created first downs or touchdowns, including five conversions on third down.

Melton became the first Packers player to reach 100 receiving yards in 2023.

Melton’s signing to the active roster allows him a chance to play in the season finale against the Chicago Bears. He was previously elevated from the practice squad three times, the maximum for one player in a season.

Toure suffered an undisclosed injury against the Vikings. He fumbled away a punt return and caught one pass for -6 yards but the Packers did not report an injury in-game.

Toure’s season is now over. He caught eight passes for 78 yards over 18 targets and 11 games in 2023.

If everyone is healthy and available, the Packers will go into Sunday’s game against the Bears with Melton, Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks and Malik Heath at wide receiver.

The Packers also signed safety Tyler Coyle to the practice squad, replacing Melton.

Rutgers in the NFL: Bo Melton gets his first touchdown with the Green Bay Packers

Bo Melton got his first career-touchdown with the Green Bay Packers this week.

Bo Melton grabbed his first career touchdown on Sunday as the Green Bay Packers rolled to a big Week 16 win. The former Rutgers football wide receiver having a strong overall Sunday for the Packers.

In a 33-10 win over the Minnesota Vikings, Melton had six catches for 105 yards with a touchdown.

Melton has emerged over the past couple of weeks as a significant contributor to the Packers offense. On the year (four games, he has 11 receptions for 156 yards with a touchdown).

A former All-Big Ten selection at Rutgers, Melton was a seventh-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks in the 2022 NFL draft.

Here is a look at his first career NFL touchdown, which came late in the third quarter to give the Packers a 30-3 lead over the Vikings:

 

On Nov. 22, the Packers elevated Melton from the practice squad to the active roster.

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In 2020, his final season at Rutgers, Melton finished with 47 catches for 638 receiving yards and six touchdowns.