Max Melton taken in the NFL draft! Rutgers defensive back is an Arizona Cardinal

Max Melton goes No. 32 overall to the Arizona Cardinals.

Max Melton went in the second round of the NFL draft, landing with the Arizona Cardinals at No. 43. The former Rutgers standout landed with a team where he will have the chance to make an immediate impact and fill a very pressing need at cornerback.

The talented defensive back is coming off a strong offseason where he solidified a resume that saw him develop into one of the Big Ten’s top defensive players at Rutgers. The Cardinals, in need of help at cornerback, are getting an aggressive defensive presence in the NFL draft who is comfortable playing press coverage.

Melton has good length and is an aggressive, sure tackler. He is also a committed presence in the run defense.

During his four years at Rutgers, Melton was a multi-time All-Big Ten selection. The lead up to his Friday night selection was a tremendous build-up for Melton, starting with his running a 4.39 time in the 40 at the NFL combine.

Across his four years at Rutgers, Melton finished with 113 total tackles, eight interceptions, 20 pass breakups, one forced fumble, and four fumble recoveries in 43 games.

 

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The NFL bloodlines that Melton brings to the Cardinals have brought a competitive edge to his game. He is the younger brother of Bo Melton, a wide receiver with the Green Bay Packers.

 

Arizona Cardinals select Rutgers CB Max Melton with the 43rd overall pick. Grade: A

In Rutgers CB Max Melton, the Arizona Cardinals get a first-round talent in the second round.

The Cardinals are about as bereft of talent at cornerback as they are at most other positions on the roster, and in Rutgers’ Max Melton, they get a borderline first-round talent in the second round. Melton has a bit of work to do to stay in phase downfield, but he has all the athletic attributes to match and carry receivers wherever they go. A likely first-day starter, Melton might take a few lumps at first, but the playing profile says, “Starting island cornerback.”

Max Melton comes from an athletic family. His father Gary played wide receiver and running back at Rutgers from 1987-91, and his mother Vicky, competed on the Rutgers women’s basketball team from 1989-93. Melton’s older brother Bo also played for the Scarlet Knights, was selected in the seventh round of the 2022 draft by the Seattle Seahawks, and caught 18 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns for the Green Bay Packers last season.

Max Melton might have the highest profile in his family when all is said and done. A receiving and rushing star at Cedar Creek High School in Egg Harbor City, Atlantic County, New Jersey, Melton chose Rutgers as an obvious family proposition, and had his best of four collegiate seasons in 2023. Then, he allowed 24 catches on 44 targets for 252 yards, 72 yards after the catch, three touchdowns, three interceptions, three pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 65.7.

The 5-foot-11, 187-pund Melton is a bit under the radar as an outside cornerback in this class, but the tape shows an instinctive match defender with great athletic attributes.

PLUSES

— Natural match-and-carry cornerback in any scheme — zone/man, press/off.

— Will run foot-for-foot with any receiver; Melton has a frenetic playing style, but he’s able to keep it under control for the most part.

— Gave Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka all kinds of hassles vs. Ohio State.

— Smooth in his transitions and backpedal, and has excellent ball skills for deflections and interceptions.

— Can handle choice routes and other option concepts from the slot.

— 4.39 40-yard dash shows up on the field, as does the 40½” vertical jump and the 136″ broad jump (all high-percentile)

— Melton can get from Point A to Point B in a hurry, and he’s explosive to the ball when he gets there.

MINUSES

— Tackling is… well, a work in progress. He’s not going to get through blockers, and his tackling style is more pestering than truly bothersome.

— Doesn’t really have a concept of run fits.

— Recovery speed is nice, but he’ll give receivers too much of a cushion at times, which he doesn’t need to do.

— More of a man coverage expert; he’ll occasionally get a bit lost in zone.

Melton is a fascinating prospect. As a pass defender, he’s as sticky as anyone in this class. As a run defender, he doesn’t really look like he wants to be out there at all. I’m not sure how much his NFL coaches will be able to develop that killer instinct. I’m also not sure how much it matters, because his tape against the pass tells an important series of stories.

Cardinals land CB Max Melton with 43rd pick

Melton is the Cardinals’ second-round pick after they traded back eight spots.

The Arizona Cardinals made fans wait a little bit for their second-round pick. After trading the 35th pick to the Atlanta Falcons, they landed a cornerback with the 43rd pick.

With pick No. 43, the Cardinals selected Rutgers cornerback Max Melton.

Melton is 5-foot-11 and 187 pounds with long 32 1/8-inch arms and a 76 5/8-inch wingspan. He has speed an athleticism to spare. He ran the 40 at the combine in 4.39 seconds and posted a 40.5-inch vertical leap and 136-inch broad jump. At his pro day, he ran the three-cone in 6.96 seconds.

He is 22 years old.

Last season, he had three interceptions and picked off eight over the last three seasons. He broke up 21 passes in three seasons.

In addition to his play at cornerback, he also was a star special teamer. He was a starting gunner on the punt team for four seasons and blocked four punts in his career, including three in 2022.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

20 best players available for Ravens on Day 2 of the 2024 NFL draft

Day One of the 2024 NFL draft is in the books, and it was a historic night. Six quarterbacks were selected in the first 12 picks, and 23 offensive players were selected, the most ever. Baltimore was able to land one of the top cornerbacks on the …

Day One of the 2024 NFL draft is in the books, and it was a historic night. Six quarterbacks were selected in the first 12 picks, and 23 offensive players were selected, the most ever.

Baltimore was able to land one of the top cornerbacks on the board without trading up.

Rounds two and three will play out on Friday night, and the Eagles will have two picks in Round 2 and none in Round 3.

Here is our list of the best players on the board during day two of the NFL draft.

Raiders Draft Radar: Top cornerback fits by round

It seems like every year the Raiders head into the draft with a need at the cornerback position. This year is no exception. While they had Nate Hobbs locking down the slot, the boundaries were a revolving door of cornerbacks that is still not …

It seems like every year the Raiders head into the draft with a need at the cornerback position. This year is no exception. While they had Nate Hobbs locking down the slot, the boundaries were a revolving door of cornerbacks that is still not settled.

From the looks of things, Jack Jones is the answer on one side, but the other side is very much in need of an influx of talent. The team flat out ignored the position in free agency, leaving them in the same situation today.

Though it’s hard to really blame them for being skeptical that free agency would solve anything. Last year, they signed two cornerbacks early in free agency (David Long Jr and Duke Shelley) and then Marcus Peters just before camp and none of them were on the team by the end of last season.

They also drafted Jakorian Bennett in the fourth round and he was benched after four starts. So, now they must take another shot at it and you would figure that would happen by the end of day two. Perhaps more than once.

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2024 NFL draft: A cornerback in every round for the Steelers

One of the biggest moves the Pittsburgh Steelers made this offseason was to trade away wide receiver Diontae Johnson, getting cornerback Donte Jackson in return. This gives the Steelers a pair of starting cornerbacks on the outside but there remains …

One of the biggest moves the Pittsburgh Steelers made this offseason was to trade away wide receiver Diontae Johnson, getting cornerback Donte Jackson in return. This gives the Steelers a pair of starting cornerbacks on the outside but there remains a need for a quality slot cornerback. Or, if the Steelers want to kick Jackson inside, Pittsburgh will want to look for another boundary cornerback.

Here is a cornerback for the Steelers to consider in each round of the 2024 NFL draft.

NFL Mock Draft 2024: Which New York team is projected to take Rutgers football’s Max Melton?

Rutgers Max Melton is projected to be drafted by NY Jets in the third round, according to the latest mock draft from The Sporting News. 

Next week’s NFL draft will likely see Max Melton off the board by the end of Day 2. The Rutgers football defensive back is coming off a strong week of Senior Bowl practice as well as a sensational showing at the NFL combine.

Melton, a 5-foot-11, 197-pound cornerback, is being projected to the New York Jets in the third round with the Jets’ No. 72 overall pick, according to the latest mock draft from the Sporting News.

If the Jets draft Melton, the New Jersey native can stay home, adding depth to New York’s defensive secondary. In potentially adding Melton, the Jets can add a solid defensive back to compliment Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed.

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Since the NFL combine in March, Melton has quickly risen on NFL draft boards.

During his four seasons at Rutgers, Melton registered 113 total tackles, eight interceptions, 20 pass breakups, one forced fumble, and four fumble recoveries throughout four seasons. Melton finished the 2023 season as an All-Big Ten selection, starting 12 games for the Scarlet Knights.

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Melton’s draft stock rose when he ran a 4.39 time in the 40-yard dash and finished with impressive athletic measurements at the NFL combine.

 

Veterans like Flip Dixon believe that the Rutgers football defense can be even better this year

The Rutgers football defense, good last year, can be even better.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — With most of their starters returning, the Rutgers football defense has the potential to take another step forward as a unit. One of those returning pieces is safety Flip Dixon, who had a strong first season with Rutgers in 2023.

An addition out of the transfer portal, Dixon had 76 total tackles, an interception, a forced fumble and five passes defended last year for Rutgers.

With a number of big pieces opting to return, the Rutgers defense is arguably the most experienced in the Big Ten. They were seventh in the Big Ten in scoring defense and sixth in yards allowed per game.

For Dixon, there is a belief that the unit can take a step forward in 2024 and be even better.

“I’m very excited. We got a lot of people coming back. Basically, the whole defense just about – so I’m very excited to see what we can do,” Dixon said on Thursday following practice.

“I know we will do better than last year, for sure.”

One of the pieces not returning for Rutgers is Max Melton.

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The defensive back, who had one year of eligibility remaining, opted to declare for the NFL draft. An All-Big Ten selection, Melton is appearing in mock drafts in the top half of the NFL draft and is popular as a second-round pick.

The loss of Melton will hurt the secondary, given that he was an elite cornerback in the Big Ten.

“I love Max. He’s a great player, phenomenal,” Dixon said.

“You know, he, he’d been here for well, he helped me get used to it here. And it was a great time with him.”

No group is more experienced than the safeties room, with Dixon and Des Igbinosun both returning as starters. For safeties coach Drew Lascari, this is quite the luxury to have.

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The safeties will be relied on this upcoming season for Rutgers as a foundational unit. With two players who are All-Big Ten caliber (Dixon was an All-Big Ten selection last season), this Rutgers defense has the potential to be a top-tier unit in the Big Ten.

“I think for us, the expectation of our room now is to take the next step and what is the next step?” Lascari said on Thursday.

“Well, that’s the next step with everything. Okay, we want to take the next step with our nutrition, with our rehab, with our recovery, with our sleep. And then on the field, our playbook.

“So, with two returning starters that we have a lot of faith in. We’re really excited about the next steps that we’re going to take as a group.”

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar: Doug’s favorite underrated draft prospects

In this week’s Xs and Os, Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar discuss Ricky Pearsall, Malik Washington, Renardo Green, Max Melton, Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, and Javon Bullard.

In this week’s episode of “The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get into six of Doug’s favorite underrated prospects in the 2024 NFL draft — players who most likely won’t hear their names called in the first round next Thursday night, but who all can provide serious value to their soon-to-be NFL teams. Two weeks ago, we focused on “Greg’s Guys” in that same regard. Now, here are Doug’s favorites.

Florida receiver Ricky Pearsall — Will Pearsall be able to maintain his gliding speed, route awareness and amazing catches into contact at the NFL level? We’re betting on “yes.”

Virginia receiver Malik Washington — Washington is a shorter (but not thin) player who can create explosive plays all over the field; a team like the Chiefs (for example) should be watching as much of his tape as possible right now.

Florida State cornerback Renardo Green — Green projects well as an outside cornerback despite a lack of desired size, but how will his NFL team deploy him?

Rutgers cornerback Max Melton — In Melton’s case, his NFL team will love his ability to match receivers all over the field, and they’ll likely see the necessary technique fixes as a worthy time investment.

Texas Tech safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson — More than any other safety in this class, Taylor-Demerson has field-scalding speed when in coverage. If he can tamp down the more rogue elements of his athleticism, he could be an easy Pro Bowler.

Georgia safety Javon Bullard — Over the last two seasons, Georgia asked Bullard to completely change his positional profile in ways most college defenders are not asked to do, and he did it all very well. That should make him an easy prospect for most NFL teams.

You can watch this week’s “X and Os” right here:

You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

and on Apple Podcasts