INDIANAPOLIS — The most important lesson Max Melton will take to the NFL comes from watching the best athlete from his hometown of South Jersey struggle to find his footing for most of two seasons. That’s what I got.
Max’s older brother and former Rutgers teammate Beau Melton fell to the seventh round of the 2022 draft and was drafted by the Seahawks, making his first career catch on Dec. 7, 2023. But by the playoffs, Bo made some big plays for the upstart Packers.
“When we were kids, my brother was the best at everything: football, track, basketball, baseball,” Max said. “It was shocking and humbling for me that he couldn’t play right away when he came into the league. So he told me to keep my head down and block out the outside noise, for better or for worse. , he said, perfect your craft and you’ll do well in the end.”
Max’s professional career begins in earnest on Friday when he takes the field with other cornerback prospects at the NFL Scouting Combine. His first goal is to prove he can run faster than the 4.34-second 40-yard dash Bo recorded during the pre-draft process.
“We’ve been working on it ever since we were kids,” Max said. “At first we were both receivers and we practiced together. When I transitioned to defensive back, he came home from college and I was still in high school… and iron sharpens iron. I’m looking forward to doing that in the league as well.”
Melton’s performance at the combine could potentially earn him a ticket to a top-100 pick with the 49ers, who have met with him “five or six times” since declaring for the draft. Or maybe he played for defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich at the Senior Bowl before joining the Jets.
“He took his mental game to a whole other level,” Melton said. “We weren’t even talking about X and O. We were talking for 30 minutes straight about why we love this sport. You have more energy.”
Melton, wearing a diamond-encrusted “Mad Max” necklace, spoke confidently Thursday about continuing Rutgers’ long lineage of defensive backs in the NFL, which started with the McCourty twins in 2009.
“People have to open their eyes more,” Melton said. “To the Rutgers DBs in the league, we are making our mark. All credit to Greg Schiano. He has a lineup of DBs that he has coached in the league. We are very disciplined, very He’s very smart and very athletic. When he meets with teams, they’re like, “Oh yeah, you’re a Rutgers player?” You know football, right? We stick to the Football 101 part. ”
Melton has started 40 games in his career, totaling eight interceptions and four fumble recoveries, plus his special teams expertise (four blocked punts) makes him a mid-round draft pick. did. He is addressing head-on with the team a three-game suspension for the 2022 season stemming from a campus arrest on a charge of aggravated assault with a paintball gun.
“It was definitely a learning experience for me,” Melton said. “We started the season 3-0, [after] We lost three games in a row because of that incident. I see how many people I let down, my entire fan base, my family, my coaches, my players. I don’t want to be in that position again. ”
Melton’s next position is NFL cornerback.
