There’s one word that Arizona Cardinals rookie cornerback Max Melton uses to describe what will happen in Green Bay Sunday: “Mind-blowing.”
That’s because after growing up in South Jersey and attending Rutgers together, he and his brother Bo will be on opposite sides of the field and perhaps face each other when the Cardinals play the Packers.
“It’s truly amazing,” Max told Cards Wire. “Like we dreamed of this ever since we’ve played the game, ever since we’ve gone to each other’s games. We always thought that we would be here one day and now that it’s actually here, it’s mind-blowing.
“We just worked and it was so normal all that time and now we’re on the biggest stage in the world doing it. Like I said, it’s mind-blowing.”
The Meltons were a sports family. Their father Gary Sr. played football and his mom Vicky played basketball at Rutgers. Another brother Gary Jr. played at Delaware State.
The nicknames Bo (first name Miles) and Max (first name Malachi) were created by their dad, based on their middle names: Bokeem and Maxwell.
As for Gary “Paul” Jr., Gary Sr. told packers.com, “Their older brother (Gary Jr. is four years older than Bo), he probably set the standard with everything. He made them believe they can do the same thing.”
Gary Paul is now a probation officer in Cape May County in New Jersey.
Because Bo and Max are three years apart, there wasn’t a lot of overlap at Cedar Creek High School and Rutgers, but they were there for each other when Bo waited until being selected by the Seahawks in the seventh round of the 2022 draft and Max in the second round by the Cardinals last April.
Bo has carved out a backup receiver and special teams role with the Packers since being signed off Seattle’s practice squad in late December of 2022.
Last season, he had six receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown in a New Year’s Eve win over the Vikings. This season, he has played all five games and has two catches for 40 yards while also saving a turnover by recovering a Josh Jacobs fumble in Week 1 and then recovering a muffed punt at the 3-yard line in Week 4 against the Vikings. Both led to touchdowns.
After having a setback for about two weeks early in training camp because of a groin injury, Max’s reps have grown and he played a season-high 30 defensive snaps (50 percent) last Sunday against the 49ers.
He said, “I feel comfortable and my reps keep going up and I keep producing.”
Head coach Jonathan Gannon said this week, “When his technique is on, he can be really good, but there are certain plays we pointed out today with him. He’d be the first one to tell you that he’s got to make sure that that’s consistent. That’s their world out there. We ask our guys to do probably more than most on the mental side, so I don’t want to discredit the mental side, but if you really look at corner play there’s like five to eight techniques that you have to master because that’s what allows you to win your one-on-ones.
“I think he’s doing a good job of working on those techniques, getting better and being a technician, but the skillset is there. The want-to is there. The toughness is there. The mental is there. He just needs to play.”
As for Sunday, their parents, Gary Paul and sister Jasmine will be at the game along with more than 20 friends. Gary Sr. and Vicky had customized jerseys made that combines their jersey numbers, 16 for Max and 80 for Bo.
“To see that relationship, even to today, it still brings tears to my eyes,” Gary Sr. said. “I watched them play together. I watched them talk to each other. It’s not a surprise to us that Max gravitated towards Bo because they were close in age, but also, he wanted to compete with Bo. He knew that was going to make him better and look what happened.”
Those tears will also likely flow for Vicky, who told packers.com, “It’s very, very special. Mom’s gonna get teary-eyed. Just thinking about it I get teary-eyed. That’s just something that doesn’t happen very often. It’s a blessing.”
As for Gary Jr., he has one wish: “For me, I just hope they go against each other. Even like the Kelce family, their mom was over there like, ‘Hey, I don’t have to do much, but I just root for the offense.’ Well, my mom is in the position where she really has two sons that are literally playing the antithesis of each other at receiver and corner.
“Not only are (their teams) going against each other, but they’re really going against each other. It’s my hope once they’re in, depending on the side, that they’re actually head-to-head.”
To packers.com, Bo concluded, “It’s perfect timing. I just started playing and he just comes in. It’s no better story than I could ever paint.”
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