This is NFL Draft Journey:
Over the next few months, we’ll be following receiver Bo Melton’s journey throughout the pre-draft process before he hopes to hear his name called this spring. Melton is a Rutgers product who played high school ball at Cedar Creek in South Jersey. And is now working toward fulfilling his dream of being selected in the NFL Draft.
Part I — Melton impressing at Senior Bowl
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Part II — Gearing up for the combine
INDIANAPOLIS — Bo Melton had a number in his head.
He just didn’t want to say it.
“Yeah, I do,” Melton said with a smile last Wednesday. “I’m going to keep it to myself until tomorrow.”
Bo knew.
After weeks and weeks of training down in Florida for the biggest job interview of his life, Melton arrived to Indianapolis for the NFL combine last week fully prepared. And then he wowed, clocking one of the fastest 40-yard dash times among this year’s incredibly speedy group of receivers.
Melton’s top time was a 4.34, which was the fifth-fastest among this receiver group after Tyquan Thornton (4.28), Velus Jones (4.31), Calvin Austin III (4.32) and Danny Gray (4.33). And he reached 24.5mph, the second-highest speed behind Jones (24.6).
But to even mention that Melton’s time was fifth among receivers is a little misleading. Because it would have ranked second in 2020, tied for first in 2018, third in 2017. You get the idea. This entire crop was lightning fast and Melton was right there with them.
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“I need to show my speed,” Melton said before he ran. “A lot of teams, they know I’m fast, but they haven’t seen how fast I can run.”
Now they have. And it was more than straight line speed.
In addition to his 4.34 time in the 40, Melton also had a 38-inch vertical (t-7th) and a three-cone time of 6.98 seconds (3rd).
Just two receivers this year had 40 times of 4.34 and a three-cone time under 7 seconds: Austin III and Melton. It’s really rare to get that combination. There was no combine last year but just two receivers did it at their pro days in 2021: Ja’Marr Chase and Rondale Moore. In the last five years, the only players at the combine to do it are Austin, Melton and 2019 second-round pick Andy Isabella.
Aside from his impressive showing on the field, Melton comes off as a confident young man. That should have served him well in his meetings with NFL teams last week.
“They want to know what I can do,” Melton said. “They see the film and they see I was used in a various amount of ways. I just gotta show them what I can do. But really they’re just trying to get a good feel for who I am.”
Last month, Melton had a very strong showing at the Senior Bowl in Alabama and he was able to keep that going in Indianapolis. In Mobile, the coaches were able to use Melton in a variety of different ways to show off his versatility.
That versatility is all the rage right now in the NFL as players like Deebo Samuel have taken center stage. While Melton doesn’t have the body type of Samuel, he cn do many things and that’s something NFL teams really wanted to talk to him about as they figure out what would look like in their offense.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Melton said. “That’s kind of been the biggest things we’re talking about.”
It would be dismissive to call Melton a gadget player because of the ways NFL teams might want to use him, but he is versatile and that will likely be the part of his game that impresses whatever team ends up drafting him.
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Down in Florida over the last couple of months, Melton has been working with a group of fellow draft hopefuls, including North Dakota State WR Christian Watson, who also wowed at the combine. These guys have formed a solid bond in their time together.
And Watson has been very impressed by Melton.
“He’s a dude. He’s a grinder,” Watson said. “He’s definitely doing everything he can to find an opportunity to play at the next level and excel at the next level. I mean, he’s a grinder.”
That grind isn’t over yet. But Melton took a big step toward his NFL dreams last week.