Who is Rutgers’ Bo Melton? Five things to know about the Seattle Seahawks newest wide receiver

The Seattle Seahawks took Rutgers football wide receiver Bo Melton in the seventh round of the NFL draft, adding an athletic and talented playmaker with untapped potential.

The Rutgers standout led the program with 618 receiving yards and 55 receptions last season (Melton also had three receiving touchdowns). He is one of the best wide receivers to ever play for the program.

The Seahawks took him in the seventh round at No. 229 overall. Some projections had Melton going much earlier on Day 3 with Mel Kiper slotting him in as a third round pick.

Melton is a good route runner with very good speed. He will fit in well with the Seahawks given that he is able to play inside or outside, can contribute as a returner on special teams and could be a running back option in certain sets.

His showing at the NFL combine in early March answered a lot of questions about his performance the past two seasons. Rutgers is rebuilding and Melton at times struggled with an offense that had difficulties moving the ball.

But is he an NFL player? Absolutely. The former four-star wide receiver out of Don Bosco has the potential to not just stick on the Seattle but can be a contributor to the offense.

Five things to know about the Rutgers wide receiver Bo Melton, the newest member of the Seattle Seahawks.

Melton has top-end speed

During his Rutgers football career, Melton often didn’t get a chance to show off his straight-line speed. Given the struggles the Scarlet Knights have had on offense, Melton often received the ball off slants, comebacks or curls, making him a short-yardage wide receiver.

But as he showed at the NFL Combine, Melton has high-end speed. He ran a 4.34 time in the 40, opening a lot of eyes.

Melton had a great Senior Bowl week

Yes, the Senior Bowl is nice but a little known fact: most scouts and general managers stay for the week of practice but leave come the game. Why? Because seeing the players up close is what they value. The game? Not so much.

And Melton had a great Senior Bowl week where pundits and analysts raved about his speed, route-running ability and how he repeatedly flashed throughout the week of practice.

At the game itself, Melton was solid with two catches for 19 yards and three returns for 25 yards.

Resilience

After his 2020 season, Melton had options. He chose to finish the job he started at Rutgers and return for a final season.

In 2020, Melton was named 2020 Honorable Mention All-Big Ten (Coaches & Media) following a very strong season. He had 47 catches for 638 receiving yards and nine total touchdowns in nine games that season.

Had he entered the transfer portal, he would have had top 25 teams looking to add him. The NFL draft was a strong possibility too.

Instead, he returned to help Rutgers rebuild, knowing that it wouldn’t be easy.

Iron sharpens iron

Bo Melton’s brother, Max Melton, is one of the top young underclassmen in the country. The Rutgers defensive back is heading into a junior season that might well be his last of college football.

In fact, older brother predicted younger brother will be all-Big Ten this season.

He is that good that he might be heading to the NFL draft this time next year.

The wide receiver credits his brother for helping to develop his competitive spirit and better him on the football field:

Athleticism runs in the family

Not only does the Melton clan boast two brothers who played Big Ten football, but the parents were no slouches either.

The father, Gary Melton, was a standout on the Rutgers football team. Mother Vicky Melton won an Atlantic 10 championship with the women’s basketball team.

The family has strong values and a sense of togetherness.

No wonder the Rutgers wide receiver tested so well at the combine as well as his pro day.

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