Monday Musings: Bo Melton

After spending nearly $200 million on Adrian Amos, Preston Smith, Za’Darius Smith, and Billy Turner in March 2019, the Packers spent only $18.9M on outside free agents in the next three years. The second-most frugal organization during that time were the Buccaneers at $62.9M. Anyway, here are some more thoughts that ran through my mind in the past few days:

1) Bo Melton was one of my favorite “under-the-radar” wide receivers heading into the 2022 draft, so I was happy when the Packers signed him off Seattle’s practice squad last December. When I watched his tape from the 2022 preseason, I saw exactly what I saw when I analyzed his tape from college. The former Rutgers star is a smart player with a knack for finding open areas in coverage. He’s also very good after the catch. Not only does Melton have great speed (4.3), but he almost always makes the first tackler miss. So why didn’t he earn a spot on the Seahawks’ 53-man roster? The same reason a receiver so talented lasted until the seventh round. His hands are inconsistent. Had Melton not dropped three passes in as many games last summer, there’s almost no chance he would’ve been released during final cuts. There’s a place for the 23-year-old on the Packers if, and it’s a big if, he stops letting the ball hit the ground.

The good and the bad of Bo Melton (#81). In the top video, he uses his elusiveness and speed to turn what should’ve been a short gain into 38 yards vs. the Steelers. In the above video, Melton is lined up in the slot at the bottom of the screen and drops what should’ve been a TD vs. the Bears.

2) As of today, the Packers are spending a combined $9.45 million on wide receivers and tight ends. That’s the lowest amount in the NFL. In fact, Tennessee is the only other team under $20M. Is there a correlation between money spent at these positions and winning? It sure seems that way. The 10 teams that spent the most on wide receivers and tight ends in 2022 went 91-77-1. That includes the 14-3 Super Bowl champion Chiefs. The 10 teams that spent the least went 59-109-2, and only the 10-7 Ravens finished over .500. Since it takes players at least three seasons to get paid the really big bucks, this suggests that it’s hard to win with young pass catchers, and no team will be younger than Green Bay in 2023. The average age of the wide receivers and tight ends on the current roster is 24.5, and that number will only go down after this month’s draft. Best of luck to first-year starting quarterback Jordan Love on overcoming yet another challenge.

3) Last Thursday marked the 30th anniversary of Reggie White signing with Green Bay. Even three decades later, I still remember exactly where I was (driving home from work) and what I was doing when the news broke (listening to Mike & the Mad Dog). That’s the magnitude of the event. The future was already looking brighter for the Packers before the Minister of Defense shocked the pro football world – the team was coming off a winning season under the direction of GM Ron Wolf, coach Mike Holmgren, and quarterback Brett Favre – but April 6, 1993, was the day that made securing a third Lombardi Trophy feel more like a matter of when and not if. Of course, the when turned out to be less than four years later, and not surprisingly, White played a significant role in beating the Patriots by sacking Drew Bledsoe three times.