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Max Melton Scouting Report
By Charlie Campbell
Strengths:
- Extremely fast
- Prevents separation
- Explosive
- Instant acceleration
- Rare recoverability
- Speed to recover
- Quick feet
- Superb ability to break on the ball
- Great weapon to negate deep-speed receivers
- Route recognition
- Can play off-man coverage
- Can play zone coverage
- Athletic upside
- Excellent athleticism
- Loose hips to turn and run with speed receivers
- Tough competitor
- Fighter who doesn’t back down
Weaknesses:
- A little undersized
- Short
- Underweight
- Could be more disciplined
- Could be picked on in the red zone
Prospect Summary:
The 2023 NFL Draft would have been stronger at cornerback had Max Melton entered it. Melton made his way onto the field as a freshman in 2020 and then had a breakout sophomore season with 28 tackles, three interceptions and five passes defended. He was even better as a junior with 33 tackles, two interceptions and nine passes defended. Melton could have been a second-day pick a year ago, but he decided to return for his senior year. In 2023, Melton totaled 32 tackles with three interceptions and six passes broken up. He then had a strong week of practice at the Senior Bowl. Similar to his brother, Bo, a few years earlier, Max Melton had a superb combine performance, including showing off amazing speed with a 4.39-second time in the 40-yard dash.
InMelton is instantly going to be an asset for his NFL team in terms of running with speed receivers. Melton uses his elite speed and agility to routinely blanket his assignment. He is very capable to run the route to prevent separation and can use his instant acceleration to stay with receivers out of breaks. Melton’s burst and explosion give him excellent recoverability skills. Many teams in the NFL can struggle with super fast wide receivers downfield and have to give cornerbacks help over the top. Melton’s NFL team won’t have to worry about that because he is able to run with the deep-speed receivers and keep them from getting open by carrying the route vertically.
The most concerning negative about Melton is his size. He is a short and light cornerback, so he should not be matched up with big receivers who could make catches over him. Melton can get boxed out near the end zone on slants and crosses by larger wideouts. Melton could be moved inside to being a nickel, but he also could line up on the outside when taking on a speed receiver. Melton’s agility can make him overaggressive at times, but he showed more discipline as his experience increased.
Melton could be a second-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and he won’t slip out of the third round.
Prospect Comparison:
Donte Jackson. Melton is similar to Jackson coming out of LSU. Both were extremely fast corners capable of running the route and preventing separation thanks to their speed to go along with smooth athleticism. Jackson and Melton are almost identical in size. Jackson was a second-round pick, and Melton could go in Round 2 this year during the 2024 NFL Draft. Melton could plausibly end up being a comparable pro to Jackson.
RELATED LINKS:
2024 NFL Mock Draft - April 23
NFL Power Rankings - Feb. 22
Fantasy Football Rankings - Feb. 19
NFL Picks - Feb. 12
