GREEN BAY – 77 days. 1,848 hours. 110,880 minutes.
That's how much time elapsed between the first time Bo Melton lined up with the cornerbacks in a practice open to the Packers' media corps and Tuesday's deadline to set the 53-man roster.
What started as a hypothetical conversation between the 26-year-old receiver and Head Coach Matt LaFleur became very real when Melton stayed with the defense after the team reported back for the start of training camp last month.
Since the day the topic was first broached, Melton has been working to prove the Packers correct in their assumption he could make a switch.
"That's what my dad taught me, what my mom taught me. You have to grind for whatever you want in life," Melton said. "As soon as they told me I was going to play corner, that's all I thought about. I didn't think about making the team or anything. I thought about how can I be the best at that position?"
Sure, the transition may have raised some eyebrows. He was drafted into the NFL as a receiver in 2022 and played there almost exclusively besides a two-week stint at corner in practice when injuries mounted his freshman year at Rutgers.
But if anyone could make a move like this happen…it was Bo.
"I knew he would handle it mentally the right way and attack it aggressively," General Manager Brian Gutekunst said. "I think the thing that surprised me was there was much (fewer) moments of going, 'Oh, maybe this won't work.'
"Right away, he just kept stacking days, and he just didn't have those moments where you were like, 'Wow, he looks like a complete fish out of water.'"
Gifted with an affable personality, can-do attitude and relentlessly positive outlook, Melton completed the most unlikely of transitions on Tuesday in making Green Bay's active roster at cornerback.
Here is a look at how Melton did the unthinkable.
Day 1: Packers minicamp on June 10
The Packers were a little banged up at cornerback when Melton made his defensive debut during the first of the team's three minicamp practices.
It was a noteworthy development considering Melton already played 22 games at wideout for Green Bay.
In fact, he was the Packers' first receiver of the 2023 season to have a 100-yard game when he caught six passes for 105 yards and a touchdown in a 33-10 win over Minnesota in Week 17.
"It's just something they want to look at," said Melton after the three practices. "I'm still a wide receiver, so I'm not really transitioning to no cornerback. But if it works, it works."
Green Bay selected two rookies – Matthew Golden and Savion Williams – in the first three rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft but Melton wasn't backing down from a heated competition there.
It wasn't until LaFleur approached Melton about testing out cornerback the thought even entered the 5-foot-11, 189-pound athlete's mind: Could he actually do it?
The move was so unexpected Melton didn't even wear a green jersey during his first 11-on-11 period with the defense, causing a bit of confusion between the two sides when a white No. 80 jersey was lined up in the secondary. The next day, he wore a green pinnie instead.
"Obviously he's real talented player and has produced," said LaFleur on June 10. "We just thought that if there is somebody that can potentially do both (positions), he would be that guy. And I think a lot of it is just from his production on (special) teams and just his ability to make plays on teams."
Day 43: First practice of training camp on July 23
The Packers had seen enough. During his first news conference of the summer, Gutekunst confirmed Melton's move to corner on a full-time basis, complete with a switch from No. 80 to 16.
"Certainly, we know what he is as a receiver and what he can do for us as a receiver and on special teams," Gutekunst said.
"We're excited to see what he might be able to do at corner for us on defense. I think we switched his number to '16' because that looks a little better than the '80' he was running out there in camp."
But why "16"? In the locker room after practice, Melton elaborated.
"It's a family number," said Melton, whose brother also wears No. 16. "We wear that for my mom's birthday and my mom's and pop's anniversary, and '16' I wore in high school, and I always wore that number. I can't wear 80 at DB, I would never do that. I'd probably get torched just because of the number."
Day 44: Meanwhile in Arizona on July 24
Max Melton found out like the rest of the world that his older brother was now a cornerback. Despite their close bond, there was no inside familial scoop.
"Hell no. I found out on Twitter," Max Melton said. "I opened Twitter and saw my brother backpedaling and I was like, 'What's going on?'"
A cornerback by trade, Max Melton was drafted in the second round by the Cardinals in 2024. The two got to live out a childhood dream, lining up across from one another on special teams, when Green Bay and Arizona played during Week 6 of last season.
Having worked out with his brother in the offseason, Max noticed a shift in Bo's routine. His mentality was the same, though. This was no gimmick. Big bro was taking this seriously.
Their mindset was if the ability to play cornerback was in Max, then it's certainly in Bo, as well. At the start of training camp, Max predicted good things for his brother.
"(Shoot), it's going to work out good. He's a great athlete," Max Melton said. "It'll take a couple of weeks, but I saw him, he looked natural. The last video I saw, with him wearing '16,' yeah, that (stuff) looked natural."
Day 58: Prepping for preseason
The Packers threw Melton into the fire, and he soared.
Green Bay could've chosen to run Melton with the third-team defense but instead had him rotating in behind top three cornerbacks Nate Hobbs, Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine.
It wasn't always perfect but there weren't nearly as many missed assignments as you might expect from someone playing an entirely different side of the ball.
Melton spent a lot of extra time with passing game coordinator Derrick Ansley and the work was showing on the field.
"I tell Bo every day, you amaze me, bro," Hobbs said. "Real talk. I feel like people don't understand how hard it is in the National Football League to go from … going forward as a receiver to going backwards as a corner and he took it head-on. I didn't see one day where he pouted, like, 'Damn, I don't want to do this. It's not my real position.' No, he attacked every day. What y'all are seeing now is the work he put in.
"It's incredible to me. Bo ain't got to do nothing else. He earned my trust and respect."
Still, Melton needed to take what he was doing during practice at Nitschke Field and carry it across the street to Lambeau – first with the annual Family Night practice and then the preseason opener against the New York Jets.
During that stretch, Melton was asked in the locker room about his past statements about primarily considering himself a receiver. Has that changed?
"I ain't going to say it's changed. I still love receiver, as it is. But I'm starting to like corner a lot, too," Melton said. "Being versatile in that area, I'm more open to it. I'm talking to Coach D.A., I've gotten into the position more and more, so I feel more comfortable playing corner. I'd say right now I kind of like corner."
Day 67: Breakthrough in Indy on Aug. 16
The turning point in Melton's transition came when the Packers traveled down to Indianapolis for a joint practice and preseason game against the Colts.
On the practice field, Melton held his own against several of Indianapolis' starters. He played 42 snaps in the game itself, recording three tackles and deflecting a second-and-1 pass to Ashton Dulin on a slant route.
Green Bay's sideline practically came unglued at the sight of the breakup. Afterwards, Melton likened the feeling to catching a touchdown pass. What started as a playful idea to test Melton's versatility suddenly looked like a natural fit.
"I would say the second game gave me more confidence," Melton said. "I did a lot more covering the second game, matching up with guys who are pretty good in this league. Once I started doing those plays, I got more confident."
Day 77: "Job's not finished"
Throughout the transition, Melton stayed focused on learning a new position rather than trying to make the Packers' roster. Melton's logic was if he improved a little each day, that only would help his chances.
It all led up to Green Bay having to make its final cuts by 3 p.m. CT on Tuesday. When Melton made the roster last year, he received a call informing him that he'd made the team.
This year, there was no call. He pondered what that meant for a moment before heading to work. At Lambeau, Melton talked to teammates, received a few congratulatory hugs and went off to the team meeting.
The transition was complete.
"Definitely when I first made the switch, everybody was probably like, 'Naw, that ain't happening,'" Melton said. "I pride myself in whatever I put my work into, that I'm going to come out on top. Regardless of whether it was wide receiver or DB, I wanted to be the best out there.
"I never thought of myself, giving up on myself or saying I couldn't do something because you only get one life, you only get one, so at the end of the day, I was like, 'I'm going to go out there and do it.' The only person stopping me is me, at the end of the day. That's the only reason I went into it full throttle."
Already a beloved member of the locker room, Melton gained even more respect from his peers for how he embraced the opportunity to play a new position rather than run from it.
As Gutekunst put it, "His attitude's infectious, and he just doesn't have a bad day. It's pretty impressive."
Melton is the first to say the work is not over. While he continues to learn cornerback, Melton has a pivotal role to play on Green Bay's special teams units.
His speed as a flyer not only led to three coverage tackles and a fumble recovery last season but also contributed to Daniel Whelan becoming the first punter in team history to average 46-plus yards per punt and 40-plus net yards per punt in a season.
When the time comes, Melton's goal is to contribute on defense, as well.
"I would say the job's not finished. It's just the beginning, for me at playing corner," Melton said. "I don't want to be just happy to make the team, happy to be here. That's not my kind of motto. I want to make plays. I want to be the best at whatever position I'm playing."
