Bo Melton is officially listed as a wide receiver on the Green Bay Packers roster after being moved off the cornerback list to start OTAs, a change confirmed by the team as practices opened this week.
The move was visible on the field Wednesday: per Wes Hodkiewicz of Packers.com, Melton wore a white jersey with the offense and ran individual drills with the wide receivers, not the defensive backs.
The numbers from last season underline why the switch matters. Melton played in 16 games in 2025, appearing for 95 snaps on offense and 195 snaps on special teams. He caught four passes for 107 yards and a touchdown, rushed five times for 35 yards and returned 19 kickoffs. He played zero snaps from scrimmage at cornerback during the regular season despite being listed there.
That mix of snaps explains the Packers’ decision. Melton made the 53-man roster in 2025 while the team experimented with him at cornerback because the receiver room was deep; in practice and games, however, he functioned primarily as a receiver and a core special-teamer.
There is immediate roster context pushing Melton back into the offense. The Packers lost Romeo Doubs in free agency and traded away Dontayvion Wicks this offseason, openings that increase the chances for players already in the mix to take on larger roles. Entering OTAs, Melton is listed among those competing for snaps and a roster spot in 2026 alongside Savion Williams, Skyy Moore, Isaiah Neyor, Jakobie Keeney-James, Will Sheppard, Brenden Rice and rookie J. Michael Sturdivant.
At the same time, Green Bay has shuffled its cornerback depth chart: the club added Benjamin St-Juste, Brandon Cisse and Domani Jackson this offseason, while Nate Hobbs departed. That construction at cornerback reduces the need for Melton to serve as emergency depth there and makes the move back to receiver logical on paper.
There is a clear tension in how Melton was used last year and how the Packers are listing him now. The team labeled him a cornerback through the 2025 season but deployed him almost exclusively on offense and special teams; on Wednesday he remained a first-team option as a gunner covering punts while also running receiver drills. The dual role highlights both his versatility and the unsettled nature of his primary position heading into 2026.
For Melton, the practical takeaway from the first OTAs session is simple: coaches are preparing him to be part of the offensive rotation again. He showed up to team work wearing the offense’s jersey and practicing individually with the wide receivers, and his special-teams value remains intact after 195 snaps there last year.
Given the departures from the receiver room and the additions at cornerback, the Packers’ decision to relist Melton as a wide receiver is more than administrative. It positions him to compete for meaningful offensive snaps in 2026 while preserving his special-teams role. How much of the 95 offensive snaps he played in 2025 translate into a larger role this season will now be decided in OTAs, training camp and the preseason battle with the other receivers on the roster.
