Melton was a three year starter at Rutgers. He intercepted 8 passes in the last three years and had 30 passes defended. He finished his career with 114 career tackles. 

Melton was an Honorable Mention All Big Ten in 2023. 

Here is my scouting report on Max Melton

Max Melton, CB, 5-10 187, Rutgers

Man to Man Coverage: Smooth in his movements. Explosive athlete who can turn and flips his hips with ease. Stays in phase vertically and uses his hands well to maintain position.

Zone Coverage: Fluid mover who does a good job of recognizing routes in an area and making plays on the ball. Moves well in off coverage and does a good job of staying on top of receivers so he doesn’t get stacked.

Closing Quickness: Melton is a good athlete who recognizes route breaks and jumps them but he is a little tight hipped and tends to break on routes high out of his stance. 

Key & Diagnose: Smart. Plays within the system and does a good job of identifying pass concepts and who to match up with. Has experience as a field, boundary and slot corner which helps his recognition skills. 

Lateral Pursuit: Uses his speed to track down ball carriers from behind. Melton takes good angles and doesn’t get caught out of position.

Tackling: Weakest part of his game. Needs to be more physical at the point of contact. Doesn’t strike through on contact and has trouble bringing ball carriers down. 

Pass Drop: Has a tendency to be a little high in his drop and takes too long at times to unlock and flip his hips, especially against vertical routes like fades and posts. 

Pass Coverage/Hands: Melton has good hands. Attacks the ball and secures it. Makes plays in jump ball situations. 

Final Report: Melton has the tools to be a starting caliber corner in the NFL. He has experience playing on the inside and outside. Teams like the Patriots live his versatility. He will make an immediate impact as a rookie. I suspect he will go higher than anticipated. 

Draft Range: 2nd-4th Round