An in depth and complete scouting report and draft prospect profile of Rutgers Cornerback Max Melton for the NFL Draft.

Prospect: Max Melton

School: Rutgers 

Age: 21 (22 on Draft Day)

Max Melton Measurables:

• Height: 5’11” (NFL Combine)
• Weight: 187 (NFL Combine)

• 40: 4.39 (NFL Combine)- 6/29
• 10 Yard Split: 1.51 (NFL Combine)- T-5/29
• Vertical Jump: 40.5” (NFL Combine)- T-3/27
• Broad Jump: 11’4” (NFL Combine)- 1/26
• Other Notes:
  • Measured in 1” shorter at Combine than ESPN had listed
  • Max Melton 4.39 is a bit slower than we would’ve thought
  • Max Melton looks faster than Quinyon Mitchell running, but somehow Mitchell had faster time…. Don’t get it
  • Melton having himself a day all around 

Tape Watched: 2022: Boston College; 2023: Michigan, Highlight film, Maryland, Ohio State

Prospect Grade: 68%

Projected Draft Day: Late Round 1

Player Comparison: Slightly higher end Donte Jackson

Best Team Fits: San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs

Max Melton Player Summary:

The  Positives

• Looks fast and lengthy
• Inside-Outside Versatility
• Physical
  • Like to play hands on during the route
  • Will also jam at the line
• Rutgers matched him up on Colson Loveland in the Michigan game
• Relentless blitzer
• Special teams experience
• Highlight film shows good ball skills, understanding of adjustments when ball is in the air
• Reaction time and closing speed may be some of the best we’ve watched in the class
• Active in run support not afraid to trigger down hill, and can also run ball carriers down
• Aggressive against blockers
• Pretty strong tackler, especially when he hits low

The Negatives

• Melton tried to press Loveland and just got out physicaled
• Plays too upright in his pedal
• Probably lacks the strength to finish high tackles at next level

Side Note

• We didn’t notice any obvious issues with his man coverage on tape, but looked like he struggled a little bit in Senior Bowl 1-on-1’s. Not sure how much stock to put into the 1-on-1’s, we definitely value game tape more, but something to possibly keep an eye on

Max Melton feels like a prospect that doesn’t have any buzz around his name, and we don’t understand why. We’ll be the first to tell you that finding film on him is not the easiest thing in the world(probably because he plays for Rutgers), but what we can find looks pretty good. He’s a lengthy looking corner who looks fast, like * possibly * one of the fastest players in this class. He has inside-outside versatility and plays more physical than you’d expect from a CB his size. The big negatives for us is that with his physical style of play he can get out phyiscaled, and we have some concerns about his tackling ability based on the little we saw in the film. 

Updated 3/23/24: Pretty much everything we said in Max Melton’s original summary stands true, except for the part about film(we ended up finding a good amount of film). Melton is a physical, well rounded cornerback prospect who has some of the best athleticism in the class. His reaction time and closing speed may be some of the best we’ve watched in the class. He’s active against the run and isn’t afraid to trigger down hill, not to mention he can hawk down ball carriers.

Just to clarify, you are going to see that Melton’s grade is the same as Georgia’s Kamari Lassister. No, it is not a mistake. We think the 68% we gave Melton is a tad bit upside based, but we are still talking about a prospect that we believe should be one of the top names in the class. They are 68% prospects for similar and also slightly different reasons, but make no mistake Melton should be generating a bit more buzz. 

Updated 3/23/24

• Combine numbers and rank added to measurable portion of profile
• Grade switched from “57%” to “68%”
• Projection switched from “Day 2” to “Late Round 1”
• Comp switched from “Donte Jackson” to “Slightly higher end Donte Jackson”
• “Kansas City Chiefs” added to Best Team Fits

• Positives Added
  • Reaction time and closing speed may be some of the best we’ve watched in the class
  • Active in run support not afraid to trigger down hill, and can also run ball carriers down
  • Aggressive against blockers
  • Pretty strong tackler, especially when he hits low
• Negatives Added
  • Plays too upright in his pedal
  • Probably lacks the strength to finish high tackles at next level
• Side Note Added
  • We didn’t notice any obvious issues with his man coverage on tape, but looked like he struggled a little bit in Senior Bowl 1-on-1’s. Not sure how much stock to put into the 1-on-1’s, we definitely value game tape more, but something to possibly keep an eye on
• Negatives Removed
  • Not his fault, but hard to find film
    • 2023 film easier to find
  • Not much film of him tackling, from what we could tell, slightly worrisome tackling
    • Due to more film watched, less concerns about his tackling