The first NFL stadium Bo and Max Melton ever played in was their family's backyard in Mays Landing, a small community of roughly 6,000 in South Jersey.
The fans were imaginary back then but the catches still spectacular. For hours, the two brothers would pretend they were the league's top receivers. With their older brother Gary Jr. occasionally joining in, the Meltons mimicked every highlight-reel catch they could think of.
"Just running around, routes and stuff like that, saying, 'Oh yeah, Odell Beckham catches, 'Megatron' jumps,'" said Bo Melton with a smile. "We're just playing around, wanting to be in the NFL."
Football is a way of life for the Meltons but never in any of their wildest dreams could they have envisioned two members of their tight-knit family playing at the game's highest level.
In April, however, the surreal became real when the Arizona Cardinals selected Max in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Bo and Gary Jr. were by his side, 727 days after the brothers celebrated Bo's seventh-round selection following an emotional three-day wait in 2022.
This Sunday, for the first time, the Meltons will be pitted against each other in an actual game when the Packers host the Cardinals in a Week 6 matchup family and friends have had circled since schedule-release day.
Among the two dozen or so expected in attendance are Gary Melton Sr. and his wife Vicky, their proud parents who made customized jerseys binding Bo's No. 80 for the Packers with Max's No. 16 for the Cardinals.
"To see that relationship, even to today, it still brings tears to my eyes," Gary Sr. said. "I watched them play together. I watched them talk to each other. It's not a surprise to us that Max gravitated towards Bo because they were close in age but also, he wanted to compete with Bo. He knew that was going to make him better and look what happened."
The Melton family tree sprouted at Rutgers, where Gary was a former running back and receiver and Vicky was a two-time captain for the Scarlet Knights women's basketball team during the program's streak of nine consecutive NCAA tournament appearances from 1986-94.
Their three sons' love for football was born in a backyard that was equal parts classroom, weight room and playground. The kids tore that yard apart, too, playing "Rumble Fumble." As the boys grew older and football got more serious, Gary Sr. installed a pull-up bar and ladder to help with football drills.
There were some dust-ups, for sure, but the Melton kids were constantly reminded family comes first. Each brother was the other two's keeper whether it was school, sports, or even video games.
"When we played 'NCAA (Football)' back in the day, we'd play with the same team," Bo Melton said. "We always wanted to win no matter what we did, but most of our lives, we were on the same team."
Until Sunday, of course.
Family ties
Gary Sr. and Vicky never pushed their kids towards any particular sport except maybe putting a stop to baseball once it became apparent their sons were more enamored with the outfield grass than playing the actual game.
The brothers knew they hailed from an athletic family. Bo would hear tales about his father's playing career during trips to the corner store. Vicky hardly ever talked about her basketball career, but the kids still heard stories every now and then about her accomplishments.
"That's why I love her so much because she was never about (her). She was always about your heart and where you were at," Bo said. "I can talk about anything with my mom. If I was going through something on the football field or off the field, my dad, I'll talk to him about it. He'll clean it up and make sure I was OK. They balance that really well with our family."
There are differing stories regarding how Gary Melton and Vicky Green came into their relationship, depending on which family member is asked, but what can be agreed on is it started at a social event over Christmas break at the Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick, N.J.
"There's no greater joy than just to have your sons, both of them, go to a school that your husband and you both graduated from. It's like all in the family." Vicky Melton, mother of Bo and Max Melton
It was recruiting season and several of the Rutgers athletic programs were together, including the football and women's basketball teams. Vicky and Gary noticed one another and entered into conversation through a mutual acquaintance. What's often debated is what happened once Gary began to walk away.
"All of a sudden, I hear her say, 'I don't have no boyfriend,'" Gary Sr. said.
"Oh God. He heard it," Vicky bashfully interjects.
"So, I turned around, and 'G-Money' took effect at that time," said Gary Sr. in a burst of laughter.
Their marriage produced three Division I football players, all of whom Gary Sr. called by versions of their middle name. They still were three-sport athletes in high school, though, and played every sport imaginable as kids.
Gary "Paul" Jr. became a two-time state champion long jumper. Miles "Bokeem" or "Bo" was the best basketball player of the bunch, and the one Vicky thought might stick with the sport. Malachi "Maxwell" was a skilled youth soccer player prior to becoming a top football recruit.
Despite Gary Sr. being the football patriarch in the family, it was really his namesake that provided the entry into sport for his younger brothers.
Four years Bo's senior, Gary Jr. was a trailblazer. He was the first of the three brothers to play football, convert to cornerback and earn a degree in criminal justice, which Bo and Max also majored in.
"Their older brother, Gary Paul, he probably set the standard with everything," Gary Sr. said. "He made them believe they can do the same thing."
Gary Jr. also was lightning quick. Without argument he was the fastest of the three Meltons, as evidenced by the Cedar Creek (N.J.) High School record book. Gary Jr. ran a 10.41-second 100-meter dash while Bo and Max were a couple ticks behind for second and third in school annals.
While he played football at Delaware State University, Gary Jr. may have foreshadowed his younger siblings going to Rutgers. As kids, the Meltons created their own characters in "NCAA Football," with Gary Jr.'s Cedar Creek High teammates filling out the team.
As for what team they would play as…
"We found ourselves playing as Rutgers a lot," Gary Jr. said. "I'd be like, 'Come on, guys. Let's go to Rutgers. Let's stay home.' Because you're always talking about how Jersey football is tough football, and you got a lot of athletes over here and all the kids around here … well, what if our town stayed here? What if we made Rutgers a top 25 program? That's what we did in the games."
A special bond
Like Bo did with Gary Jr., Max followed Bo's lead as the older brother. A closer proximity in age meant the two typically played their youth football league games back-to-back.
Max also was a ballboy for many of Bo's high school games, including the year Cedar Creek captured the 2015 NJSIAA South Jersey Group 2 championship with a 28-27 win over West Deptford when Bo was a junior.
That game is best remembered for Bo, a skilled drummer, revving up his teammates with a beat during halftime with Cedar Creek trailing by two touchdowns.
"Even when he got in the league, he let me know a few things about the league. He was really a mentor the whole time, from birth until now." Max Melton on his older brother, Bo
A reflection of Bo's glass-half-full mindset, he performed the impromptu jam session minutes after just being tackled at the 1-yard line following a 67-yard run as time expired in the half, keeping the score 14-0. Still, Bo and the rest of the Pirates believed.
"Bo could play the drums like you wouldn't believe," Gary Sr. said. "All of a sudden, he starts this beat in the locker room and our whole locker room is dancing at halftime. We're down two touchdowns and we come back and beat that team. Coach (Tim) Watson always said – he's the only one that would start a beat and we're down and everyone was trying to figure out how."
Cedar Creek rallied in the second half, and Bo finished with 116 rushing yards, 58 receiving yards on seven catches, a rushing TD, a 39-yard passing TD and a successful two-point conversion.
Max always admired Bo. Under Gary Sr.'s watchful eye, the two trained together and competed against each other as kids, a precursor to what would happen for two years at Rutgers once Max became a full-time cornerback in college.
A three-year age difference gave the brothers one season together at Cedar Creek, with Gary Sr. serving as an assistant coach. In fact, he coached Max from his first day of youth football until his last high school game in 2019.
Several times during Bo's senior year, Gary Sr. was overcome with emotion at the sight of his two sons playing together. When the tears became too much for his eyes to bear, dad discretely walked down the sideline to wipe them away.
The Pirates went 10-2 in 2016, falling short of a repeat during a 19-13 loss to West Deptford. Max caught one of Cedar Creek's touchdowns in the game, a 19-yard end-zone fade in the first quarter.
A few other things happened in that state final that stick with the family, including Bo's kickoff return for a touchdown that was called back over a controversial holding penalty. The season was still meaningful and proved to Bo that his little bro could be special.
"He was very clutch," Bo said. "I already knew he was really good. I was settled in, and I'd get to see him when I'd get double-teamed. He'd go 1-on-1 backside, and he was killing guys."
Something else occurred that year, too. It no longer was just Gary Sr. giving Max pointers. Bo became the guiding light for his younger brother, pulling Max aside during moments of adversity. It's a trend that continued through college and until this very day.
"It was tight," said Max of his relationship with Bo. "Even when he got in the league, he let me know a few things about the league. He was really a mentor the whole time, from birth until now."
Revitalizing Rutgers
Rutgers meant everything to Gary Sr. and Vicky, who would've loved nothing more than for Bo and Max to continue their legacy in New Brunswick. At the same time, they left the college decision in their children's hands…mostly.
There was one early scare when the University of Oregon offered Bo during his junior year. The school was fine, the uniforms were fire, but it was about as far away from New Jersey as one could get in the continental United States.
"He was, in his mind, in his body, in his soul going to Oregon," Vicky said. "As it would in any mother's mind, you don't want your baby going way across the country. In my mind, that's what it was. If he would've ultimately said, 'No, mom, I wanna go to Oregon,' then it would've been. We would've just had to acclimate."
The recruiting process was chaotic. Offers slowly trickled in at first, providing Bo with enough time to tell his parents or get permission to receive an offer on social media. Once Bo became a four-star recruit, the offers quickly flooded in…so quickly Gary and Vicky were suddenly having to check Bo's Twitter to see everything that was going on.
In April 2016, Bo finally made his choice. He wrote a letter to his parents informing them he was going to Rutgers to build on their legacy and repay his parents for everything they sacrificed for their children. Vicky still has that letter, one of the Meltons' most prized possessions.
"When he decided to go to Rutgers, it did hit differently for me and my parents," Gary Jr. said. "It's not just the fact that they went there or whatever. It's the fact he was staying home. He wanted to carry on legacy. My dad said at one point, he was just happy wherever (Bo) would choose – he didn't care … but I'll tell you, he jumped for joy when (Bo) decided to go to Rutgers."
Going to Rutgers was a commitment in every sense of the word. The school fired coach Kyle Flood six months before Bo's commitment and went 2-10 during Chris Ash's first year as head coach in 2016.
During Bo's first three seasons, the Scarlet Knights won just nine games. Ash was there for eight of them before being fired on Sept. 29, 2019. Amidst Rutgers' struggles, Max committed to play at Purdue.
That changed when Greg Schiano was re-hired as Rutgers head coach in December of that year. Schiano, the school's all-time winningest coach, had history with the Meltons. He was a graduate assistant at Rutgers during Gary Sr.'s playing days.
"Greg did a great job of recruiting," Gary Sr. said. "He pretty much said, 'You're a Melton. You're supposed to be at Rutgers.' I love him to death."
The other driving force behind Max's decision is he could play one more year with Bo, which turned into two seasons after the elder Melton was granted a fifth year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"When (Bo) decided to go to Rutgers, it did hit differently for me and my parents. It’s not just the fact that they went there or whatever. It’s the fact he was staying home. He wanted to carry on legacy." Gary Melton Jr., older brother of Bo and Max Melton
Every day, Schiano and his coaches pitted Bo and Max against each other in practice – and the brothers battled. Some days, Bo would get the best of Max. Other days, the younger brother would lock down the elder.
"That was the biggest blessing ever," Bo said. "Going to school with my brother, at the same school my parents went, I was so happy for that in general. The NFL was always in my mind, but that was good enough for me. We did what we wanted to do as kids – get college offers and go to school. We did that."
Gary Sr. and Vicky attended every game, smiling through it all. The crowning moment came in the 2021 opener against Temple when Bo and Max scored touchdowns within a little more than a minute of each other.
Bo first caught a 40-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, which was followed by Max returning a 46-yard interception for a TD to begin a 61-14 rout. It was just the second time Rutgers had scored 60-plus points in a game.
"There's no greater joy than just to have your sons, both of them, go to a school that your husband and you both graduated from," Vicky said. "It's like all in the family. We wouldn't change it for the world. It was home."
Bros in the pros
As Max continued his rise at Rutgers, Bo began his quest to take the Melton family name to the NFL.
Surrounded by his family, Bo experienced every possible emotion during the third day of the NFL Draft in 2022. He finally went to Seattle in the seventh round (No. 229 overall). Coincidentally, eventual two-time Super Bowl champion Isaih Pacheco – Rutgers' other draft choice – went 22 picks later to Kansas City.
"I thought he was going go third, fourth, fifth round at the latest," said Max of Bo's selection. "When he dropped it was like, utter shock to me. 'OK, they don't really see him like that. All right, bet.' But (once) he got into the league, I knew he was going to do his thing."
Success didn't happen overnight. In fact, Bo spent most of his rookie season on the Seahawks' practice squad without a single elevation to the gameday roster. As the 2022 season was concluding, however, the Packers called with an offer to join their 53-man roster after historically durable defensive lineman Dean Lowry was placed on injured reserve.
"It’s perfect timing. I just started playing and he just comes in. It’s no better story that I could ever paint." Bo Melton on his younger brother, Max, joining him in the NFL
Even then, a path to playing time wasn't a certainty. Later that spring, Green Bay drafted three receivers (Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks and Grant DuBose) to pair with the three wideouts it drafted a year earlier (Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and Samori Toure).
Bo again found himself on the outside looking in at the end of training camp and spent most of the year on the Packers' practice squad. On Thanksgiving 2023, Bo made his NFL debut after injuries ravaged Green Bay's receiving corps. He played two offensive snaps, including the kneel-down in a 29-22 win, before being cut the following day to be returned to the practice squad.
Bo kept getting elevated through the month of December, though. Pressed into active duty against Minnesota in Week 15, the 5-foot-11, 189-pound receiver broke out with six catches for 105 yards and a touchdown in a 33-10 demolition of the Minnesota Vikings that earned him a spot on the Packers' 53.
In doing so, Bo was the first Green Bay receiver to top 100-plus receiving yards in a game last year. He was signed to the active roster the following Tuesday.
"I want to say it in a nice way – it's something we're used to seeing Bo do. Like that's what he's able to do," Vicky said. "Like my husband says, it's the NFL. Everybody is good on that level, so when your opportunity comes, take full advantage of it and do well. We knew once he was given the opportunity to do what he's been doing his entire life, that he was gonna do well at it."
The college season was especially kind to Max, who grew into his 5-foot-11, 193-pound frame and blossomed into a top NFL prospect during his fourth year at Rutgers. He started 40 of his 43 career games for the Scarlet Knights, registering 22 breakups and eight interceptions. His contributions helped lift Rutgers to its first winning season in nine years.
Max could have returned for a fifth year but chose to join his brother in the NFL. It was the right call. With his second-round selection, Max became the highest Rutgers draft choice since Anthony Davis went 11th overall to San Francisco in 2010. Needless to say, Max's draft party wasn't nearly as stressful.
"It's perfect timing," Bo said. "I just started playing and he just comes in. It's no better story that I could ever paint. God is so awesome the way he aligns things and just seeing Max being at the draft party and being there to see him get drafted, it feels not real. How crazy is this?"
