GREEN BAY – Bo Melton expected a longer wait.
Sitting with his girlfriend and their newborn son, the Packers receiver was prepared to sweat out another anxious cutdown day in hopes of finally starting an NFL season on a 53-man roster.
But before the suspense could even percolate, Melton's phone rang with a call from passing game coordinator Jason Vrable. He'd made the team, Melton's first initial 53 in three tries.
"It was pretty fast. Usually, it takes until the end of the time, but they called me like ASAP," said Melton with a laugh. "It was a great call, to finally experience being on a team at first. I was excited, just very excited."
This summer was a bit different for Melton than his previous two. The 5-foot-11, 189-pound receiver proved his mettle late last season, catching 16 passes for 218 yards and a touchdown during Green Bay's late-season playoff push.
That included a six-catch, 105-yard night in a 33-10 win over the Minnesota Vikings on New Year's Eve, which saw Melton become the first Packers receiver to eclipse the century mark in a game that season.
Melton built on that performance this summer, capping training camp with an 18-yard touchdown catch in Green Bay's dominant 30-7 win over Baltimore in its preseason finale.
Still, the 25-year-old wideout knew better than anyone that nothing is certain on cutdown day after starting his first two NFL seasons on the practice squad in Seattle (2022) and Green Bay (2023).
"The first two years, not getting the call, was definitely a little heartbreaking to me because of all the work I put into the game," Melton said. "I stayed in the Bible, stayed with the parents and they kept telling me to keep going. Just persevere through hard times. I kept doing that, kept doing that, kept trying and now this year I got the call. I was like, 'Man, it paid off.'"
Melton never has been short on motivation, but his inner drive hit another gear in July after welcoming the birth of a son, Kylo, the newest member of the uber-athletic Melton family.
Sports and family have always been core tenets of the Melton household. Bo's father, Gary, played running back and receiver at Rutgers, while his mother, Vicky, played basketball for the Scarlet Knights.
Bo and younger brother, Max, followed in their footsteps at Rutgers, with Max, a cornerback, joining his older brother in the NFL this year after being a second-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals.
Bo and Max stay in constant communication with one another. While their conversations rarely center around football, Max slightly broke precedent when he called to congratulate his older brother after Bo's leaping TD grab against Baltimore.
"I talk to him daily, but he hit me up after that catch and we had like an hour talk," Melton said. "Just seeing how he's doing and how things are going. He's a smart guy. He loves football. We don't get into the intricacies of cutdowns and all that, but I love him to death. We talk about our minds and how we're doing during camp."
Blessed with 4.3 speed and a knack for finding the football, Melton has become a trusted playmaker in Green Bay's offense. His strong finish to last year showed he can be a solid plug-and-play complement to top wideouts Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks.
That impact goes beyond the football field, as well.
"Bo don't only add to the field, he adds to the locker room, meeting room, practices," Wicks said. "He's a fun person to be around, always making jokes. On the field, he's just another big piece for us – sleeper.
"Everybody don't really know who he is – don't know who a lot of us in the room are yet – but he can come out and do the same as the first three people that get in the game."
A glue guy and natural jokester, Melton has a penchant for keeping things light. He often can be found laughing with practice-squad players in the auxiliary locker room or schooling teammates on the ping-pong table.
Melton brings it out of his teammates, too. On Monday, Melton and Wicks were playing around in the background while Watson handled his media responsibilities. The third-year receiver conceded a smile to his fellow wideouts but otherwise remained poised amidst the playful distractions.
"Bo brings a different energy and a different vibe to the wide receiver room, to the offense and to the team," Watson said. "I don't think that there's a single person in this locker room that has any ill-will towards Bo. I think he has a handshake with every single person on the team. I think he knows every single person on the team."
Melton has a serious side, too, understanding his story is more than just a feelgood tale. He's become a cog in a young-and-versatile receiving corps that will help steer the offense this year. His speed helped offset the loss of Watson late last season.
Melton knows a date with adversity is always around the corner, but experience has taught him how far a little hard work can go. His focus remains the climb, which has barely even begun.
"The process is never easy. I hear Ja-Money talk about it all the time," said Melton, referring to Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander. "That's my way of life. The process in life is going to be adversity. There's going to be ups and downs and eventually to get to the top – and we're still not even at the top.
"To get to the top, you have to put in the work. Hard work and perseverance starts at practice. That's what it's always been. That's what brought me to this moment where I am right now."
