Every day, for the two years Max and Bo Melton played together at Rutgers, coaches would match them up in practice.
Bo was the older brother, the accomplished wide receiver. Max, the one-time receiver-turned-full-time cornerback, had Bo as his mentor and – at least in practice – his foil.
"They knew he was going to work me into the best corner I could be," said Max, now a rookie for the Cardinals.
"We're battling," said Bo, a wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers. "I'm trying to make him better. He's trying to make me better."
The tangible results will be evident Sunday, when the Melton brothers will see each other on an NFL field for the first time when the Cardinals play in Green Bay.
When Max Melton showed up after he was drafted in the second round by the Cardinals in April, he embodied what a high-confidence corner was all about. He showed up with a flashy necklace – “Mad Max,” it read – while driving a McLaren 570S and telling stories with a wide smile about going under anesthesia for hours to get tattoos.
But Bo? "He's way more outgoing than me," Max says about the brother with whom he was always so close despite the three-year age difference.
"Just following him my whole life, see him around all his friends, he's way funnier, he can dance," Max added. "I wish y'all could really see Bo. He's really funny, he's way more outgoing than me."
Sunday's game will be about more than just the two brothers. It's a friends-and-family affair, some 25 to 30 descending on Green Bay from their family's home in Egg Harbor, New Jersey.
"I think our families are more excited than we are because we play ball," Bo said. "We're just going against each other like we did in the backyard."
GARY MELTON SR. played football for Rutgers from 1987-91. Vicky Melton – then Vicky Green – played basketball at the school from 1989-93. As Bo and Max were growing up, they followed their older brother Gary Jr. – four years older than Bo – on to the gridiron.
When the boys would go around the neighborhood to the local mom-and-pop shops, the adults would all talk about how good Gary Sr. had been at football. As successful as Vicky was at hoops, however, she never spoke much about her own athletic exploits.
"Very humble," Bo said of his mother. "My Mom will not talk about sports. Not at all. She just makes sure we're OK."
Perhaps it was inevitable both Bo and Max ended up as Scarlet Knights, although their mom and dad tried their best not to push their alma mater. Bo had an offer from Oregon, which he called his dream school, but his mom made clear she didn't want him going all the way across the country. He ended up at Rutgers.
Max got even more attention through the recruiting process. He said most schools wanted him as a receiver, but he wanted to play cornerback. Originally, he committed to Purdue. Then Greg Schiano took over at Rutgers, and Max changed his mind and kept the Melton family legacy going.
It also brought back to life the Bo-Max battles, which happened occasionally in their one year in high school of varsity football together before two seasons for the Scarlet Knights.
Rutgers is about 90 minutes from Egg Harbor. Gary Sr. and Vicky went to all the games to watch their sons. They have tried to do the same as much as possible now that they are in the NFL.
THE PRO GAME has provided more of a roller coaster.
Max said he expected his brother to be drafted somewhere in the third-to-fifth round. The Seahawks ended up taking Bo in the seventh.
"It was like utter shock to me," Max said. "'OK, they don't really see him like that. Alright, bet.' But when he got into the league I knew he was going to do his thing. Seattle didn't really work out, so he went to Green Bay and he's been shining ever since. Sometimes, you have to have the right people to give you that chance you deserve."
Bo landed with the Packers and ended up with 16 catches in 2023, playing more often on offense than special teams. That has changed this season with an influx of young pass catchers.
Max was more highly touted in the draft, landing in Round 2 as a string of cornerback selections ended with the Cardinals plucking him for a needy secondary.
"Seeing Max being at the draft party and being there to see him get drafted, it feels not real," Bo said. "How crazy is this? We were literally in our backyard in Egg Harbor City just running around, routes and stuff like that, saying, 'Oh yeah, Odell Beckham catches, Megatron jumps.'
"We're just playing around wanting to be in the NFL. Playing video games wanting to be in the NFL and getting to that moment, it's so awkward. We worked our way here and it's definitely surreal. I can't even explain how it is."
VICKY ALREADY has a combo Max-Bo Cardinals-Packers half-and-half jersey ready to wear at Lambeau Field. His parents have already come to State Farm Stadium this year, but going against his brother makes this different.
"I want to see my family's faces," Max said.
Max admitted when he was drafted, he had to be told his brother's team was on the schedule. He was too busy trying to find a house and a car and start his first real job.
Max played the his most defensive snaps last weekend in San Francisco, in part because of the groin injury of Garrett Williams. He remains a contributor on special teams.
"If you really look at corner play there's like five to eight techniques that you have to master because that's what allows you to win your one-on-one in the down," coach Jonathan Gannon said. "I think he's doing a good job of working on those techniques, getting better and being a technician, but the skillset is there.
"The want-to is there. The toughness is there. The mental is there. He just needs to play."
Bo also has carved out a special teams role. He had two catches for 40 yards last week, but that was with wideout Romeo Doubs suspended for a game.
If they do meet up on a Packers' offensive play, Max said he may lobby to pick up his brother.
"That's literally the moment we dreamed of," Max said. "Yeah, we wanted to be in the league and that's a moment in itself, but that two to three seconds of lining up across from him before the ball is snapped, that's what I live for.
"I'm going to make the most out of the opportunity, I know he will too, and I can't wait to see how it ends up."
Packers.com senior writer Wes Hodkiewicz contributed
