To see Max Melton without a smile on his face is to probably be mistaken that you are looking at Max Melton.
The rookie cornerback couldn't help but grin as he started his first training camp with the Cardinals, rolling up in his McLaren 570S, wearing a Kevin Kolb Cardinals jersey and a giant silver medallion emblazoned with "Mad Max" and his jersey No. 16.
"You really just have to be yourself," Melton said. "I always wanted a nice car, nice big chain, know what I'm saying? That's me. If you're not like that, don't do that.
"(But) you pick good stuff from other people – you'll hear me talk about (Rutgers coach) Greg Schiano all the time – I pick a lot of my game from him. Be yourself, but don't be afraid to take (advice) from other people. You might still be a good player, but you're never going to maximize your growth."
The second-round pick is the guy the Cardinals are counting on to – at least at some point, if not to start the season – fill a starting role. That still must be proven given the Cardinals' cornucopia of young cornerback choices on the roster.
But, coach Jonathan Gannon said, "he was drafted where he was drafted for a reason."
Melton shined Senior Bowl week, he went head-to-head with new teammate Marvin Harrison Jr. a couple of times in college, and he has the confidence and mentality to balance that personality with a learning curve.
"I don't think it's too much," veteran cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting said. "I think it's in a way where he is just being himself and it doesn't distract anyone.
"It's just a fun personality."
That was on display this week, as Melton talked about the Kolb jersey. He had hoped to find a throwback jersey to wear to open camp and happened to be thrift shopping at a Goodwill when he found it. He didn't know who Kolb was at the time and chuckled at the "backlash" he got after wearing it.
Melton also revealed that during the players' downtime he got a chest tattoo, a sleeve of tattoos on his right arm and finished a sleeve of tattoos on his left arm – and he was put under anesthesia for eight hours (with five different tattoo artists) to get it done.
The anecdotes are fun, and Melton loves telling them. But Murphy-Bunting said it isn't about ego, and Gannon said that the first time the Cardinals met with Melton at the Scouting combine, "his self-awareness oozed" out in the conversation.
"It's like, do we want that in our building? Do we want that guy in our building? And when it's a resounding yes, well, then you take him," Gannon said. "That's all of our rookies, not just Max. But I love that everybody's a little bit different. You know what I mean? I want those guys to be authentic. I want them to be who they are."
For a guy who had never been put under for any surgery before, the tattoo event was a memorable moment. And the tattoos aren't the only thing he wears on his sleeve. Melton said the Cardinals wanted a "dog" at cornerback, and he is that guy.
"I'm a corner, but I can hit," he said matter-of-factly.
He is hyper-aware of his need to show it, however, understanding he cannot get complacent and subscribing to the idea "you get better or worse every day." One of the ideals he took from Schiano – who said it was Michael Jordan's method – is approaching everything with a beginner's mentality. Sure, Melton might know something cold, but approaching it as if he doesn't opens his minds to possible improvement.
It isn't just football either. "I take that as a life lesson."
Don't let the smile betray intent. Melton may be big at life, but smart with football.
"I know where I am at now," Melton said. "This is the league. I'm not taking it for granted at all. I'm having fun with it, and I'm just blessed to be here."
