Bo Melton is a wide receiver from the University of Rutgers. The New Jersey native was voted first-team All-New Jersey twice while attending Cedar Creek High School. Coming out of high school, he was a four-star prospect with offers from prolific programs such as Penn State and Wisconsin. However, Melton chose to stay close to home, attending Rutgers, his parents’ alma mater.
Melton’s first two seasons at Rutgers (2017 and 2018) saw limited production, only playing in nine games total, with 32 catches and 327 receiving yards. In 2019, he became the team’s leading receiver, grabbing 30 catches for 427 and two touchdowns. He would remain the team-leading receiver over his final two seasons in 2020 and 2021, seeing 102 catches for 1,256 yards and nine touchdowns. He also added some backfield work, grabbing two rushing touchdowns in 2020.
Melton is a challenging prospect to evaluate due to the lack of passing production during his tenure at Rutgers. Through his five seasons on the team, only once did they surpass 2,000 passing yards (2021). Additionally, while consistently leading the team in receiving, he never exceeded 700 receiving yards in a season and only once had more than 50 receptions. Melton was also a victim of inefficient QB play, with a team-average completion percentage of 54.9 percent in those five seasons.
Bo Melton is a wide receiver from the University of Rutgers. The New Jersey native was voted first-team All-New Jersey twice while attending Cedar Creek High School. Coming out of high school, he was a four-star prospect with offers from prolific programs such as Penn State and Wisconsin. However, Melton chose to stay close to home, attending Rutgers, his parents’ alma mater.
Melton’s first two seasons at Rutgers (2017 and 2018) saw limited production, only playing in nine games total, with 32 catches and 327 receiving yards. In 2019, he became the team’s leading receiver, grabbing 30 catches for 427 and two touchdowns. He would remain the team-leading receiver over his final two seasons in 2020 and 2021, seeing 102 catches for 1,256 yards and nine touchdowns. He also added some backfield work, grabbing two rushing touchdowns in 2020.
Melton is a challenging prospect to evaluate due to the lack of passing production during his tenure at Rutgers. Through his five seasons on the team, only once did they surpass 2,000 passing yards (2021). Additionally, while consistently leading the team in receiving, he never exceeded 700 receiving yards in a season and only once had more than 50 receptions. Melton was also a victim of inefficient QB play, with a team-average completion percentage of 54.9 percent in those five seasons.
Bo Melton Profile
| School |
Rutgers University |
| Height |
5-foot-11 |
| Weight |
189 pounds |
| 40-yard Dash Time |
4.34 Seconds |
| Age |
22 |
| Class |
Senior |
| Prospect Grade |
5.92 (Special teams/back-up)* |
* Prospect grade from NFL.com
Fantasy Outlook
The Seattle Seahawks selected Melton with the 229th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He joins a WR room that includes DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and second-year receiver Dwayne Eskridge, to name a few. Heading into the 2022 season, Melton is, at best, third on the depth chart at the slot position behind Eskridge and veteran Freddie Swain. In the seventh round, Seattle’s selection of Melton was most likely geared toward his abilities and prowess on special teams and less about his abilities as a receiver. However, Seattle is a team in rebuild mode, so anything is possible.
There have been rumors that the Seahawks may be willing to trade Metcalf if they cannot reach an agreement on a contract extension. Dwayne Eskridge didn’t exactly light the world on fire in his rookie season, finishing the campaign as the overall PPR WR145. Freddie Swain managed 25 catches for 343 yards and four touchdowns in 2021 while primarily working out of the slot.
There is a chance we see head coach Pete Carroll mix things up to see what he can get out of these younger players. That will be Melton’s best chance of providing fantasy relevancy in 2022 and beyond. You shouldn’t be leaving your rookie drafts with him on your roster unless your taxi squad or bench is deep. He should be an in-season waiver wire addition should he see more involvement in the offense than expected.
Both Isaiah McKenzie and Melton were graded as late-round to undrafted free agents in their respective classes (2017 and 2022). They share similar physical profiles, with Mckenzie just slightly smaller than Melton. He will most likely be primarily a slot receiver and could add situational value on offense, and special teams as McKenzie has done in Denver and Buffalo.
Landing Spot and Dynasty Outlook
The Seattle Seahawks have an unhealthy obsession with speedy receivers with questionable analytical profiles. They went down the D’Wayne Eskridge rabbit hole last year only to land on Bo Melton this year. The investment in Melton is slight as it only cost the team a seventh-round pick. Melton’s a late flier only. He’s currently blocked from the starting lineup by Tyler Lockett, D.K. Metcalf and either D’Wayne Eskridge or Freddie Swain. If Eskridge flames out again this year, it’s not impossible that Melton could get some run late in the season. His 4.34 speed, 93rd percentile college target share, and 81st percentile college dominator make him a shiny dart to toss at the board.
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Nate Polvogt is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Nate, check out his archive and follow him @NatePolvogt.
