Ranking Every Player on Packers Roster, Part 11: Does Bo Know Receiver?

Last year, there was no room at receiver for Bo Melton, so he was moved to cornerback. Now, with the start of Green Bay Packers training camp about one week away, Melton not only is back at receiver but he’s got a chance to do something he’s never accomplished before.

He is the headliner of Part 11 of our annual 91-to-1 Packers roster rankings. Our rankings aren’t just the team’s best players. Instead, it’s the most important players based on talent, salary, the depth chart and other factors.

No. 45: S Kitan Oladapo

The Packers drafted three safeties in 2024. Two of them, Javon Bullard and Evan Williams, are quality starters and core members of the team’s foundation. The third, Oladapo, has been buried on the depth chart.

The bulk of his playing time on defense has come in the Week 18 games the past two seasons. He played well enough in those opportunities that the team probably felt OK about losing Zayne Anderson to the Dolphins and elevating Oladapo to next-man-up status.

At 6-foot-2 and 216 pounds, Oladapo is a big safety. From that perspective, it was interesting to see him play a lot in the slot in the finale against the Vikings.

No. 44: LS Matt Orzech

Orzech signed a three-year contract extension toward the end of training camp last year and rewarded the Packers with his best season. Not every snap was perfect but there weren’t many that holder Daniel Whelan had to rescue, either.

The 31-year-old is under contract through the 2028 season. With cap numbers that never exceed $1.6 million, there is no reason to believe he won’t play out the contract.

“It’s obviously incredibly humbling just to be able to have the opportunity to do what I do, period,” he said after signing. “From D2 to this is kind of crazy. It’s just kind of a moment of gratitude and reflection to say this is special, this is cool.”

With a change at kicker, Orzech’s consistency will be key in making the field-goal operation go as smooth as possible.

No. 43: TE Josh Whyle

Green Bay Packers tight end Josh Whyle (81) catches a touchdown pass against the New York Giants. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Whyle was a fifth-round pick by the Titans in 2023, part of the same draft class that produced Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave. He caught 28 passes for 248 yards and one touchdown in 2024 but a coaching change made him the odd man out during training camp last year.

The Packers signed him to their practice squad after final cuts and promoted him to the 53-man roster after Kraft’s knee injury. In eight games, he caught five passes for 36 yards and one touchdown. During the final eight weeks of the season, he played 20-plus snaps in six games. The exceptions were because of the concussion sustained early in the game at Denver.

He had a solid set of offseason practices and will challenge Luke Musgrave to be the No. 2 tight end.

“He’s shown a lot of good things,” coach Matt LaFleur said during minicamp. “ I’ve always really liked Josh’s versatility in terms of being a movable piece, but he’s gotten some opportunities on things that maybe Luke would have done. Like yesterday, he caught a little post route over the middle and came through and made a great play on that. So, the more reps he’s getting, I think the better he’s getting.”

No. 42: DT Warren Brinson

A sixth-round pick last year, Brinson was slow to get going but became an asset as the season progressed. He had 13 tackles, including a half-sack, in 11 games.

Brinson only started eight games during his Georgia career but was drafted because of his potential as a pass rusher. Last year, he rushed the passer 152 times. Of the 113 interior defensive linemen with at least that many opportunities, he finished 24th in pass-rush win rate.

The move to a 3-4 defense means more snaps for the defensive tackles. That, of course, means more opportunities for Brinson, whether it’s in pass-rushing situations or as depth at nose tackle, a position he played at the start of OTAs.

“My goal is just to take advantage of my opportunities, man,” he said. “That's all I wanted to do is whenever Coach gave me the opportunity to go out on the field, I wanted to make the most of it and just be a help to the team.”

No. 41: WR Bo Melton

Bo Melton (16) catches a pass for a touchdown for the Packers during last year's win over the Bears. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Melton was a seventh-round pick by Seattle in 2022 and spent most of the season on its practice squad before being signed to Green Bay's 53-man roster. He spent most of the 2023 season on Green Bay’s practice squad before taking full advantage of his opportunities during the team’s huge playoff push.

In a big win at Carolina in Week 16, he caught four passes for 44 yards. In a blowout win at Minnesota in Week 17, he caught six passes for 105 yards and one touchdown. It was the first 100-yard game of the season for the Packers. In Week 18 against Chicago, he added five catches for 62 yards.

In those three games, Melton caught 15 passes for 211 yards. It’s a small sample size. It’s also a 17-game projection of 85 catches for almost 1,200 yards.

However, in 2024, Melton caught eight passes for 91 yards. In 2025, Melton spent his practice time at cornerback but all 96 snaps from scrimmage at receiver. He caught 4-of-13 passes for 107 yards. He scored one touchdown, a 45-yarder in the home win against Chicago, but dropped two passes.

The move to corner last year was because the team was loaded at receiver and undermanned at corner. Now, the Packers are undermanned at receiver. The door is open – maybe even wide open – for Melton to earn a big role as the team’s No. 4 receiver.

“I just feel like last year, it was needed at the time, it was voiced to me, and I’m a team guy,” Melton said. “I want to be here for the team. I want to win a Super Bowl, so, at the end of the day, that’s what it takes, and that’s what they think is good for me in that year, it was cool.

“But for me, I know what I could do at receiver, given the time. So, I just feel like the more reps I keep taking at receiver, the more I’m in there, better things happen. Last year I was in there in little spurts because I was playing defense whole year, so I couldn’t really be who I wanted to be. But I know what I could do. God’s blessed me with great talent, so I’m just going to keep going.”

Without Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks, the Packers don’t have any proven receivers beyond Christian Watson, Matthew Golden and Jayden Reed. Can Melton, in his fifth season in the NFL, finally become a key part of the offense and not just a key part of the special teams?

“I don’t really look into it, you know, like for real,” he said. “I don’t look into opportunities and stuff like that. I’m just ready for the moment, you know? When a moment presents itself, I take advantage. And if I keep getting the moments, keep taking advantage, keep doing good, then more opportunities come.”

Here's our 25 most important Packers for the upcoming season, with quick-hitting looks at each player and links to full feature stories on those players, along with the start of the annual 91-to-1 series. ⬇️https://t.co/ezDAkl7vmd
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) July 17, 2026

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