GREEN BAY, Wis. – On your Green Bay Packers Minicamp Bingo Card, who had cornerback Jaire Alexander being released and receiver Bo Melton running with the starters in his place?
But that’s how Packers minicamp started, with Alexander’s release on Monday and Melton working double duty on Tuesday.
“Over the last four years, there’s been a lot of games missed,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said during Tuesday’s practice of his decision to release the former All-Pro cornerback. “I just think for what that amount of money is, that’s a lot to pay for a guy who hasn’t been able to get on the field. Again, it’s not his fault. It’s just something that kind of transpired, so we were looking for something different.”
It doesn’t get much more different than Melton playing defense. A seventh-round pick in 2022 – the same draft that produced Packers receivers Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs – Melton got reps on both sides of the ball. With the additions of Matthew Golden and Savion Williams in the draft and Mecole Hardman in free agency, the Packers have a logjam at receiver. They’re kiddie-pool deep at cornerback, though.
So, why not give one of the fastest players on the team a better shot of competing for a roster spot?
“He was one day just talking about how he was better than his brother [Arizona Cardinals cornerback Max Melton], so we said, ‘OK, go prove it.’ I’m just kidding, he didn’t say that,” coach Matt LaFleur said after practice.
“But his brother’s a pretty good player as well, and we just thought that if there is somebody that can potentially do both, he would be that guy. And I think a lot of it is just from his production on [special] teams and just his ability to make plays on teams.”
During one 11-on-11 period, which was run at less than full speed, the Packers’ secondary consisted of Carrington Valentine and Melton at cornerback and Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams at safety.
During the first snap of a competitive 7-on-7 period, Melton caught a pass from Jordan Love. On the final snap of the period, he was matched in coverage against Golden.
“Bo’s a great dude,” Love said. “He’s a great personality. I feel like in the locker room, he connects with a lot of guys on the team. Then like you talk about on the field, he’s a guy that does the right things. He’s very consistent with what he does, and he’s a team guy. He’s ready to do whatever’s asked of him. I can’t speak highly enough about Bo. He’s a great, energetic person that you like to be around.”
Taking Attendance
This is a mandatory minicamp, which means Elgton Jenkins was present. However, that doesn’t mean the team’s Pro Bowl left guard was taking any snaps at center. In fact, Jenkins spent practice in street clothes.
“He’s helping out and coaching the other guys right now,” LaFleur said. “He’s worked on the side, but we thought it was best to keep him out today.”
The 10 players who did not practice: linebacker Quay Walker, receiver Christian Watson, cornerback Micah Robinson, cornerback Kalen King, safety Zayne Anderson, defensive end Collin Oliver, guard Aaron Banks, offensive lineman John Williams, Jenkins and receiver Julian Hicks.
King, a seventh-round pick last year who figures to be in the mix to be the team’s No. 4 corner, had a cast on his right forearm. He should be ready for training camp, LaFleur said.
“He’s done a nice job,” LaFleur said. “I think he’s much better physically than he was a year ago. I mean, he’s a young man, I think he came into this league and he was 21 years old. So that’s to be expected that there’s going to be some maturity with his body and his mind, for that matter. I think he’s done a great job attacking it the right way so I’m excited to see him when we get back to camp.”
Lineup Notes
- With three-fifths of the starting offensive line out of action, the Packers lined up with Jordan Morgan at left tackle (with Rasheed Walker limited to individual drills), Donovan Jennings at left guard (with Aaron Banks in the rehab group), Jacob Monk at center (with Elgton Jenkins not practicing) and the usual right side of Sean Rhyan at right guard and Zach Tom at right tackle.
“I didn’t even notice it, to be honest with you,” LaFleur said of Jennings, an undrafted rookie last year. “As far as his work habits and showing up and giving great effort, I think he’s done a nice job of that.”
- With Quay Walker not practicing, the No. 1 linebackers were Isaiah McDuffie in the middle, flanked by Edgerrin Cooper and Isaiah Simmons.
- As was the case last season, it’s been a revolving door at safety alongside Xavier McKinney, with Javon Bullard, Evan Williams and Kitan Oladapo taking reps with McKinney with the No. 1 defense.
- The No. 1 secondary for the starters vs. starters 2-minute drill consisted of Keisean Nixon and Nate Hobbs at cornerback, Javon Bullard in the slot and McKinney and Williams at safety.
- Rookie fourth-round pick Barryn Sorrell got some action opposite Kingsley Enagbare with the No. 2 defense. Previously, it had been Brenton Cox and Enagbare.
- Once again, the No. 1 tandem at defensive end was Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness. It was Gary and Cox during the 2-minute drill, though, with Van Ness moving inside.
QB throwing INTs on almost every pass. pic.twitter.com/cnRXa4cgEu
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) June 10, 2025
Two-Minute Drills
The most competitive period of the day was the practice-ending 2-minute drills. The scenario had the offense starting at the 30-yard line with 1:25 on the clock and one timeout and needing a touchdown.
Up first, it was the No. 2s. Malik Willis was sacked on the first play, perhaps by Kingsley Enagbare, but was able to overcome second-and-20 and third-and-11 with a 12-yard pass over the middle to Emanuel Wilson with 39 seconds to go.
Moments later, on third-and-6, Willis connected with rookie receiver Sam Brown downfield for a big gain. Brown was ruled down inbounds. In that situation, Brown should have run the ball to the official in the middle of the field to get it spotted. Instead, the ball started bouncing around and time expired. LaFleur told the players on the field that it was a teachable moment.
Up next, it was the starters. Looking decisive, Jordan Love hit Tucker Kraft in the flat for gains of 7 and 5 yards, with Josh Jacobs providing a block that allowed Kraft to get the first down and out of bounds. On the next play, Love hit Jayden Reed for 10 yards to the defense’s 48, with a timeout stopping the block with 57 seconds remaining.
Another completion to Kraft – Kraft thought he was out of bounds and gave the “official,” strength and conditioning coordinator Aaron Hill, a hard time – and a drop by Chris Brooks made it third-and-3. Love fired a bullet over the middle to Malik Heath on a deep in-breaking route for a gain of 31 to the 10, with Love clocking the ball with 15 seconds to go. On the next play, Love connected with Mecole Hardman over the middle but he was unable to get out of bounds and time ran out.
The No. 3 offense did find the end zone. First, Sean Clifford connected with tight end Messiah Swinson at the sideline to convert on fourth-and-3. Next, on second-and-10, Clifford hit Cornelius Johnson over the middle for a gain of 20 to the defense’s 39 with a timeout with 38 seconds to go. After Brown slipped on a first-down pass, Clifford went deep to Heath, who made a big-time catch at the sideline against Isaiah Dunn for a gain of 32 to the 7.
Defensive tackle Keith Randolph batted down a pass on first down, Clifford threw incomplete on second down and defensive tackle James Ester sacked Clifford on third down. With time ticking away, Clifford rushed the offense to the line, escaped trouble and threw a prayer to the end zone, with Hardman making a superb one-handed catch for the touchdown.
Minicamp Extra Points
- Kicker Brandon McManus made all of his field-goal attempts, including hits from 51 and 49 yards.
“This will be my 13th training camp,” he said. “I have a lot of experience with each and every kick I've attempted, and so I really just hone in on the history of what I've done in the past. Any time you go somewhere new, there's an excitement, there’s a giddiness.
“You always want to perform for the team and the guys. I said a lot of these guys were in grade school or middle school when I was playing for Denver. Maybe they didn't really know who I was, so there's always I got to prove myself. You always do in this league but there's always an added motivation every now and then to prove who you are.”
- Second-year linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper made a couple of impressive plays on back-to-back snaps. First, he broke up a pass to running back Chris Brooks. Next, he made an immediate tackle on a crossing route to Mecole Hardman.
- Jordan Love wasn’t as efficient as he was at OTAs last week. However, during the second 7-on-7 period, he rifled a seam shot to receiver Jayden Reed for a gain of 25. If it were live, safety Xavier McKinney might have made the play. There was no doubt one play later, when Love zipped another seam pass to tight end John FitzPatrick for a gain of about 30.
Play of the Day
Sean Clifford’s touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman to cap the aforementioned 2-minute drill is tough to beat. This was at least close:
On the final play of the final 7-on-7 period, Romeo Doubs took his route up the right sideline. Keisean Nixon was in perfect position, so Jordan Love intentionally threw it behind them. Doubs stopped, slipped and made the catch on his butt.
Quote of the Day
Here’s Tucker Kraft talking about receiver/cornerback Bo Melton:
“I actually caught a pass and I saw someone do a fly-by out of my peripheral. I turned around and I’m like, who was that? Like a wide receiver just decided to mess around and come tag off on me or something like that. But Bo was out there taking snaps at defense. I was like, very surprised, to say the least. I know his brother plays DB for the Cardinals, but the more you can do. That’s what they always say. Your greatest ability is availability, so the more you can do on the field.”