Packers Practice News and Notes, 6/10: Bo Melton moves to defense

Melton has played 22 games at receiver for Green Bay, but also lined up at cornerback on Tuesday

The Green Bay Packers are hosting a three-day minicamp this week, which is mandatory for all players on their offseason roster. On Tuesday, the media was allowed their one and only look at the team in minicamp, likely the last time the team will be all together until the squad’s next mandatory set of practices: training camp.

So, who showed up, avoiding fines, and what did we learn? Let’s dive into today’s news and notes.

Participation

Every player under contract for the Packers, following the release of cornerback Jaire Alexander yesterday, was in Green Bay for training camp. The only player who did not participate, outside of injury, was center Elgton Jenkins, who continues to look for a contract extension from the Packers. At the moment, Jenkins has two years left in his four-year extension, but his dead cap in 2026 drops to $4.8 million, meaning that Green Bay has a lot of flexibility over whether or not they want to keep him at his $20 million cost next year.

While Jenkins did report, he was dressed down for practice and did not participate in drills. Had he sat out all three days of minicamp, he would have accrued $104,768 in fines that teams are not allowed to waive under the NFL’s current collective bargaining agreement.

According to Packers.com’s Wes Hodkiewicz, players who were missing from today’s practice due to injury were receiver Christian Watson, receiver Julian Hicks, guard Aaron Banks, offensive lineman John Williams, defensive end Collin Oliver, linebacker Quay Walker, cornerback Micah Robinson, cornerback Kalen King and safety Zayne Anderson. As Hodkiewicz noted, King sported a cast on his arm on Tuesday, so there’s the potential that he suffered a serious injury.

Players who returned to practice from injury this week were tight end John FitzPatrick, defensive tackle Warren Brinson and defensive tackle Nesta Jade Silvera. All three of these players were missing from action in both of the media-open organized team activities over the last two weeks. Third-round receiver Savion Williams continues to wear a red non-contact jersey in practice for a mystery injury.

Offense

Without Jenkins or Banks on the interior offensive line, the “starters” with the first-team unit at guard were Sean Rhyan and Donovan Jennings, while Jacob Monk got the nod at center. Rhyan and Monk have been competing at both center and right guard this offseason, with the assumption being that Jenkins will overtake the center position eventually, but Jennings getting the replacement reps for Banks’ absence is interesting.

During the playoffs, both Travis Glover and Kadeem Telfort were the next man up on the offensive line. At the time, Monk was a reserve offensive lineman, and Jennings spent his rookie season on the Packers’ practice squad. Now, both have seemingly jumped the duo who were sent in off the bench for Green Bay’s playoff loss against the Philadelphia Eagles.

2024 first-round pick Jordan Morgan also got some first-team reps at left tackle today, as the team continues to push Rasheed Walker. Walker, who has started 32 games for the Packers over the last two years, is going into the final season of his rookie contract.

Defense

The story on the defensive side of the ball today was that receiver Bo Melton, who is going to feel the squeeze of the team adding two rookie top-100 selections from April’s draft, practiced at both offense and defense on Tuesday. Melton hasn’t played on the defensive side of the ball since high school, as he never took a snap on defense at Rutgers, but his brother is Max Melton — a cornerback who was selected in the second round of the 2024 draft and started three games for the Arizona Cardinals last season.

If you’re wondering how Melton’s measurables compare at the cornerback position, his RAS table can be found below.

Kenny Clark was healthy enough to return to team periods today, which allowed him to play nose tackle on the interior. The starting defensive line was made up of Lukas Van Ness, Rashan Gary, Clark and Devonte Wyatt. Without Quay Walker on the field today, Isaiah McDuffie played the Mike, and Isaiah Simmons played the second outside linebacker spot, the role usually reserved for McDuffie. That gives us a hint at how the Packers feel about the Simmons versus TyRon Hopper debate. Simmons, a former first-round pick, was signed right after the 2025 draft, while Hopper was selected in the top 100 last year.

At defensive back, Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams continued to hold down the fort at safety, with Javon Bullard being the primary slot in today’s practice. Bullard and free agent signing Nate Hobbs have split time at the nickel position so far this offseason. Today, Keisean Nixon and Nate Hobbs were treated as full-time outside cornerbacks. When Hobbs kicks into the slot, it typically means that Carrington Valentine comes off the bench to play outside cornerback.

Special Teams

The only thing notable to talk about on special teams today was that receiver Savion Williams worked with the kick return unit today. Williams hasn’t returned a kick in a game since his true freshman season at TCU, though his body type and pre-draft comparisons to Cordarrelle Patterson, a seven-time All-Pro returner, project him favorably to that position.