Bo Melton caught attention during minicamp when he took reps with the cornerbacks, but the position switch has seemingly gone beyond the early experimental stage.
Last month, Melton insisted that he is "still a receiver," but the Green Bay Packers have other ideas.
General manager Brian Gutekunst not only confirmed that Melton will spend more time at cornerback than receiver this summer, but also that he has a new jersey number to go with it.
"Bo's going to spend most of his time at corner," said Gutekunst. "We're excited to see what he might be able to do at corner. We switched his number to 16 because it looks a little bit better than the 80 he was running out there at camp. But he will spend most of his time, particularly this first three, four weeks at corner."
Gutekunst noted that the Packers already have confidence in what he can do at wide receiver, and they want to give him an opportunity at cornerback. However, the jersey switch is notable and hints at more of a long-term commitment.
Bo Melton's position switch gives him a clearer path to the Packers' 53-man roster
If anything, this transition highlights how much the Packers value Melton.
Thirteen wide receivers are competing for spots at training camp, and Melton faces an uphill battle to make the roster at his usual position. His only hope is to take the WR6 spot (if the Packers even keep that many), as Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Matthew Golden, Dontayvion Wicks, and Savion Williams are roster locks, barring a trade.
But the door is wide open at cornerback.
The Packers have their top three settled in, with new addition Nate Hobbs likely starting alongside Carrington Valentine and Keisean Nixon, but beyond that? Your guess is as good as mine.
Who is the CB4? Javon Bullard can play in the slot, but the Packers have paper-thin depth on the outside. Seventh-round rookie Micah Robinson could be first off the bench if the team suffers an injury in the secondary.
It would be unfair to expect Melton to play significant snaps at corner immediately, but he has the potential to shine in this position. His Relative Athletic Score actually improves from 9.24 at wide receiver to 9.27 at cornerback. Bo's brother, Max Melton, is a recent second-round pick and plays corner for the Arizona Cardinals.
The Packers clearly value Melton and want to give him every opportunity to make the 53-man roster. His jersey number switch may hint that cornerback will become his permanent home, not just a short-term experiment.