Defensive back, Rutgers, 2020–23
Max Melton
- Number
- No. 16
- Height
- 6′0″
- Weight
- 190 lb
- Class (2023)
- Junior
- Hometown
- Mays Landing, NJ
- Born
- Apr 15, 2002
Max Melton played defensive back at Rutgers (2020–23). The Arizona Cardinals took Melton in round 2, No. 43 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
At a glance
Defense
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls. A dash: the source has no number for that season (often an FCS season), and career totals count only the numbers on file.
On the roster
| Season | Team | No. | Pos | Class | Ht | Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Rutgers | 16 | DB | Yr 1 | ||
| 2021 | Rutgers | 16 | DB | Yr 2 | ||
| 2022 | Rutgers | 16 | DB | Yr 3 | ||
| 2023 | Rutgers | 16 | DB | Jr. (Yr 4) | 6′0″ | 190 |
As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.
Game by game
2023 Rutgers 12 games, 32 tackles, 1 sack, 3 INT
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3 | vs. Northwestern | W 24–7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Sep 9 | vs. Temple | W 36–7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 16 | vs. Virginia Tech | W 35–16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 23 | at Michigan | L 7–31 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 30 | vs. Wagner | W 52–3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 7 | at Wisconsin | L 13–24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 14 | vs. Michigan State | W 27–24 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 21 | at Indiana | W 31–14 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Nov 4 | vs. Ohio State | L 16–35 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 11 | at Iowa | L 0–22 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Nov 18 | at Penn State | L 6–27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 25 | vs. Maryland | L 24–42 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
2022 Rutgers 12 games, 31 tackles, 2 INT
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3 | at Boston College | W 22–21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 10 | vs.Wagner | W 66–7 | – | – | – | – | 1 | – |
| Sep 17 | atTemple | W 16–14 | 4 | 3 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 24 | vs.Iowa | L 10–27 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 1 | atOhio State | L 10–49 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Oct 7 | vs. Nebraska | L 13–14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Oct 22 | vs.Indiana | W 24–17 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 29 | at Minnesota | L 0–31 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 5 | vs.Michigan | L 17–52 | 5 | 4 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 12 | atMichigan State | L 21–27 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 19 | vs.Penn State | L 10–55 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Nov 26 | atMaryland | L 0–37 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2021 Rutgers 10 games, 28 tackles, 3 INT
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 4 | vs.Temple | W 61–14 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Sep 11 | at Syracuse | W 17–7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Sep 18 | vs. Delaware | W 45–13 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Oct 16 | atNorthwestern | L 7–21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Oct 30 | at Illinois | W 20–14 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 6 | vs.Wisconsin | L 3–52 | 4 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 13 | atIndiana | W 38–3 | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Nov 20 | atPenn State | L 0–28 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 27 | vs.Maryland | L 16–40 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 31 ✦ | vs. Wake Forest | L 10–38 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2020 Rutgers 7 games, 20 tackles
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 24 | atMichigan State | W 38–27 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 7 | atOhio State | L 27–49 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 14 | vs.Illinois | L 20–23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 21 | vs.Michigan | L 42–48 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 28 | at Purdue | W 37–30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 5 | vs.Penn State | L 7–23 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 12 | atMaryland | W 27–24 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
Before the draft
Named to the 2024 Senior Bowl (National team) but didn’t play.
| Drill | Combine 2024 | Combine or pro day 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Height | 5′11″ | |
| Weight | 187 lb | |
| Arm length | 32⅛″ | |
| Hand size | 9⅛″ | |
| Wingspan | 76⅝″W | |
| 40-yard dash | 4.39 s | |
| 10-yard split | 1.51 s | |
| Vertical jump | 40½″ | |
| Broad jump | 11′4″ | |
| Bench press | 16 reps | |
| 3-cone drill | 6.95 s | |
| 20-yard shuttle | 4.29 s |
Combine or pro day: the source doesn’t say which. Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Rosters and honors: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the NFL
3 seasons, 31 games with a stat; latest team: Arizona Cardinals.
| Season | Team | G | Tkl | Sacks | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Arizona Cardinals | 17 | 49 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | Arizona Cardinals | 9 | 30 | 0 | 0 |
| 2026 (so far) | Arizona Cardinals | 5 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| NFL career | 31 | 93 | 0 | 0 | |
Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.
Is this you, or do you know of something wrong or missing here? Suggest a correction. We check each one against a source before changing the page.