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ARI Arizona Cardinals · DB· #16

Max Melton

Age
24
Height
5'11"
Weight
190 lbs
College
Rutgers
Drafted
2024, No. 43 overall (AZ)
Experience
3rd NFL season
Compare with another playerCornerbacks leaderboard

52

Overall grade

39th of 96 cornerbacks

Above typical

about average; 50 is average

Grades updated Rechecked every few hours on game days

The read

Max grades about average among cornerbacks so far, with no number far from the middle.

Lately he is playing worse. Yards allowed per target is 11.0 over the last 2 games (9 targets), against 4.8 before that. A few plays could easily explain this. Worth watching, not worth believing yet.

Role is growing: When he plays he is on the field for about 9 of every 10 plays lately, up from about 4 of every 10 plays before.

Written from his numbers, not from film. 5 games are behind the season figures.

How he stacks up

Every graded stat at a glance, against all the cornerbacks in the league.

  • Passes defended per target18%27th of 96small sample
  • Missed tackles8%40th of 90small sample
  • Completion rate allowed59%44th of 96small sample
  • Passer rating allowed8745th of 96
  • Yards allowed per target8.161st of 96small sample

Left is the worst at his job, right is the best, and the line down the middle is average. The bubble is his percentile: 90 means better than nine in ten qualifying cornerbacks. Faded bars are still small samples.

How he has progressed

Where he has ranked among cornerbacks after each week, and every game behind it.

WorstMiddleBestrecent12345Week 2: 79th percentileWeek 3: 53rd percentileWeek 4: 35th percentile35th

Season rank slipped: 79th to 35th percentile since Wk 2.

The line is his season-to-date rank among players at his position after each week, from 100 (the best) to 0 (the worst). It rises when he passes other players, not when he has one big game. Early weeks are noisier because fewer plays are behind them. The shaded weeks are the recent stretch.

Yards allowed per target game by game
WeekOpponentThat gametargetsSeason rank after
1vs LAC4.45–
2vs SEA5.3379th pct
3vs SF9.1753rd pct
4vs NYG17.5235th pct

Lower is better for this stat. One game is a small sample: a single stat over 4 targets can swing on a handful of plays. Shaded rows are the recent stretch.

The numbers, in context

Each one against every cornerback with at least 10 targets. Right on the strip is better.

Yards allowed per target

Below typical

8.1lower is better

61st of 96 cornerbacks · bottom 38%

The yards the receiver he is covering gets each time he is targeted. Fewer is better.

The box score: Interceptions are rare and say little about the hundred plays where he is just covering.

Does it show up in winning? Across 143 games league-wide, teams won 72% of the time when their cornerback was in the best third on yards allowed per target, and 55% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 11.0 (9) vs 4.8 before−19.6grade points downLeaning that way

Small sample: could move a lot · 17 targets · true level likely 4.3 to 11.8

Passer rating allowed

Typical

87lower is better

45th of 96 cornerbacks · top 47%

The passer rating of quarterbacks throwing at him. 158.3 is perfect for the passer, so lower is better for the defender.

The box score: Not in the box score.

Does it show up in winning? Across 143 games league-wide, teams won 72% of the time when their cornerback was in the best third on passer rating allowed, and 53% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 95 (9) vs 78 before−5.8grade points downWithin the noise

Sample still growing · 17 targets · true level likely 65 to 109

Completion rate allowed

Typical

59%lower is better

44th of 96 cornerbacks · top 46%

The share of passes thrown at him that are completed. Fewer is better.

The box score: Not in the box score.

Does it show up in winning? Across 143 games league-wide, a good or bad game on completion rate allowed from a cornerback has not lined up much with his team winning (64% wins in the best third, 53% in the worst).

Last 2 games: 67% (9) vs 50% before−11.6grade points downWithin the noise

Small sample: could move a lot · 17 targets · true level likely 39% to 79%

Passes defended per target

Above typical

18%

27th of 96 cornerbacks · top 29%

How often a pass thrown at him ends with him breaking it up. A cornerback does this far more often than he intercepts.

The box score: Passes defended are counted, but never against how often he was tested.

Does it show up in winning? Across 143 games league-wide, a good or bad game on passes defended per target from a cornerback has not lined up much with his team winning (60% wins in the best third, 68% in the worst).

Last 2 games: 11% (9) vs 25% before−13.9grade points downWithin the noise

Small sample: could move a lot · 17 targets · true level likely 1% to 34%

Missed tackles

Typical

8%lower is better

40th of 90 cornerbacks · top 45%

The share of his tackle chances he missed. Fewer is better.

The box score: Tackle totals reward the player who gets the most chances, not the one who finishes them.

Does it show up in winning? Across 168 games league-wide, teams won 55% of the time when their cornerback was in the best third on missed tackles, and 43% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 0% (8) vs 20% before+17.7grade points upLeaning that way

Small sample: could move a lot · 13 tackle chances · true level likely -8% to 23%

How he plays

Tendencies: how his game differs from the cornerbacks around him. These are not better or worse, only different, and often say as much about the offense or defense he plays in as about him.

Depth of passes at him

Style

8.3 yds

Is thrown at underneath, more than most cornerbacks. A typical one is 10.6 yds.

How far downfield the passes thrown at him travel on average. It shows whether he is tested deep or underneath, which is a role, not a grade.

Small sample: could move a lot · 17 targets

Playing time

He has played in 4 of his team's 4 games with snap counts, on the field for about 65% of the team's defensive plays when he plays.

Role is growing. When he plays he is on the field for about 9 of every 10 plays lately, up from about 4 of every 10 plays before.

Each column is a game: the share of his team's defensive snaps he played. 80% means about 8 of every 10 plays. “Out” means he did not play; a question mark means snap counts are not posted yet. Shaded games are the recent stretch.

Game by game

Every game this season: how it ended for his team, how much he played, his box score, and the advanced numbers from that one game. One game is a small sample, so read the right-hand columns as a snapshot, not his level.

Max Melton game by game
GameResultSnapsTklSoloAstTFLSacksPressPBUIntMissedYds/targetRating againstComp % againstPBU/target
Wk 1 vs LACW 26–1444%1010002014.45440%40%
Wk 2 vs SEAL 7–3130%2111000005.311967%0%
Wk 3 vs SFL 30–3698%4310001009.18857%14%
Wk 4 vs NYGL 24–3688%42200000017.5119100%0%
Wk 5 vs DETL 21–45–321000100––––

The box score

The traditional totals, with where each ranks among cornerbacks. A total rewards volume, which is why the advanced numbers above matter.

Max Melton box score totals
StatTotalRank
Tackles1463rd of 96
Solo tackles873rd of 96
Assisted tackles629th of 96
Tackles for loss119th of 96
Sacks011th of 96
Pressures025th of 96
Passes defended418th of 96
Interceptions027th of 96
Missed tackles148th of 96

Players with a similar profile

The cornerbacks whose grades are closest to his across the same stats. Similar means similar numbers, not the same style of play.

Ranks are among players at the same job who have enough plays to be graded. Grades and rankings come from play-by-play, charting and snap-count data, so they cannot see blocking, route running or assignments. See how the grades work.

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Data: nflverse play-by-play, CC BY 4.0. Also FTN charting, Pro Football Reference advanced stats, snap counts and injury reports, all through nflverse. Calculations and charts by Raiders Rundown.

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