Scouting for the 2022 Reese’s Senior bowl is well underway. The Athletic was granted permission to observe meetings in which Senior Bowl scouts and executive director Jim Nagy discussed 2022 NFL Draft hopefuls. The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman had a wide-ranging piece on prospects who were covered at every position.

There was one Big Ten prospect at wide receiver scouts liked: Rutgers wideout Bo Melton.

“This guy is held back by the helmet sticker,” says Ryan Jones, a former scout for the New York Giants. “He’s a 4-year starter. He didn’t even tap into really playing until the new staff got there. They get him the ball now. He returns kicks. He’ll interview well down here. Remember (former Penn State WR-KR) KJ Hamler? He’s a little lesser an athlete than Hamler; but has big-play ability.”

Added Senior Bowl area scout Andy Dengler: “He looked better on the hoof than I thought he would.”

Nagy said, “I like him with the ball in his hands and that’s a real transferrable skill, the league’s looking for that.”

A 5th-year senior, Melton has 43 catches for 473 yards and 3 touchdowns this season. He leads the Scarlet Knights in each category. A native of New Jersey, Melton has seen his career get a boost from the transfer portal addition of quarterback Noah Vedral.

Since Vedral’s arrival prior to the start of the 2020 season, Melton has hauled in 90 catches for 1,111 yards and 9 touchdowns in 17 games.

Rutgers has 3 games left in the 2021 season, starting with a road trip this weekend to face Indiana (2-7, 0-6 Big Ten). Kick-off is set for noon ET on BTN.