I have always been a Robert Meachem
fan. Actually, our computer scouting system told
us to be a fan...so I became one. The problem
with being a Meachem fan in Fantasy Football is,
he mostly leaves you "wanting." I've always
liked Meachem, but I have also stayed far away
from him for Fantasy Football. However, our
paths have crossed more than once in Fantasy
Football.
Perhaps, like you, in a 10-team (or
occasionally a 12-team league), a surprise
WR/Flex scratch or a bad bye week scenario
hits...and I'm scrambling through the mire
looking for a WR for the week. I think, "at
least Meachem will give me something, and maybe
a TD." Somewhere along the way each season in
some league, Meachem and I have a "one-week
stand." I usually don't call him back, however.
Nothing against Meachem, it's just that the
Saints WR situation (for Fantasy Football) is
maddening. Great for the NFL, but bad for FF.
Meachem is good, but Marques Colston is a
better built deep threat -- Meachem has measured
faster for speed, but Colston is fast
enough...plus Colston is 6'4+ and 225. Colston
is the better deep threat option for the Saints.
Lance Moore is a perfectly built
slot/possession/Wes Welker-type WR. Moore is
very athletic, with a huge hand-size. Moore is
much better suited for the short passing game
over Meachem.
Moore is an underneath Brees safety blanket,
Colston is the more visible red-zone option, and
now Jimmy Graham is on the cusp of
becoming the best TE (receiving) in football.
Then there are Robert Meachem and
Devery Henderson, who are targeted every
once and awhile. This is why we hate Saints WRs
for Fantasy Football, and RBs too. I would be
stoked about it as a Saints fan, not so much for
Fantasy Football.
However, the heavens may have opened...and
beam of light may be getting ready to shine on
Robert Meachem...at least for a few
weeks.
Robert Meachem, circa
2006...
If we get in the way-back machine (all the
way back to the ancient days of 2006), and look
at Robert Meachem coming out of the University
of Tennessee...everything about him would have
pointed toward an NFL star.
In Meachem's Junior season at Tennessee, he
posted 71 catches for 1,298 yards and caught 11
TDs in a 13-game 2006 season. Meachem also
produced solid/good games against tougher
competition. Meachem went to the NFL Combine and
ran ultra-fast times in the 10, 20, 40-yard
dashes (4.39 in the 40). Meachem also measured
with solid times for agility with a nice
vertical ability. Put all those ingredients into
the blender, and out comes a 2007 1st-Round
draft pick (#27) for the New Orleans Saints.
All that NFL "upside," but Meachem arrives on
a team that just came off a 2006-season with a
7th-Round draft pick WR named Marques Colston,
who dropped 1,038 yards and 8 TDs in his rookie
debut season. Meachem's rookie debut is far less
scintillating than Colston's...Meachem has
knee-surgery, and does not play in his rookie
season.
Robert Meachem without
Marques Colston...
In 2008, Meachem does play...sporadically. He
finishes this debut season with 12 receptions
for 289 yards and 3 TDs (plus another TD
rushing). It was not a dreadful debut, but not
1st-Round/big-money worthy production.
Especially, a poor ROI, when you consider that
in 2008, an undrafted WR named Lance Moore
splashed onto the NFL scene with a huge season
for the Saints -- 79 receptions for 928 yards
and 10 TDs.
7th-Round draft pick Marques Colston
is a full-fledged NFL star WR, and Lance Moore
has become a break-out performer...and that left
people asking, "who is Robert Meachem again?".
The former 1st-Rounder is debatably the 3rd-4th
best WR on his team.
However, there was something (potentially)
hiding in Meachem's under-whelming 2008...
Marques Colston missed Games 2-7 in
2008, with a broken thumb. The door opened for
Meachem to see more #1 WR-type playing time, and
he took some advantage of it. In games 2-5 in
2008, Meachem averaged 1.8 receptions for 58.8
yards per game, and he grabbed 2 TDs in those 4
games. Meachem scored 8.9 Fantasy Football
points per game in that stretch, 10.7 PPR PPG.
Unfortunately, Meachem got nicked up the next
few games and when Colston came back...Meachem
saw little targeting the rest of the season.
This is the only stretch of meaningful time
where we see where Meachem playing in his
career, with Colston not playing.
Robert Meachem without
Lance Moore...
Lance Moore became a star in 2008, but
was mostly hurt in mid-late 2009. When Moore
fully dropped out of the lineup...Robert
Meachem became a star.
Moore missed games 8-13 in 2009, in those 6
games Meachem averaged 4.2 catches for 67.2
yards per game -- snatching an impressive 6 TDs
in 6 games. When Moore missed Game-15,
Meachem caught 5 passes for 66 yards and another
TD. Meachem had an elite Fantasy Football level
13.4 PPG in that 7-game non-Lance Moore span,
with 17.7 PPR PPG.
Robert Meachem caught 9 TD passes in
2009 total. Meachem had 7 of his 9 TDs when
Lance Moore posted no stats/did not play in
a game. When Moore did play, Meachem dropped to
1.9 catches for 34.4 yards per game with just 2
TDs in 7 games. Meachem scored a very
under-whelming 5.2 Fantasy Football PPG, 7.0 PPR
in that span where Moore was playing.
Moore, nor Colston, missed any games (not
counting Week-17 games) in the 2010 season.
Meachem didn't either, but fell back to 2.9
receptions and 43.2 yards per game; 6.0 Fantasy
Football PPG, 8.9 PPR.
In 2011, opening day -- Lance Moore
was out with an injury. What did Meachem do? Of
course, he scored a TD.
Robert Meachem has played 46 games in
his NFL career over 3 seasons (+ 1 game for
2011), and in his career, he has caught 18 TD
passes...a TD every 2.6 games. Meachem has
played 8 games without Lance Moore, and has
caught 8 TDs...you can do the TD per game math
on that one.
Meachem has caught 10 of his 18 career TDs
when either Colston or Moore is not playing...10
TDs in 12 games for Meachem without Colston or
Moore. That's just 8 TDs in Meachem's other 34
games, a TD catch per every 4.3 games.
Meachem without Colston
and/or Moore next week?
Colston is now out for approximately 4-weeks with
a broken collarbone. Moore is still day-to-day. The
Saints are playing the Bears at home/in the dome/on
a "fast track." Obviously, we expect to see a lot of
passing from the Saints...and as well, the data
would suggest, we are going to see a Robert
Meachem TD catch in there too.
Depending upon your WR situation, I would
jump on the Meachem train and ride it for a few
weeks as needed. The probability he posts a TD
per game, is pretty high according to history.
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