NFL Free Agent Bargain Bin
 

NFL Free Agent Bargain Bin - Offseason Low Down - Rotoworld.com


3. Wide receiver Robert Meachem, 27 years old.

The perception of Meachem is that he's a one-trick pony deep threat. A rotational receiver who couldn't overcome Devery Henderson for consistent playing time in New Orleans. Meachem can certainly take the top off a defense, holding a career yards-per-reception average of 16.1. He ran a 4.39 forty at 6-foot-2, 210 coming out of Tennessee. 35 of Meachem's 141 catches have gone for 20-plus yards, good for a 24.8 20-yard rate that compares favorably to fellow top free agents Mario Manningham (23.4), Marques Colston (19.2), Reggie Wayne (18.1), and Pierre Garcon (15.4). Meachem has also been part of a receiver-committee approach with the Saints. He played 55.6 percent of New Orleans' offensive snaps in 2009, 48.9 percent in 2010, and 65.5 in 2011.

Meachem may be capable of more than his past statistics and role illustrate, however. He was always the Saints' best blocking receiver, playing over Colston in all one-wideout sets, and has been charged with just 11 career drops by Pro Football Focus. The Boston Globe reported in February that pro scouts consider Meachem a superior free agent to Colston as a less scheme-dependent receiver who could produce at a higher rate in an offense that utilized him differently. Either Meachem is going to be a steal on the open market, or he will generate more interest than anyone expects.

Prediction: 49ers on a three-year, $13 million contract.

Good by.