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Saints snap counts: Cameron Meredith plays sizable role in season debut

By Josh Katzenstein jkatzenstein@nola.com
NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

The New Orleans Saints made wide receiver Cameron Meredith a healthy scratch in the first two games this season, but in Week 3, he was effectively the team's No. 3 receiver.

In Sunday's 43-37 overtime win over the Atlanta Falcons, Meredith played 34 of 79 offensive snaps (43 percent). Michael Thomas led the receivers with 75 snaps (95 percent), Ted Ginn Jr. was second with 52 (66 percent), but Meredith played more in his Saints debut than Tre'Quan Smith (26, 33 percent) and Austin Carr (13, 16 percent).

Meredith wasn't particularly productive Sunday as he caught one pass for 11 yards, but he scored a touchdown on the play to give the Saints a 23-21 lead in the third quarter.

Coach Sean Payton spoke last week about his desire to get Meredith, Smith and Carr more involved in the offense. Carr had one catch for 25 yards, making a tough play while absorbing a hit, while Smith had zero targets.

The Saints will likely continue to alter the roles among their receivers depending on matchups, but Sunday's game showed that coaches are starting to trust Meredith.

Here are some other notes from the snap count report:

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