Robert Meachem

Infobox NFLactive


|caption=
currentteam=New Orleans Saints
currentnumber=17
currentposition=Wide receiver
birthdate=birth date and age|1984|9|28
birthplace=Tulsa, Oklahoma
heightft=6
heightin=2
weight=214
debutyear=2008
debutteam=New Orleans Saints
college=Tennessee
draftyear=2007
draftround=1
draftpick=27
pastteams=
* New Orleans Saints (2007-present)
status=Active
highlights=
* First-team All-SEC (2006)
statweek=5
statseason=2008
statlabel1=Receptions
statvalue1=7
statlabel2=Receiving Yards
statvalue2=235
statlabel3=Touchdowns
statvalue3=2
nfl=MEA057501

Robert Meachem (born September 28, 1984 in Tulsa, Oklahoma) is an American football wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Saints 27th overall in the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Tennessee.

Early years

Meachem attended Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was named a high school All-American by "Parade" and SuperPrep reporting services. Meachem also was a point guard on his high school basketball team, which won back to back state titles in 2001 and 2002. Once with his AAU team, the Tulsa Jammers, he dunked on LeBron James. Very few players are in that select group.cite web | url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft07/news/story?id=2796214| title=Farm served as sanctuary for WR prospect| publisher= Matt Mosley:espn.com | accessdate=2007-04-09]

College career

Meachem attended the University of Tennessee, where he garnered rave reviews upon arriving in 2003. He was part of a heralded recruiting class with receivers Jayson Swain and Bret Smith. Meachem, however, redshirted the 2003 season after suffering a knee injury in preseason practice.

Meachem caught 25 passes for 459 in 2004 as a redshirt freshman. He returned to play in all 13 games (zero starts) and led the team with 459 yards on 25 catches (18.4 average) and four touchdowns. Meachem was the only Vols receiver with 100 yards in a game that year. Meachem's first career reception occurred in the game against UNLV, which was a 35-yard score.

Meachem appeared in all 11 games in 2005, with two starts, and again led the team in receiving yards with 383 on 29 catches (13.2 average) and two touchdowns.

2006 was Meachem's breakout year. Along with David Cutcliffe's return to Tennessee as offensive coordinator in 2006, Meachem, Swain and quarterback Erik Ainge all turned in career seasons. In the November 25th game against Kentucky, Meachem had 116 receiving yards, pushing his total to a new school record of 1265 yards in a single season. Meachem also totaled 11 scores, a career best. He also had six 100 yard games that season. He ranked fourth in the nation with an average of 99.85 yards per game receiving and ranked 24th nationally with 5.46 receptions per game. He led the team with a career-high 71 catches for a school single-season record 1,298 yards (18.3 avg) to lead the SEC, including 11 touchdowns. He recorded two solo tackles, gained 16 yards on a kickoff return and 12 yards on a punt return. In 37 games at Tennessee, Meachem started 15 times. He caught 125 passes and became the sixth player in school history to gain more than 2,000 yards receiving, totaling 2,140 yards (17.1 avg) with 17 touchdowns. All this earned him an all SEC, consensus All-American selections. Meachem decided to skip his senior season and enter the 2007 NFL Draft.

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

With the 27th pick of the 2007 NFL Draft, Meachem was selected by the New Orleans Saints. Coach Sean Payton is said to see him as a long term replacement to Joe HornFact|date=May 2007. Meachem signed a five-year deal worth $11.3 million in base salary and incentives with $5.71 million guaranteed. [http://www.saintsgab.com/2007/07/24/meachem-signs-five-year-deal-with-saints/]

Robert underwent knee surgery and was unable to play in his rookie season. He has bounced back nicely though, earning the praise of coaches and media in his second season as he is now injury free.

However, Meachem was once again inactive for the Saints' opener against Tampa Bay.

On September 14, 2008, Meachem caught his first pass in the NFL, a 19 yard touchdown pass against the Washington Redskins.

References

External links

* [http://neworleanssaints.com/Team/Roster/People/Robert%20Meachem.aspx New Orleans Saints bio]
* [http://utsports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/meachem_robert00.html UTSports.com Tennessee Volunteers bio]