Robert Meachem

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

Early years
In elementary school, Meachem played football for The Salvation Army North Mabee Boys & Girls Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Joining the legacy of "Mabee Babies," coaches saw star potential in Meachem at an early age. He later attended Booker T. Washington High School, where he was a teammate of Felix Jones of and Mark Anderson, both active players during the 2010 NFL season, and was named a high school All-American by Parade and SuperPrep reporting services. Meachem was also 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,

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.

New Orleans Saints
With the 27th pick of the 2007 NFL Draft, Meachem was selected by the New Orleans Saints. Meachem signed a five-year deal worth $11.3 million in base salary and incentives with $5.71 million guaranteed.

Robert underwent knee surgery and was unable to play in his rookie season.

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. 

In week 4 against the San Francisco 49ers, Meachem got the chance to see more game time due to number 1 Receiver Marques Colston sidelined with a broken thumb. In this game, Meachem had only 2 receptions, his first a 47 yard touchdown grab, his second a 52 yard flea flicker catch with a defender draped all over him. Meachem ended week 4 with 2 receptions for 99 yards and the Saints got the win over the 49ers. Meachem finished the season with 12 receptions for 289 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also had a 24.1 yards per catch.

On December 6, 2009, after Kareem Moore of the Washington Redskins intercepted Drew Brees, Meachem tore the ball out of Moore's grasp and ran it for a touchdown. In the same game, Meachem caught a 53-yard touchdown pass with 1:19 left in regulation, tying the game at 30. The Saints won 33-30 in overtime to improve to 12-0.

San Diego Chargers
On March 13, 2012, Meachem signed a four-year contract with the San Diego Chargers worth $25.5 million including a $7.5 million signing bonus. He was part of the Chargers plan to replace Pro Bowl receiver Vincent Jackson, who left the team as a free agent. Meachem caught two touchdowns in a 2012 matchup with New Orleans, but he dropped a potential touchdown in a 7–6 loss to the Cleveland Browns.

Media Appearance
Meachem is a contestant on NBC's Minute to Win It in an online exclusive episode playing to win money for the Boys and Girls Club of Greater New Orleans.