The San Diego Chargers suffered a big loss when Vincent Jackson signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on March 13, 2012. Jackson led San Diego in receiving yards and touchdown receptions in 2009 and 2011.
San Diego had a 32-20 record with Jackson from 2008-2011 while they were just 6-6 without him during this time. The Chargers signed former New Orleans Saints wide receiver Robert Meachem to a four year deal worth $25.9 million on March 13, 2012.
Meachem’s average salary is about $6.5 million which ranks fourth among all Chargers, so expectations are high for him. Malcom Floyd led the NFL in yards per reception last season and led San Diego in receiving yards per game.
Floyd has battled injuries throughout his career and only has one season in which he played all 16 regular season games which happened in 2009. Meachem had knee surgery during the off-season, but only missed two games in his career from 2008-2011 while Floyd missed five games in 2010 and four games last season, so health could be a factor in 2012.
Meachem’s best year came during the 2009 NFL season when he had 45 receptions, 722 yards and nine TD receptions in 16 games. Floyd’s best season was last year when he had 43 receptions, 856 yards and five TD receptions in 12 games.
In 62 regular season NFL games, Meachem has 23 TD receptions and averages about 37 receiving yards per game. In 74 games, Floyd has 20 TD receptions and averages about 43 yards per game.
In one playoff game for his career, Floyd had three receptions, 30 yards and no touchdowns. In six playoff games, Meachem averaged two receptions, 31 yards and had one TD reception.
This will be the second time that Floyd will be looked at as a second option for Philip Rivers. Jackson missed 11 games in 2010 when Floyd was second on the team in receiving yards, receiving yards per game and TD receptions.
This will be the second time that Meachem could be looked at as one of the top options for his QB because he was tied for the New Orleans lead with nine TD receptions in 2009.
San Diego will open the regular season on September 10, 2012 against the Oakland Raiders which will be a small sample size of what could happen for Floyd and Meachem in 2012.
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I looking forward to seeing who comes out on top. It is going to be on the coach.
Agreed and health as well as match-ups against coverages will be factors too