Fantasy Upside
Cameron Meredith enjoyed a breakout year with a team-high 888 yards in 2016 before losing all of last season due to a torn ACL. Even though the Bears are expected to be improved offensively this season, Meredith sees a major situational bump moving from Chicago to New Orleans. With the Saints, not only does he have future Hall of Famer Drew Brees throwing to him, but he should thrive playing in three-wide sets with Michael Thomas and Ted Ginn. With Ginn being 33, there were reports this offseason that Meredith will emerge as the Saints' No. 2 receiver. Assuming he's healthy (he's participating in training camp), Meredith has sleeper potential this season.
Fantasy Downside
As previously mentioned, Meredith suffered a lost season in 2017 because of a torn ACL. If he suffers any setback, he could lose meaningful snaps to Ginn or even Brandon Coleman. He's also learning a new offense and as long as Thomas is healthy himself, Meredith will be relegated to a No. 2 role.
2018 Bottom Line
Meredith is currently our No. 43 ranked WR heading into the season and currently has an ADP of 14.07 in 12-team leagues and 17.03 in 10-team leagues. Assuming he's healthy, Meredith has the upside of a WR3 but at a WR4 price. He's worth a late-round flier based on his situation but continue to monitor his health throughout the preseason.
Player Upside
Cameron Meredith came out of nowhere last season and provided some very productive games. He had four performances of at least nine receptions and 100 yards receiving. Not only is he good at moving the chains (he led the team in first downs with 44), but he can also make big plays (his 13 plays of 20+ yards also was tops on the roster).
He played in 14 games (started 10) and finished with 888 receiving yards, which really came as a surprise, considering he was a relative unknown heading into the year. His length and speed make him a dangerous weapon, as we saw in 2016.
Player Downside
Meredith isn’t in a great position. The Bears passing attack isn’t exactly feared given their current quarterback situation. The QB play will have a direct impact on Meredith’s ability to perform consistently. This was a problem last year as he had a three-game stretch recording just one reception in each outing.
There’s also a chance Meredith was a one-year wonder and defenses have figured out how to stop him given a full offseason of prep.
2017 Bottom Line
Meredith has a lot of things going his way. While the quarterback situation isn’t ideal, all we need is a few big plays to make him relevant in fantasy, which is what he was able to do several times last season. As long he gets targets, he should be a solid receiver. He’s a good value play as a player you can target late in drafts.
Week 17 vs. Minnesota
Cameron Meredith has had a resurgence at the tail end of the season. He's averaged 103 yards over the last three games while scoring two touchdowns in that span.
He'll get a difficult matchup this week against the Vikings, a team he had just one catch against earlier in the season. But this is a different team than it was then, and Meredith's role has increased.
Considering his hot surge, it's hard not to like Meredith this week. He should be viewed as a WR2.
Week 16 vs. Washington
After disappearing in the middle of the season, Cameron Meredith has returned to the spotlight. Last week, he finished with 104 yards with nine receptions on a team-high 13 targets. Alshon Jeffery's return opened some field for Meredith against a poor Packers secondary.
Meredith will get a decent matchup this week against the Redskins. He gets a bit of a bump in PPR formats, and will be a borderline WR3 option. His production really determines on how often the Bears throw the ball, because the majority of his stats come from short receptions.
Week 15 vs. Green Bay
Cameron Meredith was Matt Barkley's favorite option last week as he caught six-of-eight targets for 72 yards and a touchdown. The targets will likely go down in Week 15 as Alshon Jeffery returns to the lineup.
Before last week, Meredith had put up a number of disappointing stat lines, so he'll be a hard receiver to trust in Week 15. He gets a promising matchup against the Packers, but he'll have a low floor. He should be viewed as a WR4 at best.
Week 14 vs. Detroit
Cameron Meredith caught three of four targets last week for 67 yards. Those aren't the kind of numbers you want from your wideouts during the fantasy playoffs, unless it's a super deep league.
Meredith draws a tough matchup against the Lions this week as Detroit has held receivers without a touchdown in five of the last six games. Meredith should be viewed as a WR5 at best.
Week 13 vs. San Francisco
Cameron Meredith had a solid nine targets last week, but finished with just two receptions for 19 yards. Meredith now has just nine total receptions in his last five games, which isn't exactly promising. He got off to a hot start, but he's faded quickly.
There is some hope for him this week as he gets a great matchup against the 49ers. If he's able to maintain his number of targets and be able to translate that into production, he could have a decent game. For now, he should be viewed as a WR5 option.
Week 12 vs. Tennessee
Cameron Meredith caught four passes for 49 yards last week. It wasn't a great effort, but at least he broke his three game streak of catching just one pass. Meredith is the top target in this offense moving forward (until Alshon Jeffery gets back), but he's still unreliable.
Meredith has a chance for a decent outing this week in a favorable matchup, but he won't be much more than a low-end WR4 option.
Week 11 vs. New York Giants
Cameron Meredith has caught just one pass in each of his last three games. He got lucky last week with a Hail Mary touchdown reception, but outside of that, he didn't contribute much. That should change moving forward, however, as Alshon Jeffery will be sidelined with a suspension.
Meredith was a fantasy darling earlier in the season when Brian Hoyer was targeting him. Jay Cutler doesn't seem to have the same fondness for Meredith, but he may have to get more acquainted with the young wideout now.
This is a difficult matchup for Meredith this week against the Giants. He should be viewed as a WR4, with more upside in PPR formats.
Week 10 vs. Tampa Bay
After having two big games of 9 receptions and 11 receptions, Cameron Meredith has fallen down to Earth. He's had just one catch in each of his last two games, as well as two targets in both games. With Eddie Royal's return, there's not a lot of reason to like Meredith moving forward. His stats aren't there, and he's been untrustworthy.
Meredith could find some success this week against such a bad Bucs' pass defense, but his value has certainly dropped.
