Chicago Bears - Fantasy News

Cameron Meredith 2017 Fantasy Projections

by Adam Markowitz

8/11/17

NFL

Chicago Bears

Cameron Meredith

Each NFL season, there are a handful of players who come out of nowhere and have a standout campaign. In 2016, Cameron Meredith was one such performer.

The Illinois State product finished the year with 66 catches for 888 yards and four touchdowns after entering the season with only 11 grabs for his career. The big, physical receiver proved that he can high-point the football, doing a great job of bullying small cornerbacks in one-on-one matchups.

With the Chicago Bears losing Alshon Jeffery to the Philadelphia Eagles in the offseason, as well as questions surrounding just how effective of a player Kevin White will be, Meredith has a chance to emerge as the top receiving option for the Monsters of the Midway in 2017.

Why Cameron Meredith Will Be A 2017 Fantasy Football Keeper

A big aspect of projecting what a player might do in an upcoming season is looking at how he ended the previous year. For Meredith, he logged 22 catches for 300 yards in the last three games of 2016. That followed a two-game stretch early in the year that saw him grab 20 footballs for 243 yards against the Jacksonvile Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts. For Dober Games players, this means that he is capable of having a big game any week—exactly the type of player one is looking for in daily fantasy sports.

There are still question marks at the starting quarterback position that will be ongoing throughout the campaign, but either Mike Glennon or Mitch Trubisky will look for Meredith early and often. Meredith should have a lot of one-on-one matchups on the outside after Jordan Howard’s impressive year at running back. With his ability to run and questions under center, defenses are going to sneak eight or even nine into the box. Meredith’s size will allow him to have ample of opportunities to make opponents pay for that decision to load the box.

Why Cameron Meredith Will Be A Fantasy Dud In 2017

This will be tough for Bears fans to grasp, but the team’s offense could be one of the league’s worst this fall. In 2016, the unit ranked tied for 28th in the NFL in scoring (17.4 points per game), and it lost its best playmaker over the offseason. For Meredith, defenses last season weren’t as worried about him because Jeffery was the star of the offense, and most defenses didn’t even know who he was early in the year. However, you can bet defensive coordinators will have him on their scouting report this year after his strong effort in 2016.

Meredith also has a propensity to fumble. He coughed it up three times last year, with the Bears losing the ball twice. Not protecting the football is a good way for coaches to lose confidence in a player’s ability to help the team. He did go the final 13 games without fumbling the ball, however. The problem is that Meredith is more of a possession receiver, as he only had four touchdowns last season. He does not possess the game-breaking ability that would make him a consistently strong weekly play.

To win in Dober Game contests, you need guys who have the potential to have huge games. Meredith has shown he can have big-catch efforts, but the touchdowns haven’t been there. This was in large part to Jeffrey stealing the red-zone attempts from him. Meredith could emerge as the go-to guy for Chicago this fall, so the potential is there for some big games. But he is still a risky play considering the offense is expected to be one of the weakest in the league.