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The Chargers agreed to terms with former Saints wide receiver Robert Meachem on a four-year, $25.9-million contract with $14 million guaranteed late Tuesday night. According to San Diego Union-Tribune staffer Kevin Acee, the team believes Meachem will bring a big-play element back to an offense that lost Pro Bowl wide receiver Vincent Jackson in free agency hours earlier.

Acee went on to note that Meachem, 27, was arguably the most intriguing downfield weapon on the market and the team just missed on him in 2007; he was selected three picks before Buster Davis.

He also presents a big target for Rivers at 6-2 and 210 pounds. Meachem, who'd been visiting the Buffalo Bills before joining the Chargers.

In San Diego, Meachem will fit right in, joining a receiving corps with Malcom Floyd, second-year man Vincent Brown and tight end Antonio Gates.

According to Acee, some league evaluators believe the rotational wide receiver is capable of emerging as a team's No. 1 option. He caught 40 of 60 targets last season for 620 yards and six touchdowns in the balanced New Orleans attack.

But can he fill the shoes of V-Jax, who will now ply his trade for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?

Union-Tribune staffer Nick Canepa isn't so sure.

"Robert Meachem is not Vincent Jackson," Canepa wrote this morning. "He’s good, and will just have to do in a pinch, the one the Chargers gave themselves by playing good cop and not signing a young V.J. when they could have years ago."

Canepa went on to explain that while Meachem is big, he's not the "physical freak" that Jackson is.

As a result, Canepa wrote: "It’s very difficult to say the Chargers’ offense will be as good as it was or could be with Meachem. In fact, it’s doubtful."

Meanwhile, Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio noted that Meachem is only two years younger than the Jackson, but Jackson has been the far superior player. Though their numbers surely will be compared over the next two seasons or more, the impact of Meachem’s speed won’t show up on the stat sheet -- except in the catches made by other receivers who have more room to move underneath while Meachem pulls coverage deep.

But isn't that half the battle -- or at least a major part of his job?

I'll go ahead and point out that former Saints teammate and current NFL Network analyst Heath Evans thinks Meachem is capable of emerging as a very legitimate threat in his own right -- based on his speed alone. Evans reminded viewers that Meachem will be the fastest man on the field in most games he plays.

And as National Football Post staffer Joe Fortenbaugh pointed out, many experts feel that Meachem could actually perform better outside of the Saints’ system than former teammate Marques Colston, who re-upped with New Orleans on Tuesday.

In four seasons, Meachem has totaled 141 receptions for 2,269 yards and 23 touchdowns. And with Floyd’s long-standing inability to stay healthy, Fortenbaugh believes Meachem could quickly develop into Rivers’ No. 1 pass-catching target.

Stay tuned. ... I'll be keeping a close eye on Meachem’s progress in San Diego as OTAs and mini-camps crank up in coming weeks.