METAIRIE, La. -- Yeah, we know. Ted Ginn Jr. can catch the deep ball.

But that’s not the only way the 32-year-old New Orleans Saints receiver can burn defenses with his dynamic speed -- as he displayed in Sunday’s 26-17 victory over the Green Bay Packers.

Ginn caught a 40-yard deep ball from Drew Brees in the first quarter, which actually was underthrown and required a nice diving comeback. Then in the third quarter, Ginn took a 9-yard pass and turned it into a season-long 47-yard gain through the middle of traffic.

First Ginn shot past cornerback Kevin King, who looked like he may have underestimated Ginn’s initial burst. Then Ginn left cornerback Davon House in the dust with a slight head fake that froze House in his tracks.

“Ted takes that thing like 50 yards on a pretty routine throw and catch,” Brees said. “So any time you can have guys that can make plays for you like that, those are huge momentum boosts and builders.”

Ginn, who signed with the Saints in free agency during the same week in March that they traded away Brandin Cooks, finished Sunday with season highs of seven catches and 141 yards.

Ginn said he felt compelled to make a big impact on offense Sunday after his sloppy start on special teams. He muffed two punts on a cold, rainy afternoon at Lambeau Field, though the first muff was nullified by a penalty and he recovered the second one himself.

“I started off kind of rough, kind of shaky on special teams, and I just had to make plays, man,” Ginn said. “I just had that attitude that I had to make a play because I had messed up so many times. Once I get into that mode, I’m just ready to go. And Drew felt it, and he just came out and he kept feeding me.”

It’s hard to project a consistent dose of 100-yard games from Ginn, who had just set his previous season highs one week earlier with four catches, 66 yards and a touchdown. The game before that, he had just two catches for 25 yards.

But it’s clear that Ginn has become a valued member of the offense and not just some fast guy who runs go-routes to open up the field for others. He has become No. 2 in the pecking order among Saints wide receivers behind Michael Thomas.

Ginn ranks eighth in the NFL among wide receivers this season with 176 yards after the catch, according to ESPN Stats and Information. And he is on pace for 59 catches, 941 yards and five TDs.

The catches and yards would be career highs for the 11-year veteran, who just had his best two-year stretch with the Carolina Panthers before joining the Saints.

And Ginn has just one dropped pass, which has been a nagging problem throughout his career.

Willie Snead, who was expected to be the Saints’ No. 2 wide receiver option this year, has only one catch on the entire season because of a three-game suspension and a hamstring injury. Snead returned from the injury in Week 6, but then he was inactive at Green Bay, with coach Sean Payton saying he still isn’t quite back to full speed.

Snead and Ginn play different positions, with Snead primarily a slot receiver. So it’s not an either/or situation with them. But Ginn sure looks like he’ll be the better fantasy play of the two for the foreseeable future -- a legitimate WR3 or flex option, if not more during the coming wave of bye weeks.

“I think he provides speed, he’s a guy who’s elusive, and it’s trying to each week in a game plan put together things that guys do well,” said Payton, the guy in charge of trying to get Ginn consistently involved.

Payton said he had a “crystal clear vision” for Ginn when the Saints signed him. This week, Payton said the variety of ways the Saints have been using Ginn was part of that vision.

“I think he’s smooth in his routes, you can see him catch and advance. We hit a little middle screen yesterday with him. He caught an inside dodge route. Outside, you see him win the battle,” Payton said. “You work on those things during the week, and I think that it’s something that there’s a savviness and experience to him that you can see.”