Five Underrated Fantasy Wide Receivers

As fantasy football draft season approaches, everyone and their cousin will become an expert at finding sleepers or those diamonds in the rough. It's your job to filter through the various press clippings and reach for the stars with your gut instincts. One thing we here at Fantasy FanHouse can help you with is finding the players you already know at each skill position that might be slipping or simply may not rank all that high on most draft boards. Yes, today it's the wide receivers you already know and love that can be had for the right price, while your co-owners are sleeping.

Hit the jump to read about five such wideouts.

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Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City Chiefs - When you think about just how consistent and solid D-Bowe has been thus far, over the course of his short NFL career, it's quite impressive. And then when you realize the underwhelming quarterbacks that he's managed to pile up stats with, it's time to dig deeper. Simply put, Bowe is on the verge of becoming something special. He finally has a good partner in crime with Matt Cassel (or so we at least hope). The argument you'll hear from the naysayers is that without Tony Gonzalez crossing over the middle and drawing so much attention, Bowe will be swarmed at the line and not be able to find those deep seems. To that I simply have to laugh. In reality, Bowe will be a slight benefactor of Gonzo's departure. He's going to be the "go-to" option in Kansas City for the first time and I'm confident he's ready for that limelight. Let's not forget that it's normally the third year that a receiver finally finds his groove and becomes the capable star that's envisioned.

Vincent Jackson, San Diego Chargers - Jackson isn't gonna sneak up on anybody this season. He is ready for primetime and he just so happens to be equipped with one of the finer fantasy quarterbacks to play catch with. Jackson has come on strong each of the past two seasons and turned many a head in the playoffs. He and Philip Rivers are simply in sync and he's found a niche on deep routes. It's about time he's tapped into that potential. With Antonio Gates a year older and coming off injuries, one could argue that Jackson is indeed ready to grab the featured role as the main focus in the Chargers' passing game. Chris Chambers just ain't what he used to be, and wasn't he always more hype than stats anyhow? Jackson is in the perfect system to flourish and I expect "big" things this season. You won't see his name come flying off the board with the upper echelon of wideouts, but he also won't last as long as he has in years past. He'll toss in some very solid and consistent (being the keyword) fantasy production this season.

Roy Williams, Dallas Cowboys - Trust me, I expect heat for this one. However, I believe in Roy and more importantly I believe in Tony Romo. Gasp, I know he's not going to bump Jason Witten as Romo's favorite target. However, all those passes aimed at Terrell Owens have to go somewhere ... right? Miles Austin or Patrick Crayton? Please, give me Roy Williams and I'll be happy. Yeah, he's been a tease year in and year out, but we still can't deny his skill set. He's not going to rope in a Randy Moss or T.O. type season. Yet, he's gonna be around in the 5th or 6th round and he's gonna produce like a WR1. You could do much worse. This isn't a leap of faith, it's a matter of trust.

Chad Ochocinco, Cincinnati Bengals - Let me try and sum up Ochocinco in 140 characters or less. Oh wait, this isn't Twitter, but if you steal Ocho in the mid-to-late rounds you can tweet all season to your league about what a genius you really are. Not again? Yes, every single season I try and talk myself off the Chad bandwagon, but something pulls me back in and maybe it's because the guy can talk such a mean game. Well, this would be the season to listen to the man. I'll give you several reasons why he's ready for that bounce-back caliber season. First off, last season was all about turmoil, name change and his ugly contract dispute. Lest we not forget that he entered the season with nagging ankle and shoulder injuries. And he had to suffer with the likes of Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jordan Palmer, while his boy Carson was on the mend. Refreshed, refocused and reunited with Carson Palmer ... expect big things from Ochocinco. A lot of owners are gonna let him slide for fear of being burnt again, but that's where you slide in to grab an unexpected stud.

Devin Hester, Chicago Bears - You're welcome to my counterpart, Matt Snyder. Consider me sold on Hester. I laughed at the owner who took a late-round flier on Hester last season. However, I'd be licking my chops if I can snag him in the later rounds and use him on a weekly basis. Not to get ahead of myself, he won't be in the same stratosphere as many of the top fantasy options at his position. That said, he's going to be a really nice fit as WR3 or FLEX. The reports out of Chicago are that Hester has improved his route running and worked all offseason to become a more complete receiver. He's simply too much of an offensive asset to not be a big part of the Bears' offensive plans. The addition of Jay Cutler at QB is an instant upgrade, and think of how he helped turn Eddie Royal into an overnight sensation. That folks is where you can bank on Hester coming into play this season.