5 Undervalued Wide Receivers Heading Into Your Fantasy Football Drafts

DeSean Jackson

Desean Jackson’s first season in Washington went under-appreciated. Currently going off the board on average as the 25th receiver selected, numberFire’s projections peg him as the 14th best receiver in terms of fantasy production for the upcoming season.

According to our NEP metrics, Jackson was the second-most effective of 48 qualifying receivers with 95-plus targets in 2014 on a per-target basis, with a Reception NEP per target of 0.94. Like Anquan Boldin’s previously mentioned 2013 season, every time Jackson was targeted, it effectively resulted in the Redskins adding almost a full point to their score. Yeah, that's just nasty.

Pierre Garcon was at the complete opposite end of this spectrum, finishing 46th of the 48 qualifying receivers in efficiency on a per-target basis with a paltry 0.45 Reception NEP per target.

Jackson’s 2014 season was a success by any definition. According to Pro Football Focus, Jackson had the eighth most receptions of targets traveling 20 or more yards in the air downfield, while only receiving the 23rd most targets. Part of the reason for this disparity? Jackson didn’t drop any of these catchable targets.

Garcon might bounce back a bit from that, but don’t hold back on getting Jackson in the sixth-round range as long as his current ADP holds. He should be able to continue putting up solid numbers moving forward.