Fantasy Football 2012: Under-the-Radar Wide Receivers Worth Taking a Chance on

As the preseason winds down, the fantasy season is getting closer and closer, which means there are plenty of tough decisions to make as your draft approaches. 

Who's worth an early-round pick? Who's bound to flop and bring your entire team down with him? Which risks are worth taking?

When you're looking talent to bolster your wide receiving corps and you're forced to look beyond the Calvin Johnsons and Greg Jennings of the world, there are some decent bets to be found in the mid- to late rounds. They're riskier than the veterans, but looking beyond the superstars, here are some of the under-the-radar talents that could pay off in 2012.

Mario Manningham, San Francisco 49ers

He's coming off the catch of his life in Super Bowl XLVI. Now, with a new team and a quarterback still trying to prove that his stellar 2011 campaign wasn't a fluke, he has the opportunity to be remembered for even more.

Manningham was never a star with the Giants. Often, he's compared to David Tyree, who also flew under the radar with New York until he made the catch of his life in Super Bowl XLII. But Manningham, who joins Randy Moss and Michael Crabtree on the 49ers, has the chance to be an impact player with a revamped San Francisco team that may have done enough this offseason to establish itself as a Super Bowl favorite.

Manningham is still a young player at 26, and at 6'0" and 185 pounds, he's the perfect size to do some damage. In his best season with the Giants in 2010, he registered 944 yards and nine touchdowns. With the 49ers—who finished 30th in the NFL in receiving yards in 2011 and really need someone to step up—it's not out of the question that he can repeat, or improve upon, that success.

Justin Blackmon, Jacksonville Jaguars

No, he hasn't played a professional game yet—at least one that counts—but Blackmon was the first receiver off the board in this year's draft and was the consensus top talent available.

This is a player who reminds a lot of people of the guy who preceded him at Oklahoma State: Dez Bryant. When Bryant can stay out of trouble, he's capable of being one of the most electrifying wideouts in the game. Similarly, Blackmon—who ran a 4.41-second 40 at his Pro Day, according to the Post-Dispatch's Jim Thomas—is one of the primary keys to helping the Jaguars turn around their dismal passing game.

Blackmon is a risk because nobody knows how he's going to fare against NFL defenses. But if any young wide receiver is going to make waves this season, it's him. He could end up paying off huge on a fantasy roster. 

Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis Colts

Wayne is a risk because we don't know how Andrew Luck is going to fare as the new face of the Colts. Judging by some of his exhibition outings, it looks like he could pick up right where Peyton Manning left off; judging by others, it looks like there's going to be a bit of a learning curve.

In the event that Luck has some immediate success, though, Wayne figures to be a substantial part of it. He may be 34 when the 2012 season ends, and his 2011 production may have been his lowest output since 2003, but that can be attributed to the fact that the Colts had one of the worst offenses (and one of the worst quarterbacks) in the NFL last year.

Wayne is a veteran who has the potential to make Luck better. He's also a veteran with seven straight seasons of 1,000-plus receiving yards to his name. He may be old and he may have seen a drop-off in his numbers last season, but this year, with a little bit of Luck, he can be expected to go right back to where he left off in 2010.