Week 14 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Antonio Brown and Other WRs to Start

The fantasy football playoffs are rapidly approaching, and if you're right on the bubble, you need all the help you can get this week.

Of any position, wide receivers have the greatest potential to be boom-or-bust on a weekly basis.

That means that someone you start with great success one week can fall cold the next, as the coverage or other issues dictate that his quarterback target someone else.

So who is going to be a smart wide receiver play this week?

Here are three who I think should have big days.

Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. Cleveland Browns)

The Steelers' Antonio Brown has emerged as one of the most reliable playmakers on his team, quickly surpassing fellow receiver Emmanuel Sanders and getting a regular starting role alongside Mike Wallace.

On Thursday night, the Steelers take on the Cleveland Browns, with their supposedly strong pass defense.

However, that's a mislabeling—the Browns have yet to face a high-powered passing offense such as the one fielded by the Steelers. Opposing pass numbers have been held low simply because it's so easy to run on the team (they're allowing more than 150 rushing yards per game on average).

This season, Brown has caught 50 passes for 774 yards and one touchdown. He hasn't had fewer than 67 receiving yards in his last six games and often finds himself wide open while defenders focus on Wallace.

He's fast, he's reliable and he's going to be a major component of the Steelers' blowout win over the Browns this Thursday night. Make sure you start him.

Darrius Heyward-Bey, Oakland Raiders (at Green Bay Packers)

Boom-or-bust is the best way to describe Oakland Raiders wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, who had a stellar stretch in Weeks 4-7 but has since fallen off the map, again having trouble getting open as he did in the past.

However, with fellow receivers Denarius Moore and Jacoby Ford looking less and less likely to take the field in Week 14 against the Green Bay Packers, he becomes a useful fantasy starter.

Heyward-Bey has caught 38 passes so far this season for 542 yards and two touchdowns. Though he was targeted eight times in his team's Week 13 loss to the Miami Dolphins, he caught just three of them, good for 23 yards and a score.

Considering that the Packers defense are easy to throw against, it's quite possible that Heyward-Bey could be a useful plug-and-play starter simply because of that fact.

Though it's far to risky to rely on Heyward-Bey on a weekly basis, I think the matchup is good enough to make him worth the start this week.

Santana Moss, Washington Redskins (vs. New England Patriots)

Though the Washington Redskins are one of the most run-heavy offensive teams in the NFL this season and Rex Grossman is the starting quarterback, those facts don't automatically make any of their receivers not worth a fantasy start from time to time.

Take this week, when the Redskins host the New England Patriots. The Patriots defense has been quite easy to throw against this season, giving up an average of 310 passing yards per game.

Combine that with the fact that Santana Moss has become Grossman's top target, and it seems like this week presents a great opportunity for Moss to make big plays.

On the year, Moss has caught 34 passes for 372 yards and two touchdowns, while dealing with a broken hand that sidelined him for four weeks. Though giving a starting roster spot to any Redskins receiver is a risky play this season, the tasty matchup against the Patriots secondary this Sunday makes Moss valuable and worth the start.