Hopefully you survived the first week of your playoffs as we enter week 15. If you did and you are looking for a couple of quick potential pickups for this critical week, a few are listed below. Good luck!
DEFENSIVE LINE
Tyson Jackson- Jackson has 12 tackles (10 solo) and a sack in the past two weeks. He has a decent matchup against a Packers team that will be throwing a lot and is missing a few key players on offense. I’d also expect there to be some extra running out of GB this week if they get up early. GB will push to win the game but also to protect starters after the Greg Jennings injury last week. Jackson should be good for 4-6 tackles and has the chance for a sack.
LINEBACKERS
Larry Grant- Grant has been phenomenal in the absence of Patrick Willis. In two games of relief, he has racked up 17 tackles (15 solo), a sack and a pass defensed. He is a bit risky since he plays on Monday night and if you start him and Willis comes back you could be left high and dry. However, if you are a Willis owner then he is a must have. Also, if Willis is declared out before Sunday’s games, Grant is worth a start. Expect Pittsburgh to run early and often with Ben Roethlisberger hobbled. This will become especially true if Big Ben cannot play.
Jason Worilds- Worilds has really started to come on in the past couple of weeks. He has been seeing some serious time this year with the injuries to James Harrison and Lamar Woodley. This week there is a chance that Harrison could be suspended for the 49ers game and Woodley will be less than 100% himself. Expect Worilds to get a lot of playing time. In his last two starts, Worilds has 15 tackles (12 solo), three sacks and a forced fumble. He could have a huge game if Harrison sits or Woodley cannot make it through. If you are in a pinch in a deeper league he may be worth a spot start. Just be aware that he does not play until Monday night. Make sure to have another option in the Monday night game if you are waiting on status updates to Harrison and Woodley.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Jacob Lacey- I am a die-hard Colts fan so this has been a rough year for me. I could talk all day about Lacey. Let me just say he is terrible. He gets picked on a lot and that leads to a decent amount of fantasy points. He is at best a nickel corner and really not much better than a dime corner. Due to injuries in the Colts secondary though he is starting and playing a lot. How bad is Lacey and how much does he get targeted? Well with Jerraud Powers going down the Colts are playing rookie Chris Rucker and essentially another rookie Kevin Thomas (missed his whole rookie year last year with a torn ACL) across from him and yet Lacey is still abused more. I expect him to get a lot of chances against the Titans this week. Combine all of this with the fact that he has totaled 16 tackles and three passes defensed in the last two weeks and he could be a great start this week.
