Empty the Bench

By Andrew Thell

On Tuesday, August 31, the dons of Empty the Bench joined friends and peers for the annual football nerd-out fest that is the ETB Fantasy Football League Draft. This year’s draft was one of the most challenging, stressful test of wills to date with 12 teams, 15 rounds of picks, and no kickers to thin the field out. Over the next few days we’ll reveal the results team by team, and take a quick look at how each one fared; compare and contrast with your league, and let us know your take in the comments section.

Disclaimer: many of our team names are lewd, childish, and downright stupid. We make no apologies for this.

Team:

Team Stanky (Picked fourth overall)

Team: spilling my seed

The Picks

1. (4) Ray Rice, RB, Baltimore Ravens
2. (21) Brandon Marshall, WR, Miami Dolphins
3. (28) Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals
4. (45) Percy Harvin, WR, Minnesota Vikings
5. (52) C.J. Spiller, RB, Buffalo Bills
6. (69) Joe Flacco, QB, Baltimore Ravens
7. (76) Kellen Winslow, TE, Tampa Bay Bucs
8. (93) Dez Bryant, WR, Dallas Cowboys
9. (100) Minnesota, Team Defense
10. (117) Jerome Harrison, RB, Cleveland Browns
11. (124) Jerricho Cotchery, WR, New York Jets
12. (141) Darren McFadden, RB, Oakland Raiders
13. (148) Austin Collie, WR, Indianapolis Colts
14. (165) Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Detroit Lions
15. (172) Golden Tate, WR, Seattle Seahawks

Best Value:

Jerome Harrison, RB, Cleveland Browns: The fantasy football gods have cast their first lightning bolt down upon lowly fantasy players, smoting Montario Hardesty owners with a season-ending ACL spontaneous combustion. The Browns clearly don’t trust Harrison as an every-down back given they drafted Hardesty in the second round, but the offensive line in Cleveland is better than you think and Harrison took advantage with 106 carries for for 561 yards (5.3 YPC) and 5 TDs… in the final three games of the season. With the talented rookie out of the picture, Harrison is a legitimate flex play for the time being.

Biggest Reach:

Kellen Winslow, TE, Tampa Bay Bucs: The tight-end pool is a deep one this year, there are a lot of compelling options from round four through ten in most drafts. I have a hard time seeing Kellen Winslow as a real value in the 7th though. He’s not a bad player; Winslow could fall into the top-ten TEs when it’s all said and done, but the constant injury concerns and the state of Tampa’s offense make Winslow a lot less appealing to me than Zach Miller or Owen Daniels (early-season concerns included), the two players who went directly after Winslow in this draft.

ETB’s Take:

There is no shortage of upside on this squad. We know players like Ray Rice, Brandon Marshall, and Larry Fitzgerald can dominate and put a W on the board for Team Stanky any given week. Other young, explosive playmakers like Percy Harvin, Joe Flacco, Dez Bryant, and to a lesser extent Jerome Harrison and Darren McFadden are definite breakout candidates.

Like every team we’ve covered so far though, there are some holes and concerns here. Joe Flacco was, unsurprisingly given his age and experience, wildly inconsistent last year. He didn’t toss a single touchdown in weeks 9-11, and didn’t throw for more than one TD in a game between weeks 6 and 15. He’s got a cannon arm and Cam Cameron is transforming this offense into a powerhouse, but Flacco would make me nervous as my only QB on the roster.

Similarly, I love the talent of Brandon Marshall, but it’s hard to guarantee he’ll be his dominant self in a new run-first offensive scheme in Miami; Chad Henne is an upgrade over Kyle Orton though. Larry Fitzgerald is also difficult to project with it looking like some combination of inept Derek Anderson and undrafted rookie Max Hall will be responsible for getting him the ball.

CJ Spiller is an electric rookie stuck in a serious timeshare with Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson. Jerome Harrison clearly doesn’t have the faith of his own team or the Browns wouldn’t have gone after Montario Hardesty in the second round (who was not injured as of draft day). Are these really a viable RB2 and 3 combo?

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