Bench Players?

[Lickitysplit131]

How many bench players do you have in your league?

We had 8 last year and it was way too many. I was thinking either 5 or 6(leaning towards 6)

Our starters are..
1 QB
2 RB
3 WR
1 WR/RB
1 TE
1 K
1 DEF

With 8 bench players the free agent pool was horribly horribly depleted last year. Thinking about it now, I might be leaning to 5 bench players now...What does everyone else do in there league, and is your free agent pool horribly depleted?

Thanks in advance.

[beanoX3]

Kind of depends on how many managers there are in your league. Smaller leagues can have bigger benches and be just fine. It's not like you're ever going to start, say Bobby Wade if you're in a 10-man league starting 2-3 WRs.

I was in a 14-man league last year that had 7 bench spots. Standard QB/2RB/3WR/TE lineup. That was scraping the bottom of the free agent pool.

[biju]

My rule as a commish is to have exactly enough bench spots available so if someone were to want to draft his team and never make a add/drop/trade he would be able to fill out his lineup each week. This, of course, assumes the owner actually drafts with bye weeks in mind. I also tend to charge per add/drop which is why I have this as a personal rule.

In almost all cases this is a minimum of 6 bench spots. Having more is great in leagues where the total teams are low or the knowledge is high. It's tough if you have more than 12 teams though, since injury can quickly eliminate a team from being competitive if they have to start a #3 WR.

[spodog]

decent rule of thumb in 12 man league = 1 bench spot for each starting spot.

[stomperrob]

I like to have larger benches just so ya have some pondscum available to drop when ya need to grab a TE or Def in their bye week but don't wanna dump who ya have - with a small bench ya always end up dumping someone ya don't wanna!

[dream_017]

With 8 bench players the free agent pool was horribly horribly depleted last year.

Actually, I would like that. Makes the owners try and work out a trade to get better rather than take a guy from FA and plop him right into his starting line-up.

[iamgregg]

With 8 bench players the free agent pool was horribly horribly depleted last year.

Actually, I would like that. Makes the owners try and work out a trade to get better rather than take a guy from FA and plop him right into his starting line-up.

It's generally the point of having deep benches... To limit the FA pool. Usually it's done for dynasty leagues to mirror the NFL in the way that pretty much everyone half-way playable is on a roster. Promotes trading and places a bigger emphasis on long term roster strategy.

All down to personal preference really, though.

[dgan]

We have 16 bench spots in a 10 team league, and I MUCH prefer it that way. It not only promotes trading but also rewards those who draft well outside the first couple rounds. In some leagues, people get their first few starting slots filled and then cash it in knowing they can repair a bad bench with the waiver wire as the season moves on. It almost rewards people who draft poorly, start out with a bad record, and slide to the top of the waiver order.

Now, for most, 20 round drafts with room for 5 additional FA pickups is bit extreme - but as a general rule, I would prefer deeper benches. Either that or really short benches so that there are players available on waivers for everyone.

Just a personal preference.

[WaCougMBS]

With 8 bench players the free agent pool was horribly horribly depleted last year.

Actually, I would like that. Makes the owners try and work out a trade to get better rather than take a guy from FA and plop him right into his starting line-up.

Bingo - horribly depleted is what you are looking for to keep people truly invested in a good draft with smart team management and player decisions. If you are worried about the fairness of things, I would make your league a ppr (if it isn't already), instead of messing with bench spots, etc...

Hope this helps