Over the weekend I was in Seattle at the Penny Arcade Expo, which is like Burning Man for nerds, for the other blog I contribute to.  And also because I love video games.  It was a great time, there was much gaming and I didn’t even catch Swine Flu.

Unfortunately it conflicted with a fantasy draft on Sunday morning.  And not just any fantasy draft.  The office fantasy draft, the one that will probably generate the most trash talking.

I had to autodraft.

Fortunately it didn’t go as poorly as I’d feared.  I got the best at two positions, Adrian Peterson and Antonio Gates, and I was solid all around.  But it didn’t autodraft me a backup quarterback.  And my coworkers apparently decided to hoard QBs like gold during a bank run.

So what’s a guy to do in this situation?  Or a similar one, say if your starter got a late injury?  Here’s some players who, in a pinch, can hold a spot as a backup until someone breaks out…

Quarterback:

The pickings are pretty slim.  The position is increasingly stratified and you’re not going to get either of the top two tiers.

That leaves anyone who’s a starter.  In my situation, I opted for the least obvious option: Brady Quinn.

Sure, laugh it up, but he’s officially the starter and he’s throwing to a top-tier WR.  As long as receiver drops don’t count against the QB in your league he probably won’t embarrass himself, and he even has a slim chance of breaking out.  What more can you want from a guy who’s going to spend all but one week on the bench barring injury?

Running Back:

If you aren’t three deep at running back you have reason to be desperate.  They have the highest rate of injury and they’re hardest to find.  But one player who’s only taken in 30% of Yahoo leagues is new Seahawks RB Edgerrin James.

Yes, that Edge.  The one who’s old and was completely futile on the Cardinals last year.

But look at it this way, he’s got fresh legs.  And do you really think Julius Jones can keep him on the bench for more than a game or two?  Jim Brown, not in his prime but today, would probably end up starting.

Wide Receiver:

Remember what I said about RB depth?  Wide receiver is worse.  It’s a terrible year for pass-catchers.  But Saints WR Devery Henderson is probably still a free agent, and you could do worse.  He won’t win your league for you but he’s the top deep threat in a very pass-happy offense so he won’t sink your team.

But what if you have Larry Fitzgerald and Andre Johnson as starters and just need a guy to sit on the bench and wait for a bye week?  Prepare yourself for this…Darrius Heyward-Bey, the top ten WR from the draft who’s actually signed.  Odds are he’ll have a terrible year but he’s a fast guy on a team with a strong-armed QB…

Tight End:

I’m not a homer, I swear.  But Bay Area teams are bad and bad teams usually have most of the available players.  For example, Niners TE Vernon Davis.  Sure he catches like he’s wearing greased mittens but he’s obviously going to get a lot of looks, and judging by Shaun Hill’s arm strength there will be a lot of check-downs over the middle.  If you’re starting him you’re doomed, but as a backup/breakout candidate it could be worse.