Fantasy Football Auction Strategies: Dos and Don’ts
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Raise your hand if you’ve ever shown up for your fantasy football draft, were randomly placed in one of the last draft spots, and sadly thought to yourself, “Well, I guess so and so isn’t going to be on my team this year”? Heartbreaking, right? We’ve all been there. But that, my friends, is the beauty of auction drafts. It matters not which draft spot you get, all players, and I do mean all players are available to you.
If you’re new to auction drafting and would like to learn a little more about what they’re all about, please check out my previous article, “Auction Drafting for Beginners.” This article will focus on strategies for auction drafting, specifically, three dos and don’ts and a special bonus do. I hope that after reading, you will give auction drafting a try and perhaps even convince your league mates to make the switch. Let’s dive right into it.
Do: Use a Par Sheet
As I illustrated in my “Beginners” article, a par sheet will possibly be the most valuable tool at your disposal. In auctions, the ability to build the strongest team using every single dollar afforded to you is the holy grail. Essentially, it is a way to set how much you want to spend at each position for your entire roster. Using a par sheet will help you stay on budget and track how much wiggle room you have or how frugal you need to be throughout the course of a draft.
In auctions, you never want to leave money on the table, the cardinal sin of auctions. If at the conclusion of a draft, you have even more than a dollar or two leftover, you goofed. It’s an incredibly fine line to walk between overspending and not spending enough. A par sheet will help you strategize and develop a game plan prior to your draft getting underway so you can be a successful auction drafter.
Don’t: Be Afraid to Spend Early
I have often found that when an auction draft first begins, tensions are high, nerves are frayed, and many owners are hesitant to spend big right out of the gate. This is the time to pounce! Knowing that Jonathan Taylor is favored to be the most sought-after running back this year in fantasy drafts, it’s hard to imagine any running back drafted after or before, commanding more auction dollars.
By and large, at the beginning of an auction, the first couple of players drafted will set a precedent for prices going forward. It’s at this crucial juncture when some of the best deals will be available and you’ll look back and marvel at what a great bargain you got. Take advantage of timid owners and secure top-level talent at reduced prices!
Do: Get Acquainted with AAV
AAV, also called, “Average Auction Value,” is an accumulation of data, in which prices from completed auction drafts are taken to get the average prices of each player. Think of it just like ADP but for auctions. And similarly to ADP, AAV should be used as a guide, a blueprint for what prices players are generally selling for. Prices in auction drafts can and often do swing wildly, however. Certain team owners may just like or value players differently than what their AAV says. If you’ve ever been in a snake draft you’ll know exactly what I mean. I bet on more than one occasion you’ve said to yourself, “Wow! I wouldn’t have taken him in the ________ round.” But that’s also part of the fun of fantasy football.
Everyone has passionately different views on players. Many fantasy sites have put out their own AAV and I would recommend getting somewhat familiar with what the fantasy community is paying for players. Be aware that the prices are not set in stone, but taking some time to get acquainted with the current AAV will give you a roadmap and insight into how much you can expect to spend.
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Don’t: Overspend on D/STs and Kickers
If your league uses D/ST (Defense/Special Teams) or kickers, never, I repeat, never spend more than $1 on them, I don’t care who says otherwise. Since 2012 the #1 scoring fantasy defense has averaged 11.9 points per game. That’s .1 above the 31st ranked PPR wide receiver last year in points per game, Jakobi Meyers. Also since 2012, the top-scoring kicker has averaged 11.1 points per game. The reality is that your money will be better spent on skill position players and your team will be better for it. Don’t let yourself miss out on great skill players or a top handcuff because you wanted to save an extra couple of bucks to secure what, you hope, will be the best defense or kicker.
Your championship aspirations will not die because you drafted the 7th best kicker and not the 2nd or 3rd. The 7th best kicker, by the way, averaged 9.1 points per game. You’d be smarter to stream defenses and kickers throughout the season. Be smart with your auction dollars and let someone else waste their money.
Do: Nominate to Your Advantage
One of the few things you can control in an auction draft are your nominations, so take them seriously. One of the prevailing theories in regards to nominations is that you should nominate potentially high price players you don’t want. The thought process behind this is that it will cause other team owners to get into a bidding war and burn through their bankrolls. Just sit back and watch the fireworks. And while this isn’t necessarily a bad strategy, as I mentioned above in the “Don’t: Be Afraid to Spend Early” section, you could end up missing out on some great deals, especially if you take this approach to begin the draft.
If you conduct your draft online, be sure to get to the draft room well in advance and start filling up your queue. However, if you’re the type of person who likes to make tiers, have several players in your queue that are in the same tier. For example, if you have 5-7 WRs in your third tier that you believe can all be quality starters, don’t fret if you miss out early because they were too expensive. You still have several more in your queue ready to go and with a decent amount of wide receivers potentially already drafted, there should be deals to be had.
Alternatively, if you go into a draft with the goal of, let’s say, not spending a lot on quarterbacks, you could have a separate nomination sheet handy with two sections: quarterbacks you think will be less expensive and more expensive. Less expensive doesn’t mean they can’t have a great season, by the way. Last season, I was able to draft Matthew Stafford for $12. Stafford finished the year as the QB5, whereas another owner in the same draft spent $61 on Patrick Mahomes, last season’s QB4. The lesson here is that if your list is long enough, you should be able to squeak through a few great players later in the draft and extract significant value.
Don’t: Be Aloof
Hopefully, by now you have a better understanding of how much more involved you will be in auctions drafts compared to snakes. And that’s precisely what makes them so superior. In a snake draft, things happen to you. An owner makes a questionable pick or a player gets sniped right before your turn.
In auction drafts, you make things happen, you control more of the action, and you must act accordingly. Sitting on the sidelines and waiting isn’t a recipe for success. You can’t afford to be blasé. There are so many variables, so many unknowns that can happen during an auction draft that you need to be able to modify and reshape how you approach each new moment. Take action and use situations to your advantage.
Bonus Do: Monitor Other Owners
Throughout the course of the draft, one of the most important things to be cognizant of is the status of all other owners. For example: how much money is left in their bank, what is their maximum allowed bid, and are they shallow in one position or another? These should be constantly monitored throughout the draft and can and should be exploited. The first is pretty straightforward. If you notice that owners are spending at breakneck speeds with little regard for their budgets, you can easily take advantage of this.
Auctions typically take a bit longer than a snake draft and you’ll be amazed at how many quality players are available from start to finish. Use reckless spending to your benefit. Being aware of what an owner’s maximum bid is will also come into play, especially later in the draft. Remember, in an auction, you have a set budget and you need to fill your whole roster. In a 16-round auction draft with a budget of $200, the maximum bid for any single player at the start of the draft is $185. $200 minus $15 for the other roster spots.
As the draft progresses and rosters begin to fill, each owner’s maximum bid will slowly decrease. Great opportunities will arise towards the end of the draft to get amazing value on players. Imagine this scenario: it’s late in the draft and an owner nominates Zach Wilson. Most owners already have their starting quarterback plus their Superflex. Bidding is sluggish and while there doesn’t seem there is much interest, you still need your Superflex. You take note that the owner who nominated Wilson has a maximum bid of $5. A different owner bids $4 and the original nominator bids $5. It’s at this moment you know he can’t bid anymore so you decide to bid. The bid is now $6. No one else bids and you got your Superflex quarterbacl. You accomplished two things: you got a player you think is in line for a better sophomore season and you got him for great value. Gold star for you!
You can also use position scarcity to your benefit. If a few teams go extremely running back or wide receiver heavy, let’s say, it will put a premium on players at those positions. Owners who need players at those positions on their roster will invariably panic and this will cause prices to inflate. This would be an ideal time to nominate a player at one of these positions and watch the bidding war ensue.
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