5 Draft Tips for your Auction Draft
One of the best parts of Fantasy Football is the amount of different types of leagues available to play in. Whether it be a 10 person Standard Scoring league or a 14 person Dynasty league, anyone can enjoy the benefits of being in multiple different types of leagues in a single season. Along with these different types of leagues come a plethora of draft and trade strategies that are used depending on the type of fantasy league. For many, creating and implementing these strategies adds to the excitement of playing in multiple fantasy formats, and for those who disagree, Fantasy Football Live is here to do just that.
Unlike the more common league formats that feature a “snake draft”, an Auction League features a completely different draft style. Instead of picking or being assigned a certain pick number, you have the power to draft any player at any given time, as long as you are willing to pay the money to do so (from a predetermined team budget given to every league member). While you are still assigned a draft position, the only thing to do when you’re on the clock is to “nominate” a player that rest of your league will bid on. When the time runs out, the team owner with the highest bid on the nominated player “drafts” the player and then another player is nominated and the bidding process is repeated.
Auction drafts give fantasy football players flexibility to draft a wide range of teams that normal snake drafts don’t allow. This flexibility also leads to many different draft strategies that can change at any time during the draft. Whether you’re an Auction League vet or rookie, here are 5 tips that you need for your Auction League Draft.
1. Hunker down for a long draft
Auction drafts typically run longer than snake drafts due to the bidding process. Unlike having a minute to select your player, you can see a single pick last for 2 minutes or more as long as people keep bidding. A 10 team league auction draft will last at least 2 hours, and it’s crucial that you pay attention to all of it, since any player can get drafted at any time.
In a recent auction draft ($200 budget, Standard Scoring), I missed Brandin Cooks go for $4 because I looked at my phone for only a minute. Compared to wide receivers like Demaryius Thomas and Alshon Jeffery, who we have ranked comparably, this was a steal considering both of those receivers went for $17 and $15, respectively.
This example should serve as a lesson to do whatever you need to do in order to stay in front of your computer for the entirety of your long draft. Go to the bathroom, stock up on snacks, or do any pre draft rituals before you sit down to draft or you could miss out on good deals or players.
2. Get the first superstar nominated
The cool thing about auction drafts is that you can’t get screwed over by a randomly assigned draft pick. In normal snake drafts, any team who gets assigned a late pick starts off their season at a major disadvantage since they can’t draft any of the “superstars” (Le’Veon Bell, Todd Gurley, David Johnson, Ezekiel Elliot). No matter the price, having 1 of these 4 players on your team this year is a serious advantage due to the volume of touches they get compared to other players.
This is by no means a secret to anyone, and it shows in auction drafts. Frequently, the first player nominated is one of these 4 superstars, who normally goes for close to the listed market price because: 1) People don’t have a gauge for how the bidding will go and 2) there are still 3 other superstars left. With each drafted superstar though, the prices for the remaining of the bunch rise.
That’s why, in the most recent auction draft I did, Le’Veon Bell (the 1st of the group drafted) went for $65 and Todd Gurley (2nd) for $66 while David Johnson (3rd) and Ezekiel Elliot (4th) both went for $70. In another draft, Johnson went for $67 being the 1st nominated player of the draft while Elliot (4th) went for as high as $81 (!). Drafting any of these players is a good formula for a successful season, and being the first person to draft one of the superstars guarantees that you get a fabulous player for a reasonable price.
3. Nominate players you hate (in the earlier rounds)
While your draft position in an auction draft doesn’t give you a lot of control in regards to who you want to draft, it does give you control over who you don’t want to draft. Your draft position doesn’t specify when and where a player will get drafted like in a snake draft, but only when, which by itself can be an asset if used correctly.
Nominating a player when it’s your turn locks that player to the current draft pick. Thus, the draft cannot continue until that nominated player is drafted by a team. By nominating a player you hate in the same tier of another player you want, you force another team to spend money and a roster spot on a player you’d prefer not to have on your team.
Let’s look at the group of 2nd tier running backs from Alvin Kamara to Melvin Gordon, per our RB Rankings. Say that out of that group, you really like Saquon Barkley this year but you hate Lesean McCoy because he’s old and you think he might drop off this year. By nominating McCoy when it’s your turn, you will force other people to bid on a player you’re not even interested in, resulting in one team paying big money for McCoy. In doing so, this fantasy team owner will be less likely to bid on Barkley when he is nominated since the new McCoy owner has already spent money on McCoy. At best, you have effectively removed a buyer from the market for Barkley and at worst you at least have more money than the McCoy owner if you do get into a bidding war for the player you want.
4. When in doubt, dish it out!
The biggest fear most people have when in an auction draft is running out of money. While this is clearly a big concern in other areas of life, in fantasy football it’s not a problem! The draft client will not let you bet more money than you need to fill out your roster.
The more important implication of this tip though is to not be afraid to spend money on getting multiple studs. That’s one of the best parts about an auction draft. Unlike a snake draft where you have to allocate an 8th round pick for a player to sit on the bench the entire season, Auction drafts allow you to allocate as much money as you want to your starters and your bench. To take advantage of this flexibility, you should try to allocate as much money to your starting lineup as you can.
Take for example my most recent Auction draft seen below (10 person, Standard Scoring, $200 budget). With the flexibility to draft multiple studs, I was able to create a team with 3 studs in Johnson, Gordon and Beckham and a corps of 4 with the studs and Newton that could put up almost 100 points in any given week. This draft strategy did create a hole at the WR2 position, but drafting high volume, high upside guys like Funchess, Anderson, and Richardson along with a more consistent option in Sterling Shepard should be enough to work during the season.
Bench: Marlon Mack (RB, $3), Carlos Hyde (RB, $2), Aaron Jones (RB, $2), Robby Anderson (WR, $2), Desean Jackson (WR, $2), Paul Richardson (WR, $1), Sterling Shepard (WR, $1)
5. Patience is key with K and D/ST
Looking at my team above it may surprise some people who haven’t played in an Auction league before that I got Justin Tucker, year-after-year one of the best kickers in football, for the same price as some of my bench wide receivers. The reason I pulled this off was because I waited to draft a kicker and defense.
During the earlier rounds of the draft someone will nominate a K or D/ST every now and then, which will get bid on multiple times since people have the money to do so. Instead, it is a better idea to wait to draft positions that typically go in the later rounds to a point where most people have ran out of money and either don’t feel comfortable or can’t bid on other people’s nominations.
Since the best players at each position aren’t always the first ones nominated, there’s a good chance that some are still available by the time everyone has stopped bidding on other people’s nominations. This is the perfect time to nominate a top kicker or defense since most fantasy players won’t have the means to get into a bidding war against you.