ESPN has introduced a new type of fantasy draft called an auction draft. The process is you have $200 to begin and bid on the players much like they were available at a live auction. This allows more aggressive owners to take multiple high-level picks (Ex: Adrian Peterson and Michael Turner) that you normally would not have the option to in the normal snake draft. Therein lays the pitfall as when you overspend on your first few picks, you are forced to wait until the end of the draft and attempt to fill out your team with high-reward picks for $1. I decided to participate in two separate auction drafts with two different mentalities. In the first I would attempt to be conservative with a few elite picks and then a stronger supporting cast. In the second draft I would try to get one of the elite players at each position and then worry about my money situation at the end. Here are the results…
Team 1:
The team to my left is the product of my first fantasy auction draft. You can see that Maurice Jones-Drew was my first pick. I felt if I could get an elite RB to start that would be a good foundation for my team and I had not selected MJD in another draft since he was more than likely gone after the first three picks. Frank Gore became available in the second round and even though I had not planned to spend half of my money on two picks, Gore seemed like a steal at $45 so I took advantage. This left me with $99 and 14 slots on my team to fill.
ESPN lets you know of the average amount you can spend on your remaining picks and I felt that I would want some money remaining in the late rounds when solid players would be available only to those with leftover funds (see: Hines Ward for $2). In a flex league, you tend to want to build around a strong RB/WR group with a mid-level QB and a solid defense, Tight End, and Kicker. Your remaining picks should be used on high-ceiling RB’s and WR’s in case of injury to one of your elites or the emergence of a player in an offense.
Some picks I like in this draft:
-Ahmad Bradshaw for $3 (Value: $8)/ Derrick Ward for $8 (Value: $14)
Some picks I don’t like in this draft:
Carson Palmer for $15 (I didn’t have a QB and overpaid for Palmer)
___________________________________________________________________
Team 2:
The team to your right is my second attempt at an ESPN auction draft. I felt that if I could get an elite player at each position, it would be a success. I wanted to make sure I got Drew Brees in one league since I rated him my #1 overall QB coming into this season (looks like a good pick after his record 6 TD’s in Week 1). I overpaid for Brees by $2 according to ESPN but this way I could set up my elite QB/RB/WR package as intended. Michael Turner at $60 may be overpaying after the stable set up Atlanta had in Week 1 but it is too early to call that pick a bust.
After taking Calvin Johnson and Pierre Thomas I had only $40 remaining for 12 players. If you do the math, you could see I was no longer in the market for any elite players. Then Wes Welker came along with a $15 bid and once again I put want before logic and bid the $16 necessary to get him. Not my finest moment as I now had $24 left for 11 players. This likely meant no elite TE/K/ or Defense. I left the auction for around 30 minutes and when I returned I was able to get notable players like Earl Bennett and Joe Flacco for $1 bargains.
Some picks I like in this draft:
Joe Flacco for $1 (looks like a solid backup after Week 1)/ Earl Bennett (13 targets in Week 1)
Some picks I don’t like in this draft:
Michael Turner for $60 and Pierre Thomas for $20 (overpaid for both with the numerous RB options for both teams)
Reaction:
Overall, I now prefer the auction draft to the snake draft as I feel more strategy is involved. You are able to place value on every player and not just take who you feel is the best available at your position in the draft. You should never leave an auction draft with remaining money and always stay until the last round to see who you can steal for $1. I like my “balls-out” draft strategy with the second team as I have 3 elite players who I would not have the option of getting in a snake draft and was able to take some $1 gambles late that could prove beneficial to my team. Which team do you like?
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Good article. I’m definitely interested in seeing the end-of-year results.
Shockey looks like a steal at $3 after his 2 TDs last week.
It appears that $1/$2/$3 picks can make for some solid backups and sleeper picks. After all, why spend money on your bench if you know your starters are consistent in putting up points, especially when you’re operating under a $200 “salary cap”?