Finally have a league doing Auction Draft - tips/strategies?

[SmokingMonkey]

12tm full PPR, start QB, RB2, WR3, TE, FLX, K, DST, with a 5 man bench
I'm back-to-back champ in my work league, and have shown to master drafting against drunk fantasy amateurs over the past few years. Switching to auction this year, in what i think are some mild efforts to thwart my three peat run.

What I know - I want to get 1 stud RB and 1 stud WR, then fill in the rest.
I think I'll be able to find great deals in the middle/end of the draft with this bunch. Definitely the type of crowd that you can read the list off of fantasypros to know who will get drafted next in regular snake format.

random thoughts/questions:
-starting 3 WRs + flex in full ppr.....I really want 3 good WRs, even if I've been able to win playing matchups in the past at WR2, WR3, and flex. Last year my team was QB Streamer, David Johnson, Ware, like 6 different WR2/WR3 types that I kept interchanging with each other and made it work, and Olsen.
-I know at least 3 owners will go hard after Brown, Julio, Beckham, should I join them or target the next tier of WR1s in Evans/Hilton/Dez/Nelson?
-Do you nominate players you want to try to get a deal on or players that you want other people to spend their funds on so you can save your funds for 'your guys'?

 

[MilkSpiller22]

football auctions, with 12 owners... I would ALWAYS do stars and scrubs...


more specifically, i would make sure to get 3 first round picks or at least top 15 ADP... 2 WRs and one RB...

 

[averagejoe]

If an owner really wants someone they will over bid.
If teams start to lack key players (say someone is still short a RB), and it is getting late in the draft, they may also overpay.
Guys will over pay for the guys at the top of the draft board. Which means that if you budget yourself right, you could have the deepest bench since guys will be out of money sooner.

I found it doesn't matter if you nominate or not.
However, if you nominate the hyper guys first, sit back and watch the overriding drain their accounts.

If there is a player you want that may be under the radar, nominate him early and you'll probably get him cheap.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

i have also found, that the first player thrown out is almost always going to be the best value of the studs...

and this is where i disagree with @averagejoe, he said if you are high on an under the radar player to throw him out earlier... The problem is that there is really no sleepers anymore in fantasy, we have all heard of the same players.... if you are high on a player, you have to assume someone else will be as well... going in thinking you are smarter than everyone else is a huge mistake(and i have done this often)...

 

[averagejoe]

Actually that's not what I'm suggesting.
It's more like, say, you have a good feeling about Snead or DJax or Larry Fitz... they're gonna get drafted in a 12 team league. But no one will be as willing to spend money on them early. They aren't as attractive after a dozen or 2 dozen players have been auctioned.

 

[Stomp]

I've done quite a few auction leagues(15 - 20) and i've noticed a lot of the time the first few nominations tend to go slightly cheaper than expected, so don't be afraid to jump in if one of your top targets gets nominated early.

Nominations usually spend my time nominating guys i don't want high end QBs, high end TEs, and especially guys that considered big upside guys/risky(Tyreek Hill, Jameis, Fournette, Mixon)

Personally i prefer the go big on 2 RB strat then sit around and wait lots of bargains are available towards the end of auctions(especially if its PPR)

 

[tlance]

Auctions can be fun, but the problem is that the owner who wins the player is the one most willing to overpay. If you play in a league with other knowledgeable people, it can be really hard to navigate. You have to be willing to let some of your most coveted players go when they price gets too high, but at the same time, if you are too patient you end up with nothing.

The draft will inevitably have ebbs and flows. You have to be willing to pounce on good values even if it isn't a player you would normally target. Like Milk said, the best values can often come at the beginning of the draft. Especially in year 1. People might be timid early. It is those end of round 1 types that I typically look for to package 2-3 together. I think it is tough to build a strong roster if you spend 35-40% of your budget on 1 player at the top. Too risky for me in football.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

Actually that's not what I'm suggesting.
It's more like, say, you have a good feeling about Snead or DJax or Larry Fitz... they're gonna get drafted in a 12 team league. But no one will be as willing to spend money on them early. They aren't as attractive after a dozen or 2 dozen players have been auctioned.

even that is very dangerous... and this is actually my biggest problem in auctions... there are players i like who i think i am the only one who will like them, i bid on them early and win them... problem is now i have them on my team, and i cant bid for players i may like more that i can still get for value... so really i would hold these players for the end, if i win them later then great, if i lose them then who cares... but i would rather be able to win the players i really want instead...

 

[averagejoe]

even that is very dangerous... and this is actually my biggest problem in auctions... there are players i like who i think i am the only one who will like them, i bid on them early and win them... problem is now i have them on my team, and i cant bid for players i may like more that i can still get for value... so really i would hold these players for the end, if i win them later then great, if i lose them then who cares... but i would rather be able to win the players i really want instead...

Maybe it's because of the auction leaguleague I've been in for several years?
Someone will always have money late.
And someone with money will be desperate to fill a starting player need.
You could be out bid for a lower tier player with upside.
Especially if the others see you bidding on him.
I'm not suggesting to make a practice of doing this.
Get the feel for how the bidding is going.
Monitor the other owner needs.
Then make a move.
Lower tiered guys with upside can be a bargain early.

 

[SmokingMonkey]

just general strategy forming, definitely will change before draft day

RB Targets - Shady, Gordon, Ajayi, Howard
WR Targets - Evans, Dez, Jordy, Hilton

I think these are the 'next tier' RBs/WRs that I could land a couple of early, and still let others blow their wad on the big 6 - - Bell, Zeke, DJ, Brown, Julio, Beckham - - at least that's what I'm getting from piecing together everyone's thoughts.

Then I can have funds to burn on the high upside mid-lower tier players I like.

Fairly confident leftover draft money will just be dead money - don't think we are transitioning to auction/FAAB waiver format.

 

[averagejoe]

Smo, if the guys you're targeting are near the top of the draft board I think you're overconfident that you'll get them at a reasonable rate.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

Do you know how much money you will start with??

I know everyone has different strategies, but in a 12 team league and with your format, i am a very strong believer of the Stars and scrubs strategy...

 

[SmokingMonkey]

Smo, if the guys you're targeting are near the top of the draft board I think you're overconfident that you'll get them at a reasonable rate.

Do you know how much money you will start with??

I know everyone has different strategies, but in a 12 team league and with your format, i am a very strong believer of the Stars and scrubs strategy...

Joe - out of that grouping of players I was hoping to land 2 or 3 total, and probably blow about 60-70% of my cash to land them. Is that still a little TOO wishful thinking on my end?

milk - I'm assuming that's what you mean by the stars/scrubs strategy - spend almost all your $$ (regardless of how much you start with) and a few studs and fill in the rest with whatever you can get.

Figured we'd get 200 or 500 to start out with, judging off people's conversations around the office

 

[tlance]

Joe - out of that grouping of players I was hoping to land 2 or 3 total, and probably blow about 60-70% of my cash to land them. Is that still a little TOO wishful thinking on my end?

milk - I'm assuming that's what you mean by the stars/scrubs strategy - spend almost all your $$ (regardless of how much you start with) and a few studs and fill in the rest with whatever you can get.

Figured we'd get 200 or 500 to start out with, judging off people's conversations around the office

If you are getting 3, it is probably more like 75%. Those RBs should cost a bit over 25% each as will Evans. Dez or Hilton could probably Be had for 18-20%.

 

[averagejoe]

Joe - out of that grouping of players I was hoping to land 2 or 3 total, and probably blow about 60-70% of my cash to land them. Is that still a little TOO wishful thinking on my end?

Yes.

RB Targets - Shady, Gordon, Ajayi, Howard
WR Targets - Evans, Dez, Jordy, Hilton

Landing 2 or 3 from this group is within reason.
But spending only 60-70% is not.
I tried to look up last year's player costs in my auction league but the league manager hasn't reset the league yet. (When he does, I'll give you some of last year's prices.)

You have to remember that even tho David Johnson, EE and Bell will garner the heaviest and probably the most outrageous bids, there will still be 9 owners that need a stud RB (at least one).
So the group you listed should still go ABOVE their price range.

I think someone mentioned it above, but you may want to throw out some A-list QB first. I'm sure they will force a few overbid pricing wars.

 

[averagejoe]

Cool. My buddy activated the league.

This league also has 12 owners but is standard scoring.
We have an odd budget of $280 for 13 players.
Antonio Brown went for $90. Julio went for $95. Odell for $88.
So maybe your 60-70% is within reason. But I still agree with tlance.
Since this is a first time auction for your league, it could go either way - they could be shy about bidding, or they may not hold back and go all out for the top players.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

Joe - out of that grouping of players I was hoping to land 2 or 3 total, and probably blow about 60-70% of my cash to land them. Is that still a little TOO wishful thinking on my end?

milk - I'm assuming that's what you mean by the stars/scrubs strategy - spend almost all your $$ (regardless of how much you start with) and a few studs and fill in the rest with whatever you can get.

Figured we'd get 200 or 500 to start out with, judging off people's conversations around the office

yes, get 3 elite players all else fill out... and of course make the 3 WR and RB, i would recommend 2 WR and one RB...

if 280, i would spend 230 on the 3 or 4 players...

 

[averagejoe]

@SmokingMonkey
Thanks to my buddy who runs our auction league, I slapped this chart together from 2016.

Each section is the top 10 players based on ECR last season. And their prices.
Budget was $280.

As you can see, it jumps all over the place.

I should point out that our commish is from Boston and a huge Patriots fan.
So we always try to drive the price up on any Patriot player.

​

Forgot to point out Brady went for $49

 

[HaroldSeattle]

@SmokingMonkey
Thanks to my buddy who runs our auction league, I slapped this chart together from 2016.

Each section is the top 10 players based on ECR last season. And their prices.
Budget was $280.

As you can see, it jumps all over the place.

I should point out that our commish is from Boston and a huge Patriots fan.
So we always try to drive the price up on any Patriot player.

Had to laugh about driving the price up on Pats players.

 

[averagejoe]

Smo, here's another look at last year's auction draft. Here's the first 30 nominations, their prices, and the percentage of each owner's $280 budget.