My money league has done a standard redraft league every year for the last 5 years, and we are switching to an auction keeper league this year. I'm sure I will have to plan a little different, but I have some questions where I would like so advice?
-12 Team Auction
-Get to spread out 40 years between your players
-Standard line-ups, scoring, and rosters
My Questions
1.) Should I put a real large portion of my money down on lets say 4 or 5 studs, or should I just go after 2-3 studs? Right now I have the earge to just put a ton of money down on a combo like LT2, Lamont Jordan, Chad Johnson, Gates, and a pretty solid QB. Then just filling my roster with a couple proven guys, and a good bit of potential. Should I try this, or just go with a solid overall group?
2.) Should I spend money to get a consensus top 5 QB? Looking at last year, and the injuries to McNabb and Culpepper, and seeing that ELI, Plummer, and Bledsoe finished in the top 10, is it worth investing lots of money or years in a supposed top-notch QB?
3.) Lastly, for you auction vets out there, what is the best way to prepare for one? Do you make your own cheat-sheets with dollar values for each and every player, or go in targeting a select few?
I am doing my first auction league draft and it starts on Monday. I have been preparing for about a month. Reading what I could on the net and looking at some of the auction leagues here.
1. 4-5 studs is unrealistic, 3 is a strech. 2 is possible if you want lesser players in your other positions. Decide before the draft how much you want to spend on the starters at each position. You will have to be somewhat fluid but don't get into a bidding war with 1 player and blow your budget. Don't spend 200 on a player when you have a budget of 100 for that position. It doesn't matter which studs you focus on, just choose 4-5 that you would like and try to get a couple of them regardless of position. I would focus on RB, then WR and lastly QB (with the exception of maybe Peyton). Remember DO NOT BLOW YOUR BUDGET (its OK to over spend for 1 player some but remember if you overspend for one player that reduces your budget somewhere else. I would wait at let the other owners overspend on the studs then when they are out of cash you can focus on the players that are not flashy but produce fantasy numbers each year (one player that coming to mind is Dunn) and you can out bid them without going over your budget cause they can't even bid those players actual value.
I actually awnsered #2 above also.
#3 As far as my cheetsheets, I am using my normal cheatsheets. In addition I have put together a budget for starters in each position and split the rest up between my bench. I also have a goal of how many players in each position I would like to have on my bench.
Again I am new at this. From doing some reading and looking at already completed drafts (Mocks this year, and leagues that have already started this year and past years drafts), these are some stratagies I am planning to use. anyone who has done auction drafts before, did I get it right or am I offbase? or some good and some bad?
You could think of government workers like teenagers. You pay them an allowance, but do you get any work out them? They eat the food, put their feet on the furniture and complain loudly whenever they are unhappy.
All I've ever done was a single auction mock, that didn't even come to completion, but I can say that I destroyed myself right off the bat by way over bidding on LT. He was great that year, but having guys like David Terrell and Aaron Brooks on your team because that is all you could afford really sucks. It's fairly difficult to decide when to stop because other guys are bidding against you and it just kills you to see another owner top you by a buck. Then you figure, if they are willing to spend this much on him it must be worth it. Only after you realize you have 8 bucks left to fill a roster with do you see that they just played you and let you bid over your allotted amount for any one player. This may work if you don't plan on winning for a couple years and you wanted a guy like LT or LJ for a few years in a keeper, but in general I think it was a terrible mistake on my part.
I've been doing auction drafts for a few years and here are a few tips that have helped. I know this doesn't answer your questions point by point but I hope it helps anyway. Good luck.
1. Allocate your salary cap by position prior to the auction. This will help you balance the ledger if you overspend on a position during the auction.
2. Tier players by position based on your own player values. This will serve as a valuable resource when the nominations and bids start moving quickly.
3. Be flexible. Every auction is unique, so it may be necessary to change strategy once the auction is underway. Perhaps shifting from “Studs and Sleepers” to “Balance and Depth”.
4. Do not nominate players you want early in the auction. Nominate high profile players you don’t want or players coveted by other owners. This will force other owners to spend (and hopefully overspend) on players early in the auction draft.
5. Be careful when “bidding up” players you don’t want in an effort to inflate their cost, particularly if you already have depth at the position. Nothing is worse than getting stuck with a high bid on a player you don't want/need and killing your available cash.
6. Be patient. Repeat, be patient. Don’t get caught up thinking you must have a player and overspend on him. While you may have to pass on a favorite player this approach provides the best opportunity for value and depth.
7. Don’t be too patient, be aware of remaining players at each position. Don’t wait until only low 2nd and 3rd tier players are available at a position.
8. Spend all of your salary cap. Often times owners will hold back a couple dollars over the course of an auction draft planning to use the money later only to find there is no one to spend the money on. Spend the extra $1 or $2 on a favorite player.
9. As a general rule, do not nominate or bid more than the minimum increment. This will ensure you pay the least amount possible for a player and will also avoid overpaying for a recently injured player or one you have overvalued.
10. Track other owners purchase power. This will help you when you are bidding head to head during the auction draft.
11. Nominate a little higher late. Once owners deplete most of their salary cap players will generally go for $1-$3. If you like a player, and you are nominating, bid $2. This will prevent another owner from raising to $2 and taking your player.
12. Practice. Participate in a few mock auctions to get a sense of current player values and the pace of an auction draft. Mock auction experience will help you to relax, trust your instincts, stay cool, and enjoy a successful auction draft.
Dexter II wrote:I've been doing auction drafts for a few years and here are a few tips that have helped. I know this doesn't answer your questions point by point but I hope it helps anyway. Good luck.
1. Allocate your salary cap by position prior to the auction. This will help you balance the ledger if you overspend on a position during the auction.
2. Tier players by position based on your own player values. This will serve as a valuable resource when the nominations and bids start moving quickly.
3. Be flexible. Every auction is unique, so it may be necessary to change strategy once the auction is underway. Perhaps shifting from “Studs and Sleepers” to “Balance and Depth”.
4. Do not nominate players you want early in the auction. Nominate high profile players you don’t want or players coveted by other owners. This will force other owners to spend (and hopefully overspend) on players early in the auction draft.
5. Be careful when “bidding up” players you don’t want in an effort to inflate their cost, particularly if you already have depth at the position. Nothing is worse than getting stuck with a high bid on a player you don't want/need and killing your available cash.
6. Be patient. Repeat, be patient. Don’t get caught up thinking you must have a player and overspend on him. While you may have to pass on a favorite player this approach provides the best opportunity for value and depth.
7. Don’t be too patient, be aware of remaining players at each position. Don’t wait until only low 2nd and 3rd tier players are available at a position.
8. Spend all of your salary cap. Often times owners will hold back a couple dollars over the course of an auction draft planning to use the money later only to find there is no one to spend the money on. Spend the extra $1 or $2 on a favorite player.
9. As a general rule, do not nominate or bid more than the minimum increment. This will ensure you pay the least amount possible for a player and will also avoid overpaying for a recently injured player or one you have overvalued.
10. Track other owners purchase power. This will help you when you are bidding head to head during the auction draft.
11. Nominate a little higher late. Once owners deplete most of their salary cap players will generally go for $1-$3. If you like a player, and you are nominating, bid $2. This will prevent another owner from raising to $2 and taking your player.
12. Practice. Participate in a few mock auctions to get a sense of current player values and the pace of an auction draft. Mock auction experience will help you to relax, trust your instincts, stay cool, and enjoy a successful auction draft.
I have been doing an auction draft for a while and the above list is a very good list to go by. I would stress number 10 on the list. Knowing exactly how much a guy has left to spend is very powerful in an auction.
treadstone wrote:2.) Should I spend money to get a consensus top 5 QB? Looking at last year, and the injuries to McNabb and Culpepper, and seeing that ELI, Plummer, and Bledsoe finished in the top 10, is it worth investing lots of money or years in a supposed top-notch QB?
Generally, I've found that a ton of $ on a top tier QB just isn't worth it.
Take a consistant, steady, every week QB and invest the money you save in RBs and a great D.
My 2 cents.
~Wease
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by treadstone » Sat May 13, 2006 12:12 am 
