Fantasy Football 2018: Best auction draft strategy, stars and scrubs

Auction drafts are easily the most fun way to play Fantasy Football, yet they do require more strategy. We’ve simplified things with your best auction draft strategy.

Fantasy football 2018 drafts are coming up within the next few weeks. Those who still participate in snake drafts should be ashamed of themselves. They will also have to wait a few more days to get a glimpse at our draft strategy. Today is all about auction draft strategy.

There are two main waves of thought when it comes to an auction: stars and scrubs or balanced lineup. But those are oversimplifications, especially in fantasy football 2018. Instead, the focus should be more on positional spending. We’ve simplified this approach into the best auction draft strategy for the new fantasy football season.

Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate the Fantasy Football 2018 in today’s NFL Sports Debate.

Todd Salem:

Positional spending is critical to auction draft success. For example, no one should be spending more than $1 on their kicker or their defense, even if you want a so-called balanced roster. Maybe you have the strongest of hunches on who will end up as the best fantasy defense this year and want to go $6 to assure that selection. Don’t waste the money; you’re probably going to be wrong.

Last year, the top five defenses in the preseason were Denver, Seattle, Kansas City, Houston, and Minnesota. After the season took place, those teams finished ranked 13th, ninth, 17th, 26th, and 11th respectively. Not only were they not the top five units, but it was barely worth owning ANY of the five!

That leaves us with $198 to spend in standard drafts. Do you go ~$60 for a top running back? Can you make a lineup around two top-level players, leaving only 90 or so dollars for the rest of the roster? Is it worth spending $15-20 on a top quarterback when there are so many useful guys who will go for just a buck? The same spending question arises at tight end, although there are far fewer reliable options at that position.

The fun thing about auctions is that all of these options are available to an owner. And here goes my funnest, ballsiest, yet most sensible draft strategy for 2018. (All dollar values will be based on ESPN live draft results. Roster creation based on standard QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, TE, Flex.)

We are taking stars and scrubs to the extreme. Draft two “first-round” players. This could be two of the top four running backs (setting you back $125). It could be a top RB and one of the top four wide receivers (costing $110). But I want to come out with two of the eight best players in the league.

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After that, we have one more major piece to spend. This is a $30-40 second RB or first WR, depending on how you went originally. I can sense a bit of worry from you. Can we really spend $150 on three guys with a $200 budget? Yes!

The rest of the roster is just filling in. Yet filling in isn’t a terrible strategy. Take a look at the $3-4 players: pretty much any QB in the sport outside of the top nine; heads of RB timeshares like Aaron Jones, Rex Burkhead, and LeGarrette Blount; number one wide receivers like Robby Anderson, Jamison Crowder, and Allen Hurns; every tight end outside the top nine.

Those aren’t star players, but they all will and should be drafted as useful fantasy players. Filing in at QB, TE, D, K, flex, and wide receiver leaves us with another $30 to fill out the bench (which can obviously be shifted around to spend $8-9 on a starter, etc). This budget stretches farther than players think it will, and we come away with two of the top players at the most important position.

The worst thing an auction owner can do is be too conservative and have dollars left over when no one remains but fringe starters. Maybe Robby Anderson goes for $6 instead of $2, and you miss out. You instead have to turn to Calvin Ridley. That’s far preferable to having $18 left over when no one you want is there except Robby Anderson. Owners get a bit nervous with so few dollars left and so many holes to fill. But there are enough players to go around. Going this extreme is actually the most cost-effective strategy. It is also super fun to own three elite stars.

Dan Salem:

Owning star players is a necessity, if your goal is to actually win your Fantasy Football 2018 league. I employed a similar strategy last season, with three star keepers each costing me market value, and left our auction with Ezekiel Elliott, Antonio Brown, and Travis Kelce. Most star players will get drafted above market value in your auctions, so keep that in mind when going for them with the timer ticking down.

I am going to piggy back on your auction draft strategy, since I agree with it 100% in principle. Reiterating the mindset that I’ve been preaching as we debated the top 5 players in fantasy football 2018, followed by the 6th best player, is integral to auction draft success. Take this to heart. You must leave your draft with one of the top 5 running backs and two of the top 10 wide receivers. These players MUST be reliable point scorers every single week of the season. If you are able to snag two of the top backs, then feel free to amend this to be two top running backs and one top receiver. Your $200 budget will not allow you to draft more than three fantasy stars, unless the rest of the owners in your league are a bunch of pinheads.

You suggested coming out of the draft with two of the eight best fantasy players. This should be everyone’s goal, yet getting three top fifteen players is more to the point. I would like to add some additional rules to filling out the rest of your roster. Do not spend more than $15 on your quarterback. QBs score more points than nearly every other position on average, but the players going for $8 to $15 are all basically the same. Furthermore, they don’t score significantly less points than the top five guys. This is the price range where Philip Rivers usually falls. Same with Matthew Stafford and Kirk Cousins. It is not worth over spending on Russell Wilson or Aaron Rodgers. You need that money for backs and receivers.

I recommend dropping your second choice for running back on the auction block right away in order to get a sense of how much owners are willing to spend. It’s also human nature to be more conservative with the first guy and then overspend on the second guy put up for auction because you “missed” initially. Draft your second choice if possible, so that you are not attached to the player. Everyone must be expendable on your roster as the season progresses.

Tight end is an anomaly, because the top three players stand well ahead of their peers. Yet touchdowns still don’t come easy to any of the tight ends. You can likely stream a tight end based on matchups from week to week if necessary, so don’t get caught spending running back money on the top tight end. Set $150 aside for your stars and then keep your poker face on to get the rest. After week one, you must hit the waiver wire hard, because at least ten guys will have gone undrafted and then emerged as fantasy stars. I repeat, DO NOT get attached to any players on your roster, no matter what. Doing so means losing.