I don’t have time for auction league drafts.
There is one disadvantage to everyone else in your league thinking you know more than they do though, no one will ever trade with you because they think you’re taking advantage of them.
Auctions don’t take much longer than snake drafts from what I can recall, and definitely not in a keeper league. Granted, it’s been a few years since I’ve done a snake draft.
Great tips higgmond! Two question -
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Would this strategy work in a league of 16 people? (btw this is not auction draft)
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These are good tips after 3rd round. so you suggest I pick my top guys as soon as possbile i.e. in first 3 rounds?
I played in an auction league for 3 years (total re-draft every year, 12 teams, 14 players), the shortest of the 3 drafts was 6 hours. I’ve never had a snake draft go more than 3.5. I understand there are different ways to conduct auctions, some faster than others, but that’s my experience.
The AF draft last night lasted about two hours, pretty efficient
All I’m saying is that there is a limit to how much you can manage during the draft, especially if you are new and don’t know player history, status, age, prospects, etc. You’ve got significantly more time in a snake than an auction, but on the priority of teams to worry about I would put your own at #1 before you start playing psychological games trying to make the other 15 teams in the league tank their draft one by one.
It works regardless of the size of the league. Picking very quickly is always a good idea, but it’s more effective in the later rounds because the guy after you is unlikely to luck into a decent pick. Every year I’m shocked at how many people have no idea who they’re going to pick until they are on the clock, and if they’re put on the clock sooner than expected they generally go with a familiar name who is likely past his prime. These are the same people who will have 3 or 4 fantasy football magazines that were published in June and spend the entire draft flipping through them looking for names. Note: Fantasy football magazines are out of date the minute they’re published. Rely on reputable online sources instead.
1/2 the teams will tank it on their own and you don’t need to worry about them. 1/4 will be immune to whatever you try to do on draft day. The remaining 1/4 are the only ones you need to focus on, so that’s only 4 teams. Even if you’re not trying to affect other teams, you need to be aware of their needs to draft effectively. I’ll admit it becomes far easier after a couple of drafts and you learn the tendencies of the other owners, but it’s not hard for a 1st timer to track what positions everyone has filled and what they haven’t.
You guys clearly know how to run an auction better than the league I was in. It’s been a long time, but our draft went like this:
Random order assigned to teams.
Team 1 offered a player and a bid
Teams 2 - 12 each had 30 seconds to raise or pass
Bids kept going around in order until no one raised and then there was a final “going, going, gone” opportunity for 10 or 15 seconds where anyone could throw in another bid. Bids were then restricted to those managers.
Once player sold, Team 2 had 1 minute to offer a player and a bid and the process started all over again.
Repeat
^ Yeah that’s terribly inefficient. Either way, doing an auction online will always be faster than in person (although not nearly as fun).
Yea. In person auction is best. Online drafts are too rushed. I don’t need to be done in 2 hours since it’s just me and friends anyway.
anyone feel mashawn lynch is not a RB1?
I have him 8th in my RB rankings, which would still make him an RB1. I think you could get better value with Giovani Bernard though.
Ok, so minor setback this afternoon. Our best OL just got busted for PEDs and is out the first four games. You’re going to have to adjust your expectations for JC accordingly. Probably looking at only 3,500 all-purpose yards and 26 TDs instead of the projected 4,500 yards and 47 TDs.
You’ll still win. It’ll just be a little more interesting.
You guys must be in a PPR league because I can’t understand the love for RBs. This isn’t 2004 anymore.
Most teams now have a split backfield and/or a 3rd down/goal line back. The shelf life of a RB is short, they get injured more often and they can fall off a cliff very quickly (Ray Rice?).
This is a solid post.
I would also add to look at the schedule for Weeks 15 and 16 if you are in a head to head league with a playoff format.
Case in point, I got burned a few times, more recently last year. I had Drew Brees last year and in Week 15 he was facing the Panthers in Carolina. He couldn’t even reach 10 fantasy pts and I was done after dominating the entire season. There are 2 Drew Brees: 1) the home version which is the best QB in the league and 2) the road version where in half the games he doesnt reach 10 fantasy pts (vs NYJ, CAR, SEA, TB).
I’m not saying draft Andy Dalton instead of Peyton Manning because Dalton has an easier Week 15 and 16 schedule. But if Peyton is facing the Seahawks in week 15 and the 49ers in week 16 while Aaron Rodgers is facing the Vikings and Browns, then you should take that into account. It shouldn’t be your first criteria as you have to make the playoffs first, but it can be used as a tie breaker when you are undecided between 2 players.
Finished draft yesterday. Atleast I got Jimmy Graham!
^ Where did you draft him? I took him with my 1st pick (7th overall) in my pool.
In our office team league.