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Auction Strategy Preference (1 Viewer)

How do you like to build a team?

  • Stars and scrubs

    Votes: 34 52.3%
  • Balanced Approach

    Votes: 12 18.5%
  • Overpay for one top player, then regain discipline

    Votes: 19 29.2%

  • Total voters
    65

Ack88

Footballguy
In light of the draft slot poll, thought I'd try one for auction league players.

While these strategies are not black and white, I tried to adhere to commonly known and discussed strategies. My descriptions are far from perfect, so any comments or clarifications would be muhc appreciated.

Stars and Scrubs- Break the bank for as many superstars as you can obtain, usually 3 of the top 15ish players. Roster has several minimum salary guys.

Balanced Approach- Adhere to discipline, never overpay. Team typically has exceptional depth and can withstand injuries but does not typically boast elite talent.

Overpay for one elite player, then adhere to value- Many proponents of this strategy believe than you need an elite, high end RB1 type to win a league so it is OK to go over budget for a Gurley, Zeke, Bell, or DJ type. However, once you do that, proponents of this theory advise to then return to a more disciplined approach.

 
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I'm a Stars and Scrubs fan most of the time.

My auction league is ten teams with generous FAAB allocations so I worry less about depth. Only 180 players are rostered so finding WW help is not overly difficult. Give me two elite RB and one elite WR, I'll take a cheap QB/TE combo. It usually works pretty well. 

Other, larger leagues with 300+ players rostered require more depth. One injury in that format will ruin you so a more balanced approach is prudent.

 
stars and scrubs for me. i also try to restrict high $$ spending to players under the age of 28. generally do not spend much at QB to help with stars and scrubs approach

 
Stars and Scrubs guy also. Tend to spend about 80% of my salary in the first 3-4 rounds of nominations and then just sit for 2/3 of the auction. It takes discipline to hold that last 15%-20% of your salary but lets you control the final quarter of the auction. When everyone else is down to $5 for their final 4-5 players it is extremely useful to have $10 and have your choice of the forgotten guys that fell through the cracks. Have always believed the value is at the beginning (before owners realize their values are off and panic) and end (when there is no more cash available) of the auction.

 
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The smaller the league the more I go stars and scrubs.  For big leagues (16,32-teams) I prefer a depth approach.
Mathmatically this is just the opposite approach to take.

10 team get bunch of value guys.

12 team stars scrubs

14-16 stars scrubs with even higher salaries

 
Mathmatically this is just the opposite approach to take.

10 team get bunch of value guys.

12 team stars scrubs

14-16 stars scrubs with even higher salaries
I’ve always thought the opposite was true- smaller leagues, go stars and scrubs, larger leagues, obtain depth. Please, as I’d like to reconsider if my thinking is off, explain. Thanks.

 
The smaller the league the more I go stars and scrubs.  For big leagues (16,32-teams) I prefer a depth approach.
That's been my plan for most of my auctions and generally has been the most successful for me. Of course a few of your depth guys need to hit to get the trophy.

More teams means more $ overall league to spend as well as fewer starters. 
What? My large leagues actually start more players than my smaller leagues. 

It can be harder to get studs in large leagues. 

I’ve always thought the opposite was true- smaller leagues, go stars and scrubs, larger leagues, obtain depth. Please, as I’d like to reconsider if my thinking is off, explain. Thanks.
Yes please, would love to see the analysis here. But every league is a little different. 

 
Wait on qb. Spend minimum on ranked 8-12 guy and only draft 1 qb and 1 Te.  Get a stud top 4 rb. Petition your commish ditch k for another flex. With only 10 teams get balance everyone will have good team

 
You have to know when to be patient and when to be aggressive. If you do it right, you can end up with a combination of both.

I like getting a tier 1 RB and a tier 1 WR. Then manage money carefully. The draft will come to you if you let it. 

 
Stars and scrubs, but I rarely pay up for the elite guys and try to get as many second tier players with upside as I can start.

 
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Voted for 1 star player then regain discipline as it's the closest of the 3 options that I follow. The only re-draft auction league I do is a 10 team with QB/2RB/3WR/TE/Flex/K/D. I do more of a hybrid between stars and scrubs plus 1 star player then regain discipline.

I try to go for 3 big players, usually an elite RB1, a low end RB1 and a bottom end top 10 WR, and then save enough funds to bargain shop or target value guys I think are undervalued. My kicker, defense and if I take a back-up QB or TE are $1 max. Usually it gives me a semi-top heavy team with decent depth. I've tried going the balanced approach twice and both times was a bottom feeder due to lack of star power. Stars and scrubs works well too. I often see the teams that use stars and scrubs the best like to load up their scrubs with low ADP rookies hoping to strike gold. Seems to work well as you can cut ties with rookies quickly or strike gold with them like Newton, RG3, Watson, Kamara to name a few.

Agree that the smaller the league the more you want to shift towards stars and scrubs. I wouldn't start shifting towards balanced approach until leagues sizes of 14 or more.

 
I'm in PPR so I generally try to get stud starting WRs then get a bunch of bargain RBs and WRs to fill the rest of my league.  I usually spend very little on QB and TE.  I do not draft a kicker and sometimes even skip the DST.  I want as many RBs and WRs going into the season in case something major happens.  I want that player to be on my team already and not have to try and pick them up off waivers.

 
Stars and Scrubs guy also. Tend to spend about 80% of my salary in the first 3-4 rounds of nominations and then just sit for 2/3 of the auction. It takes discipline to hold that last 15%-20% of your salary but lets you control the final quarter of the auction. When everyone else is down to $5 for their final 4-5 players it is extremely useful to have $10 and have your choice of the forgotten guys that fell through the cracks. Have always believed the value is at the beginning (before owners realize their values are off and panic) and end (when there is no more cash available) of the auction.
I like this approach. These days I tend to spend early, especially when you can find good deals before people get desperate later on and overpay for the last couple of top ten guys or last guy in a top tier. 

There is nothing worse than fighting with the 2-3 other teams for the last remaining good talent. Any time you think "I can't believe that guy hasn't been nominated yet and I'll save my money", at least 2 other teams with money are thinking the same thing. Either you pass up good value waiting for these guys and/or you overpay in a bidding war.

How many times do you look back and say, if only I had paid for this guy early on, I wouldn't have had to overpay later for a lesser player? Now I rather do my shopping earlier.  You can also get a good deal on the third or 4th guy in a tier because others would rather spend their money on the top guy.

 
Im not sure of my strategy, but i know its not be patient and only look for good value. That limits your upside as a team to an also ran.

Im fairly new to auction in that i only play in one league and ive been in it for about 5 years. I would love to hear what others do. Here is what I do:

I make sure i have a player whose adp is in each of the first three rounds. I try to find two guys I want in each round and go aggressively after the first and, if i lose that one, just about all-in on the second one.

Here is what I suck at: bidding people up. Twice that i consciously tried it, i ended up eating that player. It ruined one season/auction for me. (Thanks Matt Ryan).

 
Im not sure of my strategy, but i know its not be patient and only look for good value. That limits your upside as a team to an also ran.

Im fairly new to auction in that i only play in one league and ive been in it for about 5 years. I would love to hear what others do. Here is what I do:

I make sure i have a player whose adp is in each of the first three rounds. I try to find two guys I want in each round and go aggressively after the first and, if i lose that one, just about all-in on the second one.

Here is what I suck at: bidding people up. Twice that i consciously tried it, i ended up eating that player. It ruined one season/auction for me. (Thanks Matt Ryan).
The whole bidding up a player that you do not want is a slippery slope. I've done it successfully but I've also failed. The more experience I have with auction, the less likely I am to enforce value, only attempting such a move if the player on the board is well below where I have him. When you start getting close to the players' value and go ### for tat with another owner- tread lightly.

 
Stars and scrubs all the way with the caveat that I save about $10 so I can make sure I drop $2-3 on each scrub and get who I like.  I haven't done auction in quite a while, but my league had a bunch of donkeys in it that would invariably blow $11 on 10th round type guys so once the scrubs came around they were in dollar derby and I controlled a lot of the action.

I don't ever bid on a guy I don't want.  Ever.  I make sure I bid every dollar on guys I do like and when they get past my budget I stop - that effectively bids many guys up without getting you stuck with someone you don't want.

 
Hankmoody said:
Stars and scrubs all the way with the caveat that I save about $10 so I can make sure I drop $2-3 on each scrub and get who I like.  I haven't done auction in quite a while, but my league had a bunch of donkeys in it that would invariably blow $11 on 10th round type guys so once the scrubs came around they were in dollar derby and I controlled a lot of the action.

I don't ever bid on a guy I don't want.  Ever.  I make sure I bid every dollar on guys I do like and when they get past my budget I stop - that effectively bids many guys up without getting you stuck with someone you don't want.
Agreed. Love to be at the final quarter of the auction with more $ than anyone else. Allows you to bid $2 or more when others have $1 max bids. 

 
Ack88 said:
The whole bidding up a player that you do not want is a slippery slope. I've done it successfully but I've also failed. The more experience I have with auction, the less likely I am to enforce value, only attempting such a move if the player on the board is well below where I have him. When you start getting close to the players' value and go ### for tat with another owner- tread lightly.
Yep

I won't bid on players I don't want, but there are a lot of players I'd be content with at 75% of what I think they're objectively worth. So I generally will bid up to that point.

 
having most money towards the end of an auction generally means you didnt spend enough early
I've done this a few times before and always feel disappointed at the end.  Hate having money left at the end.  Can't help but look at the players I could've had if I spent that money early.

 
Auctions are gold mine for WR3-5s. They always go way less than they should because people overspend on the uber-studs.

TEs and QBs are always correctly priced or undervalued so I usually go the best QB/TE and then load up on value WRs.

In general, you can get three 2nd round players for the price of two 1st round players and I will take that every time. Fantasy is a depth game - the more players you can get the better hit rate you will have.

Always save 10% of your budget for sleepers. You will get them for $3 each at the end of the draft.

 
having most money towards the end of an auction generally means you didnt spend enough early
Not only that, but it seems like there are always about 3 teams with money at the end these days. They just tend to overpay for players in a bidding war. I've seen players like Olsen go for $16-$20 when you could have had them for $10 earlier in the draft.

 
I've done this a few times before and always feel disappointed at the end.  Hate having money left at the end.  Can't help but look at the players I could've had if I spent that money early.
Do you change this strategy if you play with lesser competition? 

My 18-year league is switching to an auction draft this year, so I'm trying to figure out my own strategy. 

While I agree with not having money at the end, in this particular league I tend to be more in tune with late Sleepers than a lot of the other coaches and think I may be able to take advantage of that (I don't think any other coaches visit the SP...).  During our normal snake drafts I'm always finding guys in rounds 15-18 that I would love to get my hands on, and I'm fairly certain half the coaches have never heard of them.

 
Do you change this strategy if you play with lesser competition? 

My 18-year league is switching to an auction draft this year, so I'm trying to figure out my own strategy. 

While I agree with not having money at the end, in this particular league I tend to be more in tune with late Sleepers than a lot of the other coaches and think I may be able to take advantage of that (I don't think any other coaches visit the SP...).  During our normal snake drafts I'm always finding guys in rounds 15-18 that I would love to get my hands on, and I'm fairly certain half the coaches have never heard of them.
Spending money on proven players will always be better than spending on sleepers.  Don't be afraid to spend an extra buck or two to get guys you really want.  If you really don't like the expensive guys then load up on the less expensive guys.  I feel having a team full of average priced guys relies on more luck though.

 
Before the draft I have a relatively stars-and-scrubs, upside-focused mindset as I'm setting prices that are my estimate of how much each player is worth. During the draft I have a relatively disciplined approach as I'm primarily trying to get guys for less than I estimated that they are worth (while paying some attention to things like how my roster is shaping up and the flow of the draft). Not sure how to vote.

 
I have a tendency to worry too much about spending early and I get cheap.  I find myself only buying players I think are below or at the value I have on my cheat sheet.  Too many times I've finished with too much money towards the end of the draft and it upsets me.  Hoping I don't fall into that same rut again this year.

 
Buy the first player nominated. They almost always go for under their value. 

It's the start of the auction. Everyone is too nervous to pull the first trigger. 

 
As others have said, if this is an existing league you can easily look up historical values from year to year. This should give you a good idea of how bids looked at the beginning of the auction, tiers and how much those last guys in tiers sold for.

Every year I look back at the first few studs auctioned and marvel at the price compared to the next tier. It is not a huge difference, but $5-7 undervalued makes a big difference at the end of the auction. 

 
Buy the first player nominated. They almost always go for under their value. 

It's the start of the auction. Everyone is too nervous to pull the first trigger. 
this is great advice... it always rang true in both my leagues... especially last year... got AB at a very fair price... only to see Julio OBJ and AJ Green go for 5-10% more than AB just a few players later.

 
Do you change this strategy if you play with lesser competition? 

My 18-year league is switching to an auction draft this year, so I'm trying to figure out my own strategy. 

While I agree with not having money at the end, in this particular league I tend to be more in tune with late Sleepers than a lot of the other coaches and think I may be able to take advantage of that (I don't think any other coaches visit the SP...).  During our normal snake drafts I'm always finding guys in rounds 15-18 that I would love to get my hands on, and I'm fairly certain half the coaches have never heard of them.
by the end of the season my roster is comprised of at least 50% WW players. It's why i try to chase the young, proven, high end talent with my auction money.

 
this is great advice... it always rang true in both my leagues... especially last year... got AB at a very fair price... only to see Julio OBJ and AJ Green go for 5-10% more than AB just a few players later.
It is always better to go first than to be at the end of a tier. Numerous times I have seen the bottom of the WR1 or RB1 group go well above actual value due to scarcity. 

Do not be afraid to be the first.

 
ex-ghost said:
As others have said, if this is an existing league you can easily look up historical values from year to year. This should give you a good idea of how bids looked at the beginning of the auction, tiers and how much those last guys in tiers sold for.

Every year I look back at the first few studs auctioned and marvel at the price compared to the next tier. It is not a huge difference, but $5-7 undervalued makes a big difference at the end of the auction. 
Great advice. I’ve tracked of all the results going back 6 years. Since it’s a 24 team league we have two drafts which gives me twice the data.  I’m able to make my own projections every year and be very accurate with them. My problem is that I get too stingy and tend not to bid over those values. It’s a mental block I think. 

 
First of all, team number is critical but just as critical is starting spots. Assuming 1QB, you need to look at the number of WR/RB/TE/Flex spots. A 12 team with 2/2/1/0 should probably go heavier on studs while a 10 team with 3/2/1/3 would be better with a more balanced approach. I don't understand the nonsense above about going balanced in a 10 team league and studs and duds in a 16 team league. By nature of a 10 team league, even the duds will have decent value due to the smaller amount of rostered players. Another key aspect is benches. You are basically forced to go studs and duds if you only have 6 or fewer bench spots. Anyway, on to strategies...

Studs and duds is a noob approach - basically every team I see do this is crossing their fingers they don't have an injury. And yes, it works great if you can avoid injuries and make 1-2 lucky pickups. However, this strategy is risky af. All it takes is one injury or one 2016 Hopkins and these teams are sunk. One benefit of studs and duds that I should note is that you have increased odds of making a nice pickup because all your bench is droppable. You can easily churn 3-4 players every week on the WW looking for that diamond in the rough. A balanced team will be more reluctant to drop their relatively more valuable backups for these unknowns. 

Balanced approach is the way to go if you know what you are doing (and you have a big enough bench), because you can get those studs without the price premium in two different ways: (1) be prepared to do without a top tier, but be ready to swoop in if you see value. It doesn't always happen, but sometimes a player you view in the same tier as other $40 players will be available for $32 (using arbitrary numbers). If you got in early on the other $40 players, you have to miss out. If you weren't planning on having a $40 player, you have the budget to grab that guy at a 20% discount. (2) find studs at a discount. Yes, easier said than done, but you've saved money by not grabbing the low hanging fruit at a premium. You can now afford to spend your "bench" money on high risk-high reward players while everyone else is filling their backups with $1-$2 players. Players like Corey Davis and Josh Gordon fit your budget as your WR4. Don't spend your bench money on reliable, low upside low-risk players like Cooper Kupp or Pierre Garcon. Every player you target should have some WR1/2 upside... 100 rec or 1300 yards or 10 TDs need to be within reach if things break right for your WR3/4/5. It's fine to grab an Edelman if you see him going cheaper than he should be, but generally speaking you should be shooting for the stars with your top 5 players at RB/WR. 

So far team size, starting spots, and bench spots have been discussed. The last item is knowing your league. Most of my leagues are at least somewhat savvy but I play in one donkey league. These guys come into the draft with printed out cheat sheets from CBS or something like that and will blow their budget extremely quickly, to the point where at least half the league will have at least half their roster as $1 players. I basically go in with a modified studs and duds approach there because I know at the end of the auction I can get a WR30 type player for $2-$3 as long as I don't fully go overboard with my budget. 

 
12 team, PPR,auction at local bar.  Last year I wanted a good seat with no one around.  Got there at 3:00 PM for a 7:00 PM start of draft.  Bad move.   12 beers later the draft started.

strategy?  What strategy?  I bought 2 defenses.  It was a long season.

 
12 team, PPR,auction at local bar.  Last year I wanted a good seat with no one around.  Got there at 3:00 PM for a 7:00 PM start of draft.  Bad move.   12 beers later the draft started.

strategy?  What strategy?  I bought 2 defenses.  It was a long season.
Show up at 5, have 6 beers- things will be better  :D

 
First of all, team number is critical but just as critical is starting spots. Assuming 1QB, you need to look at the number of WR/RB/TE/Flex spots. A 12 team with 2/2/1/0 should probably go heavier on studs while a 10 team with 3/2/1/3 would be better with a more balanced approach. I don't understand the nonsense above about going balanced in a 10 team league and studs and duds in a 16 team league. By nature of a 10 team league, even the duds will have decent value due to the smaller amount of rostered players. Another key aspect is benches. You are basically forced to go studs and duds if you only have 6 or fewer bench spots. Anyway, on to strategies...

Studs and duds is a noob approach - basically every team I see do this is crossing their fingers they don't have an injury. And yes, it works great if you can avoid injuries and make 1-2 lucky pickups. However, this strategy is risky af. All it takes is one injury or one 2016 Hopkins and these teams are sunk. One benefit of studs and duds that I should note is that you have increased odds of making a nice pickup because all your bench is droppable. You can easily churn 3-4 players every week on the WW looking for that diamond in the rough. A balanced team will be more reluctant to drop their relatively more valuable backups for these unknowns. 

Balanced approach is the way to go if you know what you are doing (and you have a big enough bench), because you can get those studs without the price premium in two different ways: (1) be prepared to do without a top tier, but be ready to swoop in if you see value. It doesn't always happen, but sometimes a player you view in the same tier as other $40 players will be available for $32 (using arbitrary numbers). If you got in early on the other $40 players, you have to miss out. If you weren't planning on having a $40 player, you have the budget to grab that guy at a 20% discount. (2) find studs at a discount. Yes, easier said than done, but you've saved money by not grabbing the low hanging fruit at a premium. You can now afford to spend your "bench" money on high risk-high reward players while everyone else is filling their backups with $1-$2 players. Players like Corey Davis and Josh Gordon fit your budget as your WR4. Don't spend your bench money on reliable, low upside low-risk players like Cooper Kupp or Pierre Garcon. Every player you target should have some WR1/2 upside... 100 rec or 1300 yards or 10 TDs need to be within reach if things break right for your WR3/4/5. It's fine to grab an Edelman if you see him going cheaper than he should be, but generally speaking you should be shooting for the stars with your top 5 players at RB/WR. 

So far team size, starting spots, and bench spots have been discussed. The last item is knowing your league. Most of my leagues are at least somewhat savvy but I play in one donkey league. These guys come into the draft with printed out cheat sheets from CBS or something like that and will blow their budget extremely quickly, to the point where at least half the league will have at least half their roster as $1 players. I basically go in with a modified studs and duds approach there because I know at the end of the auction I can get a WR30 type player for $2-$3 as long as I don't fully go overboard with my budget. 
Lots of great insight here.

I'm a stars and scrubs guy- but fffninja is right- one injury and you are cooked for the season. But- if you are injury free and can get two or three players that allow you on a weekly basis to begin with a massive advantage (particularly at RB or WR) and use waivers to find replacement level guys- you will have a baked in positional advantage that is very difficult to exceed.

Two years ago I had a Zeke and Bell backfield and Julio as my WR1. (10 team league, no ppr). I went cheap everywhere else, nearly all $-$2 guys and won my league. (Those three players were about 85% of my total cap.)

Tried the same last year. Zeke's suspension ruined me.

Stars and scrubs, IMO is both the highest risk and highest reward strategy for building a team BUT any of the above models can lead you to an auction league title.

 
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Studs and duds is a noob approach - basically every team I see do this is crossing their fingers they don't have an injury. And yes, it works great if you can avoid injuries and make 1-2 lucky pickups. However, this strategy is risky af. All it takes is one injury or one 2016 Hopkins and these teams are sunk. One benefit of studs and duds that I should note is that you have increased odds of making a nice pickup because all your bench is droppable. You can easily churn 3-4 players every week on the WW looking for that diamond in the rough. A balanced team will be more reluctant to drop their relatively more valuable backups for these unknowns. 
The bolded is why I like studs n duds.  I've also found that if I save money until the end of the auction there are always a few other teams with the same idea.  Then you can end up getting into bidding wars for low-end players.  I don't doubt that some of you have had success saving money and bullying the auction later, but it's never worked out well for me.  Whether I go studs and duds or balanced I want to spend very little money on my bench.  

I really think there's a lot to be said about getting players you like at value.  It's a dangerous game if you want to wait for a value play at every pick.  The value picks might end up going for players I don't like, and they might only save me a couple of bucks or so.  If I hit 2 or 3 nice bargains in the draft and the rest of my team full of players that are roughly where I valued them, I'm happy.  Obviously your mileage will vary based on how competitive the league is.

 
The bolded is why I like studs n duds.  I've also found that if I save money until the end of the auction there are always a few other teams with the same idea.  Then you can end up getting into bidding wars for low-end players.  I don't doubt that some of you have had success saving money and bullying the auction later, but it's never worked out well for me.  Whether I go studs and duds or balanced I want to spend very little money on my bench.  

I really think there's a lot to be said about getting players you like at value.  It's a dangerous game if you want to wait for a value play at every pick.  The value picks might end up going for players I don't like, and they might only save me a couple of bucks or so.  If I hit 2 or 3 nice bargains in the draft and the rest of my team full of players that are roughly where I valued them, I'm happy.  Obviously your mileage will vary based on how competitive the league is.
Well, it varies by league setup. If you are playing in a 10 team x 15 man roster league then there's going to be all sorts of value available on the WW each week (and studs & duds would be the correct choice). That's why team number and roster limit come into play when determining a strategy. However, if you are playing in 12-14 team leagues with 20+ man rosters then being able to churn 3-4 players a week isn't going to help you very much. I pretty much refuse to play in leagues that roster less than 240 players, so I don't usually see a lot of talent sitting on the waiver and drafted depth is much more important than the ability to churn all willy nilly. Shallow rosters are a parity mechanism, so you're basically playing socialist fantasy football if you play in shallow roster leagues. Ron Swanson would not approve.

But what you mention can happen in any league. It's important to keep an eye on perceived tiers. The last player in a tier will often go for more than the last couple guys in that tier if there are a few big stacks left out there.

Going for value is only dangerous if you go in blind. You should always have several pre-draft game plans mapped out. There are a lot of ways to get AAV, but the best way is to use your own league:

  1. Go back and look at old auctions from the league
  2. Sort high to low prices by position
  3. Delete the column of last year's players, keeping the auction values
  4. Find a good snake draft ADP, sort by position, and paste those players next to last year's auction values
Once you've done that, game plan away. If you want Barkely, plan a team around him and see how your budget pans out. But also plan another team around missing out on him. And if it is a "must have" player, plan on paying at least 5% extra for him.

 
Well, it varies by league setup. If you are playing in a 10 team x 15 man roster league then there's going to be all sorts of value available on the WW each week (and studs & duds would be the correct choice). That's why team number and roster limit come into play when determining a strategy. However, if you are playing in 12-14 team leagues with 20+ man rosters then being able to churn 3-4 players a week isn't going to help you very much. I pretty much refuse to play in leagues that roster less than 240 players, so I don't usually see a lot of talent sitting on the waiver and drafted depth is much more important than the ability to churn all willy nilly. Shallow rosters are a parity mechanism, so you're basically playing socialist fantasy football if you play in shallow roster leagues. Ron Swanson would not approve.

But what you mention can happen in any league. It's important to keep an eye on perceived tiers. The last player in a tier will often go for more than the last couple guys in that tier if there are a few big stacks left out there.

Going for value is only dangerous if you go in blind. You should always have several pre-draft game plans mapped out. There are a lot of ways to get AAV, but the best way is to use your own league:

  1. Go back and look at old auctions from the league
  2. Sort high to low prices by position
  3. Delete the column of last year's players, keeping the auction values
  4. Find a good snake draft ADP, sort by position, and paste those players next to last year's auction values
Once you've done that, game plan away. If you want Barkely, plan a team around him and see how your budget pans out. But also plan another team around missing out on him. And if it is a "must have" player, plan on paying at least 5% extra for him.
As my league is 10 teams and 18 players per team- I've been a Stars and Scrubs guy. It took me a while to figure this out, but with easy access to respectable bench players on the ww, there is no reason to worry about depth. This is VERY different in 14-16 teamers with 20+ rosters, as there are few decent players available.

 
As my league is 10 teams and 18 players per team- I've been a Stars and Scrubs guy. It took me a while to figure this out, but with easy access to respectable bench players on the ww, there is no reason to worry about depth. This is VERY different in 14-16 teamers with 20+ rosters, as there are few decent players available.
No doubt. 180 rostered players definitely calls for studs and duds. ESPECIALLY if 20 of them are kickers and defenses (vast majority of my leagues have gone away from K&D).

 
No doubt. 180 rostered players definitely calls for studs and duds. ESPECIALLY if 20 of them are kickers and defenses (vast majority of my leagues have gone away from K&D).
I would love to punt both K and D but the other guys are averse to change.

 
I would love to punt both K and D but the other guys are averse to change.
Oh wow, you are looking at only 160 or fewer skill players rostered. That means guys like Gesicki and Paul Richardson are on the wire week 1. Who needs a bench when the WW can be your bench?

 
I call what I do is stars and trust my judgment for lower price guys (mainly rookies) or previous year under performs.

 
FF Ninja said:
Once you've done that, game plan away. If you want Barkely, plan a team around him and see how your budget pans out. But also plan another team around missing out on him. And if it is a "must have" player, plan on paying at least 5% extra for him.
And if you're strategy revolves around Barkley (or any single player), you MUST make sure that player gets nominated as quickly as possible. 

In a past draft, I saw a team who's strategy revolved around Gronk.  At that draft Gronk was about the 25th player nominated.  This guy had not bought a single player up to that point.  That owner ended up in a bidding war with two other owners and he ended up not winning Gronk.  His draft was screwed since he lost out on Gronk and so many other great players were already scooped up.  That guy ended up overspending for marginal talent and his team sucked that year.  He had the 3rd nomination that year.  He needed to nominate Gronk right away and could have readjusted his strategy when losing the bidding war.

 
And if you're strategy revolves around Barkley (or any single player), you MUST make sure that player gets nominated as quickly as possible. 

In a past draft, I saw a team who's strategy revolved around Gronk.  At that draft Gronk was about the 25th player nominated.  This guy had not bought a single player up to that point.  That owner ended up in a bidding war with two other owners and he ended up not winning Gronk.  His draft was screwed since he lost out on Gronk and so many other great players were already scooped up.  That guy ended up overspending for marginal talent and his team sucked that year.  He had the 3rd nomination that year.  He needed to nominate Gronk right away and could have readjusted his strategy when losing the bidding war.
The problem is that, generally, earlier nominated players go for more. That's why I'm a proponent of having a flow chart type of game plan. If yes Gronk, plan A. If no Gronk, plan B.

But Barkley is getting nominated early anyway, so might as well nominate him yourself in this example... so not a great example. A better example would be if you've got your heart set on a mid-level guy like... I dunno, Drake. You probably want to avoid bringing attention to him early in the draft. But as mentioned earlier, you also want to avoid letting him be the last of his perceived tier. He seems to be in a tier with McCoy, Guice, Collins, and Henry. I'd advise not nominating him before the other four, but definitely putting him on the board if only 1-2 of them are left.

 

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