Every year, the auction format becomes more popular in fantasy football. It might never replace the old-reliable snake draft as the industry standard, but many diehard fantasy owners will only participate in auctions. Auctions allow fantasy owners to acquire any player they want as long as they outbid the rest of the league and as long as they stay under the salary cap (generally set at $200 per team). So, having an auction strategy and budget plan on your 2023 fantasy cheat sheet is paramount for your success.
There are always some general strategy rules to follow for any type of draft. For auctions, you usually don’t want to blow the majority of your money on two top-tier studs at the start of the auction. If you do, you could be relegated to value picks the rest of the way. That said, you also don’t want to be too conservative and rely too heavily on mid-tier producers and long-shot breakouts. Auction draft mission statements should mirror basic snake draft strategies. Always look to maximize value, don’t reach, don’t be reactionary, and establish depth at running back.
Easier said than done, right? There will always be one owner who manages to screw up your game plan, always one bid you regret, and always one player you can’t believe you let your opponent snag on the cheap. But that’s life! There’s still a whole hell of a lot less disappointment in an auction — where you can largely control your own destiny — than in a snake draft, where you sit and wait to see which players fall to you. In the auction world, we can dictate our fate. Who doesn’t love freedom? It’s like a fantasy American dream!
DOMINATE YOUR DRAFT: Ultimate 2023 Fantasy Cheat Sheet
Just like in a capitalistic society, there are plenty of people who fall flat on their faces chasing their dreams (or in this case, bidding on workhorse backs, high-target wideouts, and TD-hungry tight ends). You’ll fail if you don’t have a business strategy in the real world, and your fantasy team will absolutely tank if you go into an auction draft without some semblance of a plan.
2023 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Ks | Top 200 | S-Flex | IDP
Today, we’ll discuss some fundamental auction rules and the strategies that can take you from a history of mediocrity to a wildly successful future as an auction-draft tycoon. Take notes now, because the ones who wing it in auction leagues on the big day are generally the ones with top-heavy teams and/or an abundance of good-but-not-great talent.
2023 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Ks | Top 200 | S-Flex | IDP
Now bang the gavel, and let’s get this money!
2023 AUCTION VALUES (Standard & PPR):
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Ks | Overall
Fantasy Football Auction Strategy 2023: Tips, advice for auction drafts
1. Know your budget (and format) and set your limits
Much like your budget in everyday life, you need to stay within your limits and draft within your means. Spending $130 on two guys in the first 10 minutes of your draft may feel amazing for the moment, but it’s going to be pretty brutal 50 minutes later when you’re trying to stretch the remaining $70 out to fill your roster. Your team will be top-heavy, you’ll have poor depth, and you’ll be relying far too heavily on bargain-bin buys for the majority of the auction.
Everything is about balance. If you spend up to draft a top-five running back, you’ll have to sacrifice a bit at another position. So, it’s probably a good idea to cross off the most expensive guys at wide receiver if you draft the most expensive running back early. Drafting a top-five player at each position just won’t happen unless you somehow figure out how to hypnotize your leaguemates. But what’s the fun in that? You want your opponents fully cognizant when you own them, from the opening bell to the final whistle.
Determine the price points you like for each one of your target players. Review our projected auction values and then make your own list. Tier off your players so you can better establish where you value each group. That way, you can better appropriate your next order of business if and when you make a big splash. You need to constantly do the math in your head and be one step ahead of your next move. Avoid the noise caused by other owners — your biggest enemy in an auction is often yourself. Remember to proactively self-reflect. “If I grab this guy at this price point, what kind of money will I have left to finish building my core roster?”
Obviously, you have to know your format. Derrick Henry might not be worth a $50 bid in PPR leagues, but he could go for that in most standard drafts. Deebo Samuel, a YAC-playmaker who relies on quality over quantity, also figures to drop in PPRs. However, players like Austin Ekeler and Saquon Barkley will typically yield more value as PPR backs. Just like you would pinpoint specific players round-by-round in snakes, do your research and know your targets at every price level in auctions. Don’t lose sight of your average remaining per-player budget.
2023 FANTASY SLEEPERS
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Each Team
2. Mock and mock and mock some more (both auction and snakes)
Of course, you’d better get plenty of practice runs in before the big day. Even experienced auction drafters need to mock ahead of their yearly draft because so many variables exist each NFL season. Trades, free agent signings, injuries, rookies, and even coaching moves can all affect a player’s fantasy impact from one year to the next.
The most valuable part of mock auctions is determining what the public actually deems fair-market value for each player. Any “experts” can list a price next to a player’s name and call it their “projected value,” but just like in real-life open markets, supply and demand ultimately dictate the actual values. A player’s true cost will be whatever people spend on him, not what an analyst suggests it should be.
It’s also good to establish your plan through a mock draft. Seeing what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to roster-building is vital. You have infinite do-overs in the Mock Auction lobbies, whereas you only have one go when you’re drafting your real-deal 2023 fantasy team.
Participate in some snake drafts, as well, and then compare your favorite mock team from a snake to your favorite mock team from an auction. How do they differ? In what ways do your snake teams seem superior to your auction teams, and how can you bridge that gap in your next auction draft? Understanding your strengths and weaknesses, like every facet of life, can improve you greatly in the long run.
2023 POSITION TIERS & DRAFT STRATEGY:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/ST
3. Follow the same core standards and mission statement as you would in snake drafts
Eventually, after myriad mocks, you will reach a vital breakthrough: your auction teams will begin to showcase similar starting strength, upside, and depth as your snake teams. You’ll regularly feature the equivalent of a first-rounder, a second-rounder, and a third-rounder, or two firsts and a fourth, or three seconds.
In that sense, it’s almost worth it to define a pre-draft value for each positional tier. Just like NFL general managers refer to a “Draft Value Chart” when contemplating trading draft picks, you should be referring to your own draft value chart when considering which players to target and which ones to fade (and when, and at which price points).
Higher-priced wideouts might not have as much value if they turn into bidding-war assets. Two lower-tier receivers at good value might be obtainable at the same total cost as one stud WR and could inevitably net you more per-spot average production than if you paid up.
A top-heavy team doesn’t always win in auctions or snakes, and neither does a team with little to no depth. Spend wisely on a balanced team.
FANTASY DRAFT STRATEGY:
Snake | Best ball | Dynasty | IDP
4. Nominate and spend wisely
Yes, budgeting is so important, we’re going to reiterate it. In fact, nominating and spending are really what auctions are all about, so we’ll do breakout sections on both below.
5. Show up, pay attention, stay focused, and have fun
This could have just as easily been tip No. 1. It might sound boring, but you have to be present for your auction to be a success. Being late or not showing up can have dire consequences. Auto-auctioners screw everything up, so make sure your league members will all be at the draft on time and with reliable connections.
Next, pay attention! The ones present and engaged the entire time are the ones who so often land massive value buys. You might not have been targeting Garrett Wilson, but if you can land a $24 receiver at $15, you should probably consider it. You still want to grab some “best-available” players when the value seems too good to pass up.
One last rule: always have fun and learn from your mistakes. If you keep at it, you’ll be the one giving the advice before you know it.
How to budget for each position on fantasy football auction drafts
Once you’ve mocked a bunch and established a general understanding of who costs what among the actual fantasy football community, you should set a basic budget for your team. Plain and simple, you need to have an idea of how you’ll be spending your $200 across all your roster spots.
Sometimes, a steal of a pick will reshape your core plan a bit, but you can still follow the guidelines on positional and tiered budgeting. Put a certain percentage on RBs, WRs, and TEs, and leave about 10 percent for your bench. Try to put around 10-13 percent total into QB, while RB, WR, and TE can vary based on your targets. Let’s run through a sample auction to see how it all works in action.
Kicker and D/ST
The easiest way to start this hypothetical budget plan is to allocate $1 at kicker and D/ST. If your league still has kickers, bummer, but please don’t spend over $1 on anyone except maybe Justin Tucker. Generally, the drop in per-game average from K1 to K2 and K3 at the end of each year proves that spending an extra buck is a waste. The Seahawks’ Jason Myers for $1 sure looked good with his fantasy football-leading 8.4 points per game last season, but he was only 1.0 PPG better than the 10th-best kicker.
You could really use that extra buck when developing your offensive depth. The same can be said for D/ST, a position that’s almost impossible to predict each year and lends similarly minute declines from one tier to the next. New Orleans for a buck lands you a talented defense with fantastic matchups in its first six weeks (Titans, @ Panthers, @ Packers, Buccaneers, @ Patriots, @ Texans). You can just as easily stream a hot kicker or defense in-season.
Bench (Part 1)
We’ll go over which actual bench players we will select for this model after we build our starting squad, but you obviously want a solid bench. You don’t need studs. Your studs are your starters, and you can also add breakouts via free agency and the waiver wire.
Your bench should be a variety of reliable handcuffs, high-upside sleepers, and a rookie or two. If you go conservative at QB, consider grabbing a second QB with a high ceiling on the cheap. If you pick an injury-prone or volatile TE, get him a backup.
Let’s base our budgetary plan on a league with standard 16-player teams. With $2 slotted to K and D/ST and $20 allotted to our bench, we have $178 left to spend on our eight starting skill positions. Now you can really break it down (erra-erra-erra).
Quarterback
At QB, we generally recommend going for value. Much like with kickers and defense, the contributions of second-tier and third-tier QBs are not massively different on a per-game basis.
Spending 10 percent of your skill-position budget on mobile QBs like Justin Fields or Lamar Jackson seems like a big risk, not just because of their injury probabilities. Their $18-22 projections and average auction values (AAVs) double those of Kirk Cousins, Trevor Lawrence, and Dak Prescott (all $9), all of whom we regard as more valuable.
We even prefer the upside of Geno Smith ($8) after his breakout year with the Seahawks, and with a bolstered offensive line and the addition of first-round receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, he could be in line for an even better season. Four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers ($7) may seem like a volatile pick, but remember that he’s freshly motivated and reunited with his favorite offensive coordinator (Nathaniel Hackett) in the Meadowlands.
Let’s slot Smith, the fifth-highest scorer in fantasy last season, in at $10. That’s two bucks over his projected cost but still a massive value for a QB coming off a season with 30 passing touchdowns and nearly 4,700 all-purpose yards. With DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, the aforementioned JSN, and a solid running back in Kenneth Walker III, there’s no reason to believe Smith’s regression in 2023 will be a negative one.
Obviously, you don’t have to get Smith, but looking for similar value makes sense at QB unless you can get one of the top studs for well below market value.
Running Back/FLEX
That leaves us $168 for two running backs, three wide receivers, a tight end, a flex, and our bench. Now we’re having some fun! Since it’s rare to win a fantasy championship without an elite back — or multiple RBs from within the top four tiers — your priority should be at the running back position.
Austin Ekeler ($47) offers huge value in both standard and PPR leagues. We also like Tony Pollard ($38) now that he’s the workhorse back in Dallas sans Zeke, and Rhamondre Stevenson ($31) in what should be a solid under-the-radar season for the Patriots offense. Plenty of top-tier talent also exists in the tier containing Dameon Pierce, JK Dobbins, and Jahmyr Gibbs.
You might also consider going with multiple young RBs in the teens who are capable of exploding into the top-10 RB leaderboards. Last year we capitalized on this strategy by drafting Josh Jacobs ($23), Breece Hall ($22), Travis Etienne Jr. ($19), Tony Pollard ($16), and the aforementioned Pierce ($16). Even with Hall’s midseason injury, not many squads with all four of those backs were out of contention.
Players coming off injuries or underwhelming seasons — or due for an uptick in usage — should be targeted in the teens and low 20s. Cam Akers ($20) could be a nice grab if he falls into the low teens after leaving many with a sour taste in their mouths last season (we remember stealing Josh Jacobs for $20 in a league last year).
We also love the ceilings for young RBs Rachaad White ($17) and Isiah Pacheco ($16), and would queue up Alvin Kamara ($16), Javonte Williams ($14), James Cook, and D’Andre Swift (both $12) if they hovered much lower than those projections. At worst, you spent $10-15 on a player that didn’t pan out. At best, you paid injured or suspended costs for a bona fide game-changer week in and week out (well, definitely out for Kamara in Weeks 1-3, but you get the point).
In our 2023 mock auction, we ended up with Ekeler at $47 and Pollard at $38 as our presumed RB1 and RB2. We also snagged Pacheco at $16 and Kamara at $13. That’s a whopping $114 in spending, we can easily justify it. We now have $74 remaining to spend on our pass-catchers.
Wide Receiver
Last year, we went with the strategy of targeting all upside at running back and coming away with stud wideouts Ja’Marr Chase, CeeDee Lamb, and A.J. Brown. This year, we went after a stud back and RB depth, and now must budget wisely in the pass-catching department. That’s fine, as we feel most comfortable about the depth at receiver and know that only one tight end truly offers consistently elite production.
We let the other owners throw their money around for FantasyPros’ top nine wideouts, then swooped in for Amon-Ra St. Brown ($27) during a bidding lull. ARSB was one of the most efficient per-game fantasy scorers of the 2022 season. He finished as the eighth-most targeted receiver and hauled in the fifth-most catches. However, he tied for 17th with six TD catches. We’re betting on positive TD regression this season.
From there, we grabbed perennially undervalued Seahawks receiver Tyler Lockett ($11), who we somehow bagged for $4 last year and happily saw him finish as the WR13. Keep underrating him, Fantasy Land! We love getting $20-25 value for $10-15. A low expenditure at WR2 paved the way for two of our favorite wide receiver sleepers.
Welcome to our squad, Jahan Dotson ($10), Jordan Addison ($7), and Rashod Bateman ($3)! That’s $20 for three wide receivers with massive ceilings. The Commanders’ Dotson was OROY conversation before he got hurt last season (152 receiving yards and four TDs through four games), and he returned to solid production in Weeks 13-16 (18.8 PPR points per game).
Addison is low-key one of our favorite offensive rookies in this draft class, and we think he’ll become Kirk Cousins’ second-favorite wideout in no time. Bateman always has sleeper appeal — he just needs to play and have some semblance of consistency around him.
That leaves us with $16 for our tight end and three bench spots. As we are bargain-hunting at tight end, we’ll be looking for two sleepers at the position and an additional RB breakout. Here comes the toughest challenge of our auction!
Tight End
After Kyle Pitts, Darren Waller, and Dallas Goedert at $13, the tight end auction values fall off a cliff to the $4-7 range. We’ll take it! We don’t want to prioritize a position that has very few difference-makers. We want upside guys we can snag at value.
Thus, we opted for Evan Engram ($7) and Dalton Schultz ($5), two perfectly capable pass-catchers who should enjoy decent target shares and a good chunk of the Jaguars’ and Texans’ red-zone targets.
Drafting Engram and Schultz gives us some insurance if one of them endures an injury — or if either loses their QB — and leaves us with four bucks for our final two bench spots.
Bench (Part 2)
We already mentioned the four RBs, five WRs, and two TEs we drafted, so you already know our first four bench spots (Alvin Kamara, Jordan Addison, Rashod Bateman, and Dalton Schultz). Now we’re looking for two RB deep sleepers to round out our squad because, as we have preached endlessly, you can never have enough RB depth.
Always look for breakout potential at this price range. Are there injury-prone backs ahead of a certain guy? Does one lesser-known rookie have a solid offensive line and a strong work ethic? Target these value-rich players now so that you have them queued up late in the draft when most other managers have compromised their budget.
We’re going for Ravens backup Gus Edwards ($3), who could very well step back into a high-usage role if JK Dobbins remains as fragile as he has been through his first few years in the NFL. We also nabbed Jaguars rookie Tank Bigsby ($1), as James Robinson is out of the picture in Jacksonville and Travis Etienne Jr. is just one year removed from a major injury. Presto! We are exploding with RB depth.
Look at this squad. It’s filled with so much promise at running back and so much established greatness at QB, WR, and TE. The only real question marks have contingency plans, and whatever doesn’t work out we can solve through the waiver wire. Great success!
- QB1: Geno Smith, SEA ($10)
- RB1: Austin Ekeler, LAC ($47)
- RB2: Tony Pollard, DAL ($38)
- WR1: Amon-Ra St. Brown, DET ($27)
- WR2: Tyler Lockett, SEA ($11)
- WR3: Jahan Dotson, WAS ($10)
- TE: Evan Engram, JAX ($7)
- FLEX: Isiah Pacheco, KC ($16)
- K: Nick Folk, NE ($1)
- D/ST: New Orleans Saints ($1)
- Bench1: Alvin Kamara, NO ($13)
- Bench2: Jordan Addison, MIN ($7)
- Bench3: Rashod Bateman, BAL ($3)
- Bench4: Dalton Schultz, HOU ($5)
- Bench5: Gus Edwards, BAL ($3)
- Bench6: Tank Bigsby, JAX ($1)
Again, this isn’t exactly how you need to map out your auction, but it gives you an idea of how to put together a budget. In this case, we devoted just five percent of our money to QBs, nearly 60 percent to RBs, 30 percent to WRs, six percent to TEs, and $2 total to D/ST and kicker.
Some might flip the percentages on RB and WR — or at least balance them a bit more — or maybe go all-in on Travis Kelce at TE and spend less on WRs. Whoever you like, balance accordingly, budget wisely, and commit to it.
Strategy tips for how to nominate players in fantasy football auctions
Big names often come with big price tags. Some of these names (and prices) probably won’t interest you, but they will surely interest your opponents. Get your leaguemates spending their money early on these big names you don’t like. Nominate players early who you think will go for a higher cost than they’re worth. You can even bluff-bid, or “bid up” a player if you have intel that a leaguemate really likes a guy. Just don’t get greedy and screw yourself by overspending on a guy you hate because you tried to bid him up.
If you clear some money out on players you have no interest in, you will likely have less competition for players you actually want. Some of your foes will already be cash-strapped, or at least taking it easy after chomping on the big bait. Every time we make a big investment in auctions, our per-player average and per-player max spending goes down. Let some of your opponents bid themselves out of the $30-$40 range before you cast your net on the $30-$40 guys you covet.
Of course, your leaguemates might have the same plan and nominate players you want. Don’t be afraid to bid, but also don’t be afraid to get outbid. There will always be more good players, and as long as you stick to your plan, you can build a winning team.
