Auction Strategy: Nominate the guys you want or hold back?

[BTL99 34]

When it's your turn, do you put your guy out there or do you wait?

 

[Frozenbeernuts 2,270]

mix it up is probably going to be the most common response.

[famousb 11]

First time around, start with mid tier talent you wouldn't mind as your #2 RB. The first few guys off the board are usually at a discount (if they aren't studs) as people try to feel out how the auction is going to play out, and as people are tentative to spend too much too soon because they want to save for the big names.

[shaggy76 1]

I typically nominate players that will go for a lot of money that I have no interest in to make others use their money and fill their roster.

[Gepetto 1,370]

I typically nominate players that will go for a lot of money that I have no interest in to make others use their money and fill their roster.

 

I do this too. I had an auction draft last night and this worked well,

[GridironGuzzlers 3]

nominate kickers early. either you get the kicker you want for $1, or some other clown wastes $2 or $3 on a kicker

[AnaheimRams 28]

mix it up is probably going to be the most common response.

 

Yep... you definitely need to mix it up. An auction is a poker game... tendencies and tells will screw you hard if you're competing against experienced auction guys.

[ralphster 274]

1. Nominate guys you don't want early.

2. Don't fall in love or get into a bidding war on any player - set a limit you'd pay for them and stick to it.

3. Hold off bidding until the last few seconds - most serious bidders will be those bidding in the final seconds.

4. Be wary of bidding up any player - don't do it unless you're willing to have them on your team.

5. Try and save a little dough ($20) for your final rounds in order to be able to outbid others on late flyer targets.

 

Good luck

[Matt Mueller 146]

I held off when all the big RBS went...I was trying to land SJax and Bush types for a little less than the big dogs. Worked kind of. They went for less but b/c they ended up being the last viable starting rbs to be nominated andthey went for way more than their projection.

 

I almost might have been better of nominating them early but then I might have baulked at the amount they went for and missed altogether.

 

Auctions are def more art than science and everyone is different.

 

 

 

I will say don't end the draft with any $. In my auction I was the last player to spend anything and after I filled out my roster Petyon was the last remaining QB with any advantage over the other guys so I bought him.

 

I didn't go in wanting to spend big on QB, and I could do it again would have bought a better RB3, but at that point he was the biggest difference maker-I had the $- and I wasn't not going to get him.

 

I did the same with Ty Hilton. I had the $. Possible difference maker on the board. He's mine.

[DrG 103]

Mix it, name some obscure players, see who has done their homework, stick to your budget a and keep everyone else drinking

[WR Guru 31]

As a general rule, I always throw out the big names or the "hype" guys first who I feel are going to be overvalued or out of my price range. Don't panic and abandon your gameplan if you get shut out in the early frenzy. Stick to your guns. If you've prepared, you're still in good shape. Occasionally I'll try to sneak a guy in early depending on which way the wind is blowing, but this is risky because everyone still has all their money to spend and are feeling invincible. You've got to be able to read your opponents, like a poker game, as someone else mentioned.

 

After you've exhausted your list of overvalued guys, start nominating your target guys - the players you really want - towards the middle of the auction. Don't wait too late on these guys. This is probably the biggest mistake that many owners make- they don't want to tip their hand on the players that they're targeting, so they never nominate them until late. Unfortunately, the last few quality guys available at each position are also going to be overpriced because a handful of owners who were too conservative are now in panic mode to fill out their roster with what little is left.

 

Don't let value picks go simply because you are targeting someone else later. If you see that a player whom you hadn't necessarily targeted is being undervalued, POUNCE! There's no guarantee that that other player you were targeting is not going to be overpriced- and now you've got nothing. Never play favorites or be "married" to one player. Valuate your guys in tiers and be willing to take any guy in that tier versus any other for the right price.

 

Spend to the cap. Never worry about saving cap space for free agents or whatever. You'll never have a better opportunity to add talent to your roster than at the auction. Cross the free agent bridge when you come to it. You don't like to think about it, but chances are you will have an injury or an under-performing player or two that you can drop at some point and that's how you'll open cap space for free agents.

[BTL99 34]

Thanks for the input. I definitely have an idea in mind of what to do. I really like the idea of not waiting to long because once there is only 1 or 2 BIG players left at each position, people will panic and overpay for them and you don't want one of "your guys" being the one that you have to overpay for.

[waxg 3]

I don't really see the panic happening. Always better to nominate players you don't want. Until you are down to the guys who you fear might not generate a $2 bid. The longer it takes for your players to get nominated, the less money is out there to compete with. My only exception is kickers. Nobody is thinking about kickers early. Sometime in the mid rounds, be the first or second person to nominate the best kicker for $2. Nobody will bid $3. If you wait until the end of the draft when others are all drafting kickers, you will get a few $2 bids on the $1 players you nominate... I think it's worth the extra $1 to get a great one. The rest are unpredictable.

[shutdown 40]

I like to mix it especially if you are getting down to a tier that is running short of players. If you have an experienced league, the player tiers will be similar. The last players left in the tier typically go for much more than the first few as owners panic to get a player in that tier.

In my draft Ray Rice went for 75% of the price that Alf Morris did because Rice was nominated early in the top tier of RB's. Morris was the last player in the upper tier and owners paniced to get him. This is a pretty consistent trend you can play to your advantage.

 

I got Chris Givens at half the price that was paid for DeAndre Hopkins because I nominated him early in the tier.

 

Conversely if I wanted to bleed some money out of people, once i filled a position I would continue to nominate players at that position when I felt the tier of talent was running short.

[Fantasy Noob 10]

Mixing it up is the key like everyone has said. I generally prefer for someone else to nominate a player I want. You want to have the bones of your squad fleshed out by round 3 thats 36 players in and almost always the best 36 players. So you need to make some hay and get your targets out of those guys. One key exception if you have one of the first two nominations of the draft this is actually a pretty good time to get some value this is one instance where I will throw out a high ranked player I want.

 

If you dont have 3/4 studs by the start of round 4 in most drafts you need to get active. Don't sit on your money trying to go nuts for value, these teams almost always end up mediocre. The problem is the other owners have the meat of their rosters set and if they have an upside guy in this range they really want they typically have enough cash left to make it painful for you. Which is why I argue against saving too much budget for late.

 

This year I like to throw out QB's in auctions to bleed other players cash, the position "feels" is very deep this year. I just think the QB rankings at the end of the year will be much closer in total points scored making the QB a little less critical...barring your league settings/scoring rules.

[ShooterMcGavin 3]

nominate kickers early. either you get the kicker you want for $1, or some other clown wastes $2 or $3 on a kicker

I always do this, makes me laugh.

[t-birdie 8]

The downside of an auction, while 10x more fun than a draft, is that owners that don't know crap can just follow the bidding pack. You have to mix up who you bid on. Bid on players you don't want but you think you can draw other owners in on.

 

At the auction a couple years ago I was watching one of our least-informed owners watch highlights before the auction. An old washed-up Baltimore WR caught a long TD in a preseason game. Someone bid $1 on that player and I immediately jumped in with $2. Like clockwork the clueless owner jumped in with $3. I ran him two more times and he claimed him for $7 - a ridiculous price. He cut him after week 2.

 

You can do all the studying you want and know all the sleepers, but if you don't have an auction strategy, you're just sharing your work with everyone else.