I’ve recently completed a couple of Player Selection Meetings (as Paul Tagliabue used to call them). One with a draft, one with an auction, and with a lot of the same owners. It’s interesting to compare the differences between the two systems.
With the traditional draft, the most important picks are influenced heavily by where you happen to be selecting. I drew the No. 6 spot and ended up selecting Derrick Henry in the first round and Tyreek Hill in the second. Then things settled down, and most of the remaining selections are players that I would expect to select before most of the other owners.
In auctions, on the other hand, everyone has an equal shot at the elite players. If you’ve got your heart set on Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley or Patrick Mahomes, go for it. All you need do is open up your wallet and buy them.
For me, I’m more of a value hunter. I don’t go in heavily targeting any particular top-20 player. I’m more apt to let the bulk of them go by, hoping to be the franchise that lands the best deal on an elite player.
In this most recent auction, there were no steals to be had. Most of the other 11 teams were aggressive in their bidding, so I didn’t buy any of the top-20 on my board. I paid $20-plus for only three players, and none are guys who’ll be selected in the first two rounds of a usual 12-team draft: David Johnson ($27), Tyler Lockett ($23) and Calvin Ridley ($21).
Scoring for these leagues, by the way, is PPR. Starting lineups of QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, WR, TE, K and Defense, plus one flex (RB-WR-TE). The draft is different in that it’s a best-ball league, with no roster moves allowed (hence the decision to carry two players at the PK and defense positions). In the auction league, there will be roster moves and starting lineups along the way, so just one player at PK and D.
While the draft team has two top-end players (Henry, Hill), the depth of the auction team is superior. Strictly off the numbers, it’s one of the best auction teams, in fact, that I’ve ever assembled.
If we use dollar figures (what I thought the players were worth) the auction team grades out at $302. That is, I turned $200 worth of bidding chips into $302 worth of talent. With the draft team would be worth $274 (had it been selected in an auction) – still a good team, but not on the same level overall.
There’s actually a third league with this group that’s underway (using a draft), and I expect it will be pretty similar to the earlier draft team. I am in the No. 5 spot in that one, and my first four picks were Ezekiel Elliott, Travis Kelce, David Johnson and Tyler Lockett. I’ll probably go with wide receivers in the next three rounds,but we’ll see who’s there.
All of these leagues are hosted by MyFantasyLeague, and you can track them on line.
The Fanex Auction League is winding down now. (I’ve assembled my 20-man roster; others are making their final picks.)
The Fanex Analysis Draft is the best-ball league, with no waiver moves. If you go to the “Draft Report” area of the page, you can see the reasoning each owner provides behind his picks.
The traditional Fanex head-to-head league is ongoing. Guys make selections in this one, but there don’t tend to be any writeups.
| FANEX TEAMS: DRAFT vs. AUCTION ROSTERS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pick | Draft players | Price | Auction Players |
| 8.07 | QB Matt Ryan | $9 | QB Matt Ryan |
| 9.06 | QB Matthew Stafford | $5 | QB Cam Newton |
| 1.06 | RB Derrick Henry | $2 | QB Ryan Tannehill |
| 3.06 | RB David Johnson | $27 | RB David Johnson |
| 13.06 | RB Nyheim Hines | $14 | RB Chris Carson |
| 14.07 | RB Darrell Henderson | $14 | RB Devin Singletary |
| 19.06 | RB Damien Harris | $6 | RB Duke Johnson |
| 10.07 | TE Dallas Goedert | $6 | RB Adrian Peterson |
| 20.07 | TE Kyle Rudolph | $1 | RB Benny Snell |
| 11.06 | TE T.J. Hockenson | $7 | TE Hayden Hurst |
| 2.07 | WR Tyreek Hill | $1 | TE T.J. Hockenson |
| 4.07 | WR Tyler Lockett | $23 | WR Tyler Lockett |
| 5.06 | WR Courtland Sutton | $21 | WR Calvin Ridley |
| 6.07 | WR Jamison Crowder | $18 | WR Terry McLaurin |
| 7.06 | WR Marvin Jones | $17 | WR DK Metcalf |
| 12.07 | WR N'Keal Harry | $12 | WR Jamison Crowder |
| 15.06 | PK Wil Lutz | $5 | WR T.Y. Hilton |
| 16.07 | PK Robbie Gould | $1 | WR N'Keal Harry |
| 17.06 | D Tampa Bay | $3 | PK Wil Lutz |
| 18.07 | D Minnesota | $1 | D Kansas City |