The PFF Fantasy staff held a mock auction draft as part of the auction series we ran (Found here: parts 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7). It has been said by almost everyone involved that this was by far the toughest auction they have been involved in. There were no real reaches or steals, as everyone was very disciplined and well prepared.
These answers are what the drafters were thinking during and immediately after the draft. While a lot has changed in the two weeks since the draft (including some of the answers), I bring to you the Q & A:
Nate Jahnke:
You seemed to be pretty stingy with your dollars, as you were the only owner to not break the $35 barrier. Did you plan to be that patient?
I had a dollar amount for each player that I didn't want to exceed at least for the first portion of the draft. While I had a few elite players on my draft board at over $35, each of them ended up going for more than I was willing to pay for them. In an auction situation, I don't want to put too much stock in one individual player because if they get injured, it has a detrimental effect on the team.
Kenny Britt was the 12th most expensive WR taken. You must be pretty confident that he’ll be 100% come the start of the season, both physically and mentally.
Absolutely. At that point of time I had a fair amount of money left for a third starting wide receiver, and he was by far the best receiver on my board remaining. One of my favorite metrics for receivers is Yards Per Route Run, and he has been third over the last three years when healthy. (Editor's note: Uh oh.)
The values certainly were right, but did you go in planning to pair up two cheaper/higher upside QBs like Peyton and Robert Griffin?
My plan was to get Robert Griffin as my quarterback, but when I found I could grab Peyton Manning for a lower price than I was willing to pay for him I couldn't resist the offer. Once Griffin was available, I was able to afford him for the price I was planning on paying for my starter and backup combined. I think they both have the potential to be elite fantasy quarterbacks so I was very happy with that outcome.
Who was the most overpriced player and who was the steal of the draft?
Most overpriced was Matt Forte at $43. There were a few backs that I would rather have that came at a cheaper price. As for best steal, I'll go with Reggie Wayne for $8.
Mike Woellert:
You got last season’s top scoring RB and WR in Ray Rice and Calvin Johnson within the first seven players put up for bid. You then put together a pretty well-rounded team after going with what looked like a super stars and scrubs approach. Did you plan on going with a hybrid approach or want to go stars and scrubs?
My plan was to snag premium players at the RB/WR positions and I believe I accomplished that with the acquisitions of Rice and Megatron. In looking at the PFF projected values, I thought $50 was decent for Rice. I thought Calvin would've gone in the $50 range, so I was a bit surprised to land him for $43. In terms of the rest of my strategy, I knew who I wanted to target but knew not to overspend for those targets. In most instances, I bid on players I had no intention of wanting on my team (Brandon Lloyd being one of them, but I'll admit, Ratcliffe got him for decent value). So, it was more of an approach on getting those two premium players and filling in the roster with serviceable players.
You bought Demaryius Thomas at a top-15 WR price. Are you expecting him to return any profit on that at all?
Demaryius Thomas is one of those guys that I targeted, but hoped someone would've bid him up. $25 is looking like a bargain compared to what PPF has as our PPR auction value ($32) and he's one of those upside guys that I need to hit on. With Peyton Manning in tow, $25 is a fair WR2 price and as long as he uses his talent to turn into a fundamental WR (running proper routes, getting off the corner on those routes), than I'm fully expecting a return on my investment. His ceiling is much higher with Tebow out of the picture.
The QB combo of Schaub and Cutler have both produced in the past. How confident are you that at least one of them returns to glory as a legitimate starting fantasy QB?
I had $20 budgeted for my QBs and tried to translate my snake strategy when it came to QB into the auction game and I think it worked. In hindsight, if I knew Stafford or Vick would've gone in the $20s, I would've adjusted that number. I've always been a Matt Schaub guy and you could see his numbers tailed off when he didn't have AJ in the lineup. He's a guy that's going to average 260-275 and has the upside for 300+ yard outings, and let's not forget, those swing passes to Arian Foster count towards his numbers. Both Johnson and Schaub are healthy, and now Kevin Walter needs to step up and Daniels needs to stay healthy. I really like Cutler with Marshall back in the fray, as he put up some of his best numbers with Marshall in Denver. Chicago's OL is improved and I just need to hope Forte is in the backfield. Overall, I feel good about the $18 I spent on my two QBs.
Who was the most overpriced player and who was the steal of the draft?
Steal(s) of the draft, IMO, was Stafford at $23 and Brees at $26. Even with the contract situation with Brees, $26 is tremendous value. Stafford is going to produce like a top tier QB once again in 2012. In terms of an over-valued, I know Trent Richardson is going to be the bellcow back in Cleveland, but I thought $43 was a bit high. I really like Richardson, hell I took him 7th overall in the PFF Dynasty League, but I'm having flashbacks to 2010 and Ryan Mathews' rookie year. Shonn Greene and James Starks were also overpriced.
Jonathan Bales:
Reggie Bush came off the board as the 17th-most expensive RB. He’s going to have to come close to repeating last year’s production to return value there. How confident are you that he’ll be able to do that?
I obviously like Reggie Bush a lot this year and, taking the rest of my starting lineup into account, I'm satisfied with him as my RB2. I realize he's a high-risk player, so I secured Daniel Thomas as his handcuff. I'm not normally one to do that, but I wanted to mitigate the high risk of my team as a whole, which is admittedly volatile.
Was there a Cowboy Times/Tony Romo love connection going on by shelling out $17 for him? To be fair, he was the seventh-most expensive QB, so glass half full he was fairly slotted relatively.
I labeled Romo as a player for whom I overpaid, but there was a reason for it. I actually don't normally take too many Cowboys players, but Romo was the last quarterback remaining in my second tier. I thought the drop between him and a guy like Ben Roethlisberger was pretty great, so I overspent a bit to get him. However, had I known Matt Ryan would get drafted for $12 and Philip Rivers for $9, I would have passed on Romo.
You spent $86 on WRs, and only one of them is universally considered a sure thing. You certainly seemed to get good value on Jordy Nelson as the 21st-most expensive WR, then paired up Heyward-Bey and DeSean Jackson to round out the top 30. There’s certainly a lot of appeal with this group, but do you have any doubts about them outside of Fitzgerald?
There are always doubts, but I thought DeSean, Jordy, and Darrius were all really good values. DeSean was so cheap because he doesn't catch a lot of passes. In a novice PPR league, he would get overvalued. In this expert PPR league, however, I sometimes feel owners unfairly downgrade players who don't catch a lot of passes. If Jackson hauls in 65 receptions this year, I think he'll be top five in yards. Even in PPR, I think he has top 10 potential with a floor that's higher than most believe. At $12, I couldn't pass up the upside.
Jordy Nelson is one of those guys whose play will regress some in 2012, but I don't think it will decline to the extent that many believe. His efficiency was off of the charts last year, and that won't be reproduced. Nelson had only 93 targets in 2011, however, and I think a modest increase in targets should compensate for at least some of the projected decline in efficiency. Plus, he plays in an explosive offense where he'll rarely see double coverage. He's not a big risk, in my opinion. Even if he doesn't recreate his 2012 season, I still think he's worth the $20.
Darrius is another guy who isn't suited for PPR, but whose value subsequently dropped too far because of it, in my view. Amazing upside without too much risk.
Who was the most overpriced player and who was the steal of the draft?
I think the most overpriced player was DeMarco Murray at $40. I just don't think he'll see the touches necessary to be a legitimate RB1. He went for $1 more than Maurice Jones-Drew.
The steal of the draft was Mike Wallace. At $25, he cost less than Kenny Britt, Jeremy Maclin, Dez Bryant, and Victor Cruz. I'm actually projected Wallace to lead the league in yards, and if I was in a position to get him, I would have bid up to about $35.
Scott Spratt:
You blew a whopping $95 on WRs, and a total of $125 on pass catchers with Gronkowski and Keller thrown into the mix. What was the strategy behind this?
The only real strategy I follow in an auction is to take the value that the other owners give to me. I had my board of prices, and I stuck to it. That does not usually manifest as a stars-and-scrubs draft, like the one I ended up with, but I think that just demonstrates the sophistication and experience of the other owners. They understood that, much of the time, the real value is found with the $5 and the $10 players rather than the $30 and $40 players.
Specifically, I spent $95 on receiver and $125 on pass catchers, but I had those receivers valued at a combined $125 and those pass catchers valued at $169. I believe the auction undervalued wide receivers, tight ends, and the elite quarterbacks and overvalued running backs. Based on my board, 35% or wide receivers, 55% of tight ends, and 30% of quarterbacks sold for a lower price than their value, and only 23% of running backs sold for a lower price than their value.
You must think that Gronkowski warrants the premium on what many to consider a deep position at TE. Why is this?
Because of our roster composition, I do not believe tight end is deep. This is a 12-team league that allows a tight end to play in the flex position. As I prepared, I estimated that 18 tight ends would be drafted. In fact, 20 were, and that eliminates the ability to find a reasonable sleeper on the waiver wire.
If you look at the scoring from last season given my assumptions, Gronkowski was worth $41 compared to the replacement option. I bought him for $27. That gives plenty of room for Gronkowski to have a lesser season than he did in 2011 and still provide a value.
Even the second tier of tight ends was far more productive than the replacement option in 2011. Then, Hernandez was worth $18, Gonzalez $17, and Witten $16. They sold for $16, $6, and $12, respectively. Even Graham, who sold for $31, came in under his $33 value from 2011. I was pleased to have netted Gronkowski for $4 less than Graham sold. I know that some analysts believe that Graham will outperform Gronkowski in 2012, but last season, the $8 discrepancy in their value was the same as the full season of production of either Michael Vick or LaGarrette Blount. Put differently, Gronkowski would have needed to lose 7 of his 18 touchdowns to fall below Graham. I think it is smart to prefer Graham if he is going significantly cheaper than Gronkowski, but if you are willing to pay more for him than for Gronkowski, I think you are over thinking it.
After Maurice Jones-Drew, you have McKnight, Pead, James, and Goodson as your RBs. Are you confident that one emerges from the bunch to be able to slide them into your RB2 slot?
No, I am not confident in the specific backs I selected after Maurice-Jones Drew. In fact, I had them all listed as $1 players and yet paid a combined $8 for them. When LeSean McCoy and Arian Foster sold for $53 and $61 to start the draft–players I had valued at $42 and $45, respectively–I knew that running backs were probably going to sell for prices higher than on my board. That is why a jumped on Jones-Drew at $39 at only a $1 surplus on my value for him of $40, a decision I felt was justified when Murray, Chris Johnson, Forte, Mathews, and McFadden all sold for more. In redraft, I believe Jones-Drew is the clear-cut No. 4 back, but he went as the No. 9 back by price.
I was still flexible after I paid for Jones-Drew and then Welker and White, but then I felt I had to bid on Stafford, Wallace, and Gronkowski because of their presented values. By my board, I captured $24 of surplus value on those three players. That left me with $22 to spend on 10 remaining roster spots, and that priced me out of all of the decent running back options. I needed $1 more to make a max bid on Michael Turner, who I thought was a steal at $13. I hoped to land a player like DeAngelo Williams or Pierre Thomas and net at least 150 or so guaranteed touches, but I was outbid. I tried to grab Ryan Williams, a personal favorite, but Akshay denied me. I even tried to handcuff Jones-Drew, but Jennings sold for $7, the same price as Eli Manning.
McKnight is the back I'm looking to for my production baseline at RB2. LaDainian Tomlinson had 52 receptions in 2010 and 42 receptions in 2011. Even if McKnight fails to crack 100 total touches, if he can catch 35-45 passes, he should net me 4 or 5 fantasy points per week. With elite options and quality depth at every other position, I will be fine with that. With the rest of my backfield, I tried to swing for the fences. With an injury to any of their starters, I believe that Pead, James, and Goodson could become a legitimate RB2, and I plan to replace some of them with players from the wire as new work presents itself.
Who was the most overpriced player and who was the steal of the draft?
Based on my board, I have Dwayne Bowe as the steal of the draft. He sold for $18, and I had him listed at $33. Gronkowski, Steve Smith, and Michael Turner were the other three players that provided a surplus value in double digits.
I have DeMarco Murray and Chris Johnson tied as my most overvalued players. They sold for $40 and $47, and I had them listed at $21 and $28, respectively. Running backs, in general, were overvalued. 18 of the 23 most overvalued players by my board were running backs.
Alex Miglio:
You certainly put a lot of stock into the PPR settings by drafting only pass-catching RBs. Obviously the catches give them a nice boost, but are you concerned that any of them might not see enough touches to return the value you paid for them?
I am not terribly concerned, but C.J. Spiller could cut into Fred Jackson's playing time and LeGarrette Blount could cut into Doug Martin's playing time a bit. I think Darren Sproles is a lock for 80-plus catches barring injury, so there are no concerns there, even though New Orleans' backfield is a hydra. If he does get hurt, I have the underrated Pierre Thomas as well to back him up.
Marshall was the 12th-most expensive WR, and Decker was the 32nd. It’s going to be pretty tough for those two not to combine to return that value. After that, you’re sitting on Denarius Moore, Brandon LaFell, and Leonard Hankerson. They’re certainly all nice high-upside plays, but do you have any fear that all three might strike out?
Somewhat, but all of those guys are starters on their respective teams. They also have some pretty good quarterbacks—yes, I consider Carson Palmer pretty good, especially considering he loves Moore. I'm banking on at least one of them panning out if not all three.
Aaron Rodgers ended up as the most expensive QB, but you seemed surprised at the price he went for. So be honest, did you intend to own him, or did he just sort of fall into your lap?
Truthfully… I did not expect to land him for a mere $36. As it turns out, that was pretty expensive for a quarterback in this draft. Being that he was the first one nominated, I thought I had gotten a great deal on him at the time—I've seen him go for over $50 elsewhere. As it turns out, Rodgers was the most expensive player I paid for, which allowed me to do well at other positions.
I only bid on him there because I was comfortable winning him, though. It forced me to adjust my strategy elsewhere—I had to settle for cheaper receivers, which turned out just fine.
Who was the most overpriced player and who was the steal of the draft?
All things considered, Rodgers turned out to be the most overpriced player. I think Austin had the steal of the draft at quarterback in general, getting Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger for a combined $11.
Kevin Greenstein:
You only got one top RB in Murray, and the rest of your position is filled with super back-ups like Spiller, Stewart, Tate, Jones and LeShoure. Do you have any concerns about production, or do you figure at least one of them has to emerge as a productive every week back as the season goes on?
I think top-tier RB's are incredibly valuable, but also highly unpredictable. The list of elite RB's changes rapidly, and I chose instead to focus on putting together a really talented, deep team that can withstand injuries (except maybe at QB) and production volatility. From top to bottom, I was very happy with the way the team came together. That said, don't be surprised when Murray is a top-10 RB and 2 of Tate/Stewart/Spiller/LeShoure sneak into the top 15. All four are terrific talents.
Aaron Hernandez came off the board as the third most expensive TE. You must have high expectations of him, even with the addition of Brandon Lloyd to that offense.
After seeing what we did with Chad Ochocinco in New England, is there any reason to believe that Brandon Lloyd (at best an average route-runner) will thrive. Hernandez is a critical part of the Patriots’ offense, should be a top-10 TE easily (probably top 5), and will compete with Jimmy Graham for #1 overall if Gronkowski misses more time for injury (his history and style suggests that's likely). And Jared Cook is another likely top-10 TE, quite a steal at $3.
Mark Sanchez of all QBs to be your QB2 this year. How soon do you expect to drop him?
If Tebow pushes Sanchez in a positive way, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see him push his way into the top half of fantasy QB's. He's very talented, and although it wasn't what I'd intended to do there (I meant to nominate Greg Olsen) I am fine with Sanchez's upside at QB2.
Who was the most overpriced player and who was the steal of the draft?
Overpriced is Matt Forte. With each day that passes, it becomes more likely that Michael Bush will be the Bears' most valuable RB, especially if Forte misses training camp and preseason. (Editor's note: this is now a moot point with Forte signing a longterm deal.)
Underpriced, there were a lot of late values because of the money spent early on for RB's. On my team, really happy to get Matt Ryan for the price I did, and Cook/Tate could easily turn out to be the steals of the draft.
Bryan Fontaine:
As the Dynasty Editor, it should not be too surprising that you went with youthful upside. Is this a strategy of yours, or do you just drift towards the younger players because that is where your focus lies?
I do focus on younger players a lot more because of my dynasty focus, but I think I am more mindful during a redraft league/auction where a player is in their career. Part of my projections and rankings build in probabilities that a player will continue to be successful based on age, position and track record. Looking back at my auction, I did end up with a younger team with the exception of Philip Rivers.
You made Jimmy Graham the most expensive TE in the draft, as expected. Why do you believe he is worth so much more than the rest of the TE group not named Rob Gronkowski?
Honestly, I had Jimmy Graham with an even higher auction price tag than $31. I did not set out to win Graham when he was nominated, but felt I could not pass up the value on my board. In a 12-team league, Graham can provide a competitive advantage each week at the TE position even if he comes within 80% of what he did last season. Because Graham plays in space so often (50% of snaps last year in the slot or out wide), the Saints can maximize matchups and isolate him a lot easier. I have him fairly even with Rob Gronkowski on my board, and I would not fault anyone who had one ranked higher than the other.
You avoided the stud RBs, and still managed to end up with a decent crop of more boring players at the position. That being said, Greene is the only one that seems to be the unquestioned starter on his team. What is your outlook on the rest of the group?
I actually feel confident in my running backs, especially given the amount of stud wide receivers I was able to land as result. The pendulum is swinging back to stud running backs early in fantasy football drafts and auctions, but I still prefer to zig when everyone else is zagging. I had Donald Brown, Roy Helu and Shonn Greene ranked in my top-20 running backs. The combined auction value was the equivalent of a player like Chris Johnson, and I then minimized my risk if injury strikes. I really think Toby Gerhart will be a flex level player in relief of Adrian Peterson, and I am one of the biggest Jacquizz Rodgers fans out there this season in PPR leagues.
Who was the most overpriced player and who was the steal of the draft?
It was hard to find an overpriced player in this draft, but ultimately I went with Adrian Peterson at $33 as the RB13. There is no doubting Peterson should be an early first round pick when healthy. I just do not think we are going to see the regular Peterson this year, and it will be tough to recoup those auction dollars if Toby Gerhart is seeing a lot of snaps. As for the steal of the draft, I have to give that to Kevin Greenstein getting Jonathan Stewart for just $9. Seeing how I paid $12 for Donald Brown just a few player nominations later, I would love to go back and have a chance at Stewart. Even in a timeshare with DeAngelo Williams, Stewart can at least be a flex option each week in your starting lineup.
Austin Lee:
You scored Eli and Roethlisberger for a combined $11. How pleased were you about that?
Getting this pair of quarterbacks for $11 was my favorite value of the draft. I have Eli and Big Ben at 8th and 11th in my quarterback rankings, and with 13 other quarterbacks going for more than $7 each, this pairing was a steal.
I don't have one of the stud quarterbacks, but that was in my game plan coming into the draft. I'd rather save that money for other value picks, like landing Michael Turner as my flex for $13.
Matt Forte as the 7th most expensive RB in the draft. Any holdout (or holdout related) fears or loss of touches with Michael Bush in town?
Forte is the 6th running back on my board in PPR leagues because a potential holdout and Michael Bush don't concern me.
The new CBA makes holding out a lot less beneficial for the player than the terms from a couple of years ago. We're not looking at a Vincent-Jackson-esque situation where Forte is going to sit at home for the first 10 weeks of the season only to show up for one play and get hurt for the rest of the year. Forte will be ready for opening day.
Last year Forte had the 7th most PPG among running backs in PPR leagues despite Marion Barber averaging more than 10 touches per game and getting the majority of the goal line work. Even if Bush gets a couple more touches per game than Barber did, I see the Bears' offense progressing enough this year that Forte will get plenty of opportunities. This year will be the fourth time in five years that he will finish in the top 10 in PPG.
Sidney Rice is your WR3 and Santonio Holmes is your WR4, based on price. One has headaches and the other is a headache. Do you think either emerges to fill the role of WR3 for your squad?
I'm actually more concerned about my WR2 than my WR3. I intended for Pierre Garcon to be my WR3 when I drafted him for $12, but I waited too long to grab a $20 wideout as my WR2. I thought I could nab Antonio Brown for $20 or less, but Bryan Fontaine had the same plan and more money to burn. It served as another reminder that you don't want to count on landing the last 1-2 players in a tier. You'll end up in a bidding war.
I feel pretty confident that Rice, Holmes, or Austin Collie will fill the WR3 slot nicely. The bigger question is whether one of those guys will emerge to outperform Garcon as my WR2.
Who was the most overpriced player and who was the steal of the draft?
For overpriced, I'm going to ignore all of the final picks where people threw leftover money at players that ordinarily would have been $1 (i.e. Mike Nugent for $13).
Adrian Peterson for $33 and James Starks for $15 both stand out to me as overpriced. I'm not buying Peterson's miraculous recovery, and at 28 years old, he's entering the decline years for running backs. Starks already had his shot and didn't do much with it. I don't think he's a viable flex play even with Ryan Grant gone.
I like BenJarvus Green-Ellis for $6 as the steal of the draft. That's a good value for Cedric-Benson-like flex numbers that will consistently outperform wideouts and other running backs that were purchased for a similar price.
Jeff Ratcliffe:
It looks like you tried to grab at least one stud at every position, drafting Newton, McFadden, Gates, and Maclin. Was this by design or did it just shake out that way?
This really wasn't by design. My intention was to grab value where I could, but other than that I had no real strategy entering this draft with the exception of getting at least one stud RB. I missed on a few, but was happy to grab McFadden. You mention Maclin, but I actually have Steve Smith higher in my rankings and Brandon Lloyd pretty close, so I'm very happy with the wideouts. Gates has been a priority for me in a lot of redrafts this year, and I liked his value, so I grabbed him. If anything, this shows that you don't necessarily have to go in to an auction with a formula that you plan to follow. Flexibility and improvisation can yield positive results. I will warn folks with little or no auction experience against this, however, as it really pays to have a bunch of auctions under your belt.
You invested a decent amount into WRs, with three WRs over $15 and exactly a third of your budget on WRs. Did the PPR format and starting WR requirements dictate this, or did you just like the values on the guys you drafted?
I felt there was solid value with these guys, and in this format I would prefer having three strong options that I can roll out at WR each week. Admittedly, I'm weak at RB, but the positional advantage I figure to have at WR should more than make up for the disadvantage at RB.
How confident are you in your RBs with McFadden and Gore as your top two backs, and only David Wilson, Bernard Scott, and Rashad Jennings backing them up?
I know the concerns with McFadden and injury, but I feel the whole risky RB argument has been a bit overblown this season. In McFadden, you get a guy who has elite-level upside, and I got him without that elite price tag. As for Gore, it looks like that downward spiral has begun, but he can still be productive as an RB2. I'm thin behind him and have to hope for one of my backups to hit. Scott hasn't shown much yet in his time with the Bengals, but I still want to believe he can be more than just a change of pace guy. Wilson is a rookie with potential, but we have to see him work his way on the field. And Jennings is a serious talent, but is obviously behind MJD on the depth chart. Still, this is nothing new in fantasy football. Every season you look to hit on your deeper guys, and I tried to grab a few that I felt had a chance to hit.
Who was the most overpriced player and who was the steal of the draft?
Matt Forte at $43 was a bit too expensive for my liking. Tom Brady was a crazy steal at $27.
Akshay Anand:
With Jamaal Charles as your RB1, how confident are you that he’ll return value on his top 10 price?
In a PPR format, I think Charles will get me RB1 value. Todd Haley is out of town (Charles hater!), and I'm hoping Crennel has enough sense to let Charles do his thing, even inside the 5. I know ACL injuries can be tough to come back from, but by all accounts he's progressing well, and if he can get me anything close to 2010 where he put up nearly 2,000 total yards and 45 catches, I'll be happy. I'm okay with the value considering Lynch went for $32, McFadden went for $43, SJax went for $37, and I got Charles for $38.
You filled the rest of the position with low cost RBs who are considered the starters on their respective teams. Did you plan to draft this way, or did you just like the values you were getting?
I didn't really plan to draft this way; truthfully, I was targeting another $30 range RB like DeMarco Murray, but when he went for $40, I figured I'd play it a bit different and get a bunch of RBs who are capable of getting good reps at a solid price. Redman, Starks, and Ridley are all slated to start on their respective teams, and I got them all for a combined $32. I like Ryan Williams as a pass catching complement with decent potential sitting next to an injury prone Beanie Wells. I think a couple of those guys can pan out and I'll be sitting pretty in the RB department. As we all know, a big part of fantasy is depth, and I do well every year by having solid RB depth.
You’re a Patriots fan, and as such made Tom Brady the third most expensive QB in the draft. Do you think he returns profit on that value?
I don't mind Brady as the 3rd most expensive QB. He was a buck more than Brees, but I actually think Brady might outperform Brees this year with a Lloyd/Welker/Gronkowski/Hernandez combo. Looking back, had I known Eli would have gone for a paltry $7 I would have waited, but I'm not unhappy with the value. I'm almost positive he'll be a top 5 QB if he stays healthy, and it wouldn't surprise me if he was #1 or #2.
Who was the most overpriced player and who was the steal of the draft?
Overpriced: Either SJax at $37 (sorry bud), Greg Jennings at $30 (for perspective, I got Andre for $31 and Dez for $31 and I like both better), or Doug Martin at $27. Steal: pick a QB. A lot of good TE values too: Finley at $11, Witten at $12. I also dig the Lloyd for $18.
Mike Clay:
You certainly don’t expect Victor Cruz to slow down this year, paying a top five WR price for him (which matches up with your top five projection). A year after wanting nothing to do with him last preseason, why are you so high on him this year?
Did anyone want or draft Cruz last season? I was extremely high on Mario Manningham (top-12 high) last year, but it turned out that I had the wrong Giants WR on my radar. Eli Manning loves his slot receiver and I should've known Cruz was set for a breakout. Regardless, when you consider that Manning consistently kept both Hakeem Nicks and Steve Smith on the fantasy radar, it's safe to say that Cruz will continue to make a big impact. I may have overpaid a tiny bit, but I had some cash to spare at the position.
After Mathews, you’ve certainly got a lot of question marks at RB. I certainly don’t have any problems with the value you got on any of your RBs, but you have to be a little concerned with production, don’t you?
Yes, the staff did an outstanding job not overpaying on anyone, so waiting to get a value at running back (a strategy that usually works) failed miserably. That said, I love Ryan Mathews as my RB1. I'm high on Jahvid Best in PPR, so he's fine at RB2. Mark Ingram is a strong flex play (although he loses some value in PPR), while Michael Bush and LeGarrette Blount provide plenty of depth.
With three starting WRs plus a flex, there’s not that much depth to be had at the position. That being said, how comfortable are you with the three potential WR3s you have him Meachem, Moore, and Washington?
I won't need a WR in the Flex most weeks, so I really only need to fill one spot at WR behind Cruz and Harvin. I'm very high on Robert Meachem this year, so he's the favorite for that job most weeks. Lance Moore is being overlooked as a solid WR3 this year. Washington is nothing to get excited about, but he adds some depth.
Who was the most overpriced player and who was the steal of the draft?
I think Jonathan Stewart, although he's really only a RB2/Flex guy, was the best value. Kevin paid just $9 for this guy and he's worth closer to $20. One bid that really stands out as a poor one was Matt Schaub. At $10, he was the tenth-highest paid quarterback. He's barely worth $2-3.
Eric Yeomans:
When you spend $61 on Foster, how do you let Tate go elsewhere for $5?
When you run out of money and can’t go passed $4, that’s how. Truth be told, I don’t like handcuffs all that much, and would rather diversify my fantasy portfolio and shoot for upside rather than safety. There’s nothing worse than being handcuffed to a guy on your bench just in case your starter gets injured. Tate certainly has value, even if he’s the number two guy, so I’m not shying away from having him on my bench, but I certainly don’t need it.
Do you think your WR corps is good enough for your team to compete? Seems like you've put way too much pressure on three guys (Foster, Richardson, Jackson) and neglected WR. In today's pass-heavy NFL, that's very dangerous.
I absolutely think my WR corps is good enough to compete. Today’s pass-heavy NFL has made the WR pool as deep as ever, and my roster shows that. With a core of Wayne, Little and Williams tabbed as my starters, and upside guys like Quick, Sanders, and Doug Baldwin on my bench, I’m sure to field competitive WRs while having the strongest RBs, a top QB, and a top TE to go along with them.
You went very top-heavy at RB, and don’t seem to have any backup plans on the bench if any of them go down. With an old RB like Jackson and an unproven rookie in Richardson, do you wish you stocked up on additional RB depth?
In hindsight, if I had known nobody was going to ridiculously overspend on anyone, I may have waited it out and stocked up a little more. That being said, I like to maximize my starting lineup, and feel that I did that. I only need to start two RBs every week, and I have three RBs I consider RB1s. I also think that Hunter may take the next step this year, while Kevin Smith showed us what he can do when given the opportunity. Both are lottery tickets, but they each come with a decent potential to put up solid numbers if given the opportunity.
Who was the most overpriced player and who was the steal of the draft?
The most overpriced player was Doug Martin at $27. At that price, Alex is banking on Martin being the unquestioned RB leader in the Tampa Bay backfield. The steal of the draft was Alex coming back and getting Tony Gonzalez for $6, with 12 other TEs going for as much or more as he did.
So there you have it. You’ve seen the strategy pieces, you’ve seen everyone’s results, and you’ve seen what they all had to say about the auction. If this converts even one fantasy manager to convert to an auction format, I’d say it’s done its job.
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