During the fantasy football off-season I’ve been getting questions regarding draft strategies in 2-QB dynasty leagues and 2-QB auction drafts. Neither format is one I’ve had much experience with during my 2-QB playing days, but they both intrigued me enough that I decided to do some research and learn more about the world of 2-QB dynasty and 2-QB auction leagues.
If you missed my foray into the world of 2-QB dynasty leagues, you can check out my article about what happened when I walked through the door and into the crazy world of 2-QB dynasty leagues. Today, with the help of my fellow Sports Jerk, Rich Hribar, I delve into the wild world of 2-QB auction leagues.
Before I do so, I’d be remiss not to mention an article about 2-QB fantasy football and auction leagues written by Joshua Berger of twoqbs.com. He seems to have much more experience with 2-QB auction leagues than me, so I recommend reading his article, if you want to learn more about 2-QB auction leagues.
Experience dealing with auction leagues is something Rich is experienced with, and he was a big help putting this article together, as he provided me his projections for the 2013 season, and alongside those projections he also put together auction money values.
Rich was kind enough to let me share his projections and auction money values for the quarterback position with you, and he has plans on unleashing his very own projections for other positions at some point in the future, right here on Sports Jerks, so keep an eye on that.
Below you’ll see two charts; one has projections and auction money value for 4 points/passing touchdown leagues, and the other is for 6 points/passing touchdown leagues.
Each of Rich’s projections are based on the following starting format: 2-QB/2-RB/3-WR/1-TE/2-Flex (RB/WR/TE)/1-D/ST, to go along with three bench spots. And the projections are also based on a .5PPR scoring setting; everything else about them is pretty standard. The spending budget for each set of projections/values is $200, and they are for 12-team 2-QB auction leagues.
Without making you wait any longer, here are Rich’s 2-QB Auction Projections and Money Values:
What I wanted to do with these 2-QB based quarterback auction values, is go over some strategies you could utilize in 2-QB auction mocks, which you can find below. Just to note, I’m only going to be dealing with the 6-points/passing TD auction values.
2-QB Auction Strategies
Stars and Scrubs
The ‘Stars and Scrubs’ approach to 2-QB auction drafts is one that was pointed out to me by Greg Smith of TheFakeFootball.com, and is one that is similar to what I have been preaching in 12-team snake 2-QB drafts. And that is how you should draft at least one of the top fantasy quarterbacks to be your QB1 early, usually within the first three rounds, depending on your league settings.
If you can anchor your team with a top QB1, it will put less pressure on you to draft another top signal caller to be your QB2, while also allowing you an opportunity to put together a very strong roster overall. If you go with this particular 2-QB auction strategy you should decide who your top 12 QB1 options are, 10 if you’re in a 10-team 2-QB league, and decide how much you’re willing to spend on those quarterbacks.
The difference in money values between Rich’s QB1 (Aaron Rodgers) and QB12 (Andrew Luck) is $20. If you have no preference in who winds up being your QB1, that will give you flexibility during the auction process, and provide you with leeway when bidding on other positions.
Once your QB1 has been won, you can shift your attention to the ‘Dollar Value Menu’, and pinpoint which ‘scrubs’ you want to target as your QB2. You’re mainly looking at the quarterbacks that aren’t going to be highly targeted, like Kevin Kolb or Matt Flynn. The ‘Stars and Scrubs’ strategy isn’t glitzy, but it’s one to try out if you don’t want to blow all your cash on two of the elite starting fantasy quarterbacks.
Studs and Streaming
I’ve highlighted how a ‘Studs and Streaming’ draft strategy in 10-team 2-QB fantasy football drafts is one that could be very attractive to fantasy footballers this year, and it’s a draft strategy that can translate to the auction world.
The ‘Stars and Scrubs’ and ‘Studs and Streaming’ strategies may look similar to you, except that the difference lies in how much you’ll be spending on your QB2/QB3. If you’re looking to grab two complementary quarterbacks to team up with your QB1, you’re going to have to spend more on the quarterback position in an auction draft, than you would in a snake draft.
That’s were this particular strategy could be limited, as ‘streaming’ quarterbacks to target, such as Alex Smith, Josh Freeman, or Sam Bradford, aren’t going to come cheap. They’re going to sought after in 2-QB auction drafts, and you could very well wind up spending more money than you had bargained for on your quarterbacks.
However, for example, pairing up Ben Roethlisberger with Ryan Tannehill, could be cheaper than bidding on Drew Brees, so it has potential to be a viable 2-QB auction strategy. If the bidding does get out of your price range, the ‘Studs and Streaming’ strategy could easily be altered to a ‘Stars and Scrubs’ strategy.
Scrubs, Scrubs, Scrubs
Some fantasy football drafters take their real life personalities into the draft room, and a trait that many have talked about when it comes to auction drafts is frugality. If you’re a cheapskate in real life, and take your penny pinching ways with you into your 2-QB auction draft, then the ‘Scrubs, Scrubs, Scrubs’ 2-QB auction strategy could be for you.
With this approach to 2-QB auction drafts, you’re saving your money so that you can spend it on every position, but the quarterback position. That means you’re going after the Adrian Petersons, Jimmy Grahams, and Calvin Johnsons. Spending so much more money everywhere except at quarterback will leave you having to buy off the quarterback ‘Dollar Value Menu.’
Looking at Rich’s quarterback auction money values, that means you’re going to be going dumpster diving for quarterbacks such as Blaine Gabbert, Matt Flynn or E.J. Manuel.
If you think you can handle a 2-QB fantasy football team in which your weekly starting quarterbacks are Gabbert and Flynn, then all the power to you. Some 2-QB owners prefer to stack their team, at the expense of their quarterbacks, and if that’s your general 2-QB drafting strategy, then you might want to take down that TLC poster hanging on your wall.
Nothing But Studs
I saved the ‘Nothing But Stands’ 2-QB auction strategy until the end, because it’s one that I don’t think will result in you fielding a competitive team. If your only goal in a 2-QB auction draft is to win two of the top quarterbacks, the rest of your team will suffer. How can it not?
In order to get two quarterbacks out of the Rodgers, Brees, Peyton Manning, Newton, Stafford, et al., crowd, you’re going to have to spend a lot of money to do so. Those guys aren’t coming cheap, and will probably wind up costing you around 50% of your total spending budget.
Do you really want to have two players account for half of your team’s spending budget? Just imagine a scenario in which you have Rodgers and Russell Wilson as your QB1 and QB2. That’s a dream scenario, for some 2-QB owners. But then try and picture who the RBs, WRs, and TEs will be surrounding Rogers and Wilson. Ryan Mathews, Denarius Moore, and Owen Daniels, maybe? That dream scenario quickly turned into a nightmare, didn’t it?
Concluding Thoughts on 2-QB Auction Strategies
When trying to decide how much you want to spend on your starting quarterbacks in a 2-QB fantasy football auction draft you have to decide just how valuable you think the position is. Adding one extra starting position to any fantasy football roster in an auction draft is going to force you to dedicate more money to that position, and therefore leave you with less money to spend on the rest of your roster.
The 2013 season is going to be deep at the quarterback position in fantasy football, and knowing that, you could take a risk and gamble on some of the less heralded quarterbacks, like Carson Palmer or Alex Smith, and hope that they can return a high investment.
Spending 23% of your budget on Aaron Rodgers, based on Rich’s $47 price for him, would mean that you would be dedicating a lot of your resources on your QB1. But, what if you went with Palmer, and his $15 price tag, as your QB1? Spending 16% less on Palmer, than you would on Rodgers, means you’re freeing up a lot of money to utilize on other positions for your team. You have to make every dollar count in a 2-QB auction draft, and that could be the difference of having Doug Martin as your RB1, rather than Montee Ball.
One thing you should keep in mind when going into your 2-QB auction draft is to have an open mind and be flexible. Don’t stick with just one strategy, and decide that you’re only going to bid on stud quarterbacks. Sure, it would be awesome if you walked out of the draft with Rodgers and Brees as your starting quarterback duo, but would they be worth the money you would have to give up to get them?
You have to assess your auction room, and make the most of your situation. If a strategy you deemed worthy of contention turns out to fully blow up in your face, don’t panic. Not being tied down to one strategy will allow you to re-group, and switch your focus on another. Even if it means pinning your hopes on a lesser quarterback.
I’ve only gone over a few 2-QB auction strategies, and I’m sure there are more out there. Everybody’s value of the quarterback position is going to be different, and if you don’t agree with Rich’s values, create your own values. Decide how much you want to spend on each position for your 2-QB auction draft, and figure out your own values for each player. That will help you formulate a 2-QB auction draft that you deem to be a winner, and should hopefully make your 2-QB auction draft a success!
Rich and I will be putting his auction money values to the test in a live 2-QB auction mock draft for Sports Jerks, and once the results are in, look for a follow-up article from me. In the meantime, if you have a 2-QB auction draft coming up, have fun with it, and good luck!
