Auction fantasy football drafts are fun. There’s no denying that statement. It’s a fact. I don’t participate in many auction leagues, but I know many of you that do in the 2-QB fantasy football community.
Last year we went over some 2-QB auction values (provided by XN Sports’ own Rich Hribar) and then I came up with a few 2-QB strategies that we could potentially use. Then we took those 2-QB auction values and strategies, and put them to the test in a 2-QB auction mock draft.
This year I wanted to see what quarterback spending in 2-QB auctions looked like so I hosted a 2-QB auction mock draft with some Twitter followers. It was 12 teams, $200 budget, awarded 6 points/passing touchdown, and featured a .5 PPR setting.
It was kind of a mess, to be Canadian honest with you, as some drafters decided not to show up and others left during the draft. I eventually pulled the plug on the mock, but not before a majority of the top quarterbacks were selected.
*While you shouldn’t fully invest in the 2-QB auction mock values I’m about to go over I do feel we can take something of value away from what happened to better help you prepare for any upcoming 2-QB auction draft you’ll be participating in.
Below you can see how much was spent on quarterbacks in this 2-QB auction mock draft that had a budget of $200 ($$ highest to lowest):
Aaron Rodgers – $52
Drew Brees – $50
Peyton Manning – $50
Tony Romo – $40
Matt Ryan – $39
Jay Cutler – $38
Cam Newton – $37
Matthew Stafford – $37
Andrew Luck – $36
Tom Brady – $36
Robert Griffin III – $32
Nick Foles – $30
Colin Kaepernick – $27
Russell Wilson – $25
Ben Roethlisberger – $20
Alex Smith – $12
Ryan Tannehill – $12
Andy Dalton – $11
Johnny Manziel – $7
Geno Smith – $7
Carson Palmer – $7
Ryan Fitzpatrick – $6
Jake Locker – $5
Teddy Bridgewater – $4
Sam Bradford – $2
Josh McCown – $2
*Below are a few observations from this mock, using the 2-QB auction strategies that we came up with from last year:
Stars and Scrubs (Spend high on a QB1 and grab a cheap QB2)
In this auction, an example of this strategy, was me winning Nick Foles for $30 and Carson Palmer for $7. I was hoping to come away with one stud quarterback, and a couple of signal callers from the QB2 tier to stream, but wound up with only one QB2.
The price for Foles was a bit high, but I figured if I kept waiting to bid on a QB1 the price would skyrocket, and someone like Jay Cutler, who I like to target in snake drafts, went for $8 more than Foles. For a combined $37, I was able to get Foles and Palmer for a $1 less than Cutler.
Palmer is a quarterback I’m targeting as a QB2 in snake drafts, because I feel he can put up QB1 numbers this year (Denny Carter makes mention of Palmer’s strong fantasy finish last year), and it felt like he was undervalued at his final $7 price tag.
Drew Brees ($50) and Geno Smith ($7) is another example of this strategy that happened in this auction.
Studs and Streaming (Spend high on a QB1 and then bid on a couple of QB2s you can stream)
An example of this strategy was one team winning Philip Rivers for $21, Teddy Bridgewater for $4, and Josh McCown for $2. Rivers fills the QB1 slot, while Bridgewater and McCown will alternate at QB2. Adding Matt Cassel to this squad would have solidified the strategy, as it’s unclear if Bridgewater or Cassel will be starting. But, spending only $25 on three potentially quality starting quarterbacks was a savvy move.
Scrubs, Scrubs, Scrubs (Spend as little as possible on QBs)
If you want to cheap out on the quarterback position in a 2-QB auction so that you can go crazy on all the other positions then you’re going to want to target quarterbacks from the bottom of the QB2/top of the QB3 tier. That includes guys like Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jake Locker, Geno Smith, and Josh McCown, just to name a few.
One drafter in this auction went this route by winning Jake Locker for $5 and Sam Bradford for $2. Not the sexiest of quarterback duos, but each have the potential to be serviceable fantasy quarterbacks in 2014. Both combined for seven Top-12 fantasy quarterback finishes in limited action last season. If I were to go this route, I’d add a third or fourth cheap quarterback like Geno and McCown.
When you only spend $7 on your starting quarterbacks you should be able to field one of the top weekly lineups, if you used your money to acquire top-end players at other positions. That’s the drawing feature of this strategy, and is the equivalent of going LRQB in snake drafts.
In the case of the Locker/Bradford squad, the key components of his lineup are: Calvin Johnson, Keenan Allen, Montee Ball, Jamaal Charles, and Jimmy Graham. That’s the type of 2-QB lineup you can build if you don’t spend on quarterbacks in a 2-QB auction.
Nothing But Studs (Blow all your money on the QB1 and QB2 positions)
In the complete opposite spectrum of the Scrubs, Scrubs, Scrubs strategy we have the Nothing But Studs strategy, where you spend most of your money on quarterbacks.
Earlier you saw the big-three of Rodgers, Peyton, and Brees each went for $50 or more. Each player was won for 25 percent of the overall spending budget each team had in this auction.
One drafter doubled down on quarterbacks and actually wound up winning both Aaron Rodgers ($52) and Peyton Manning ($50). Spending $102 (or 50 percent) of your budget on two quarterbacks will make filling out the rest of your roster pretty difficult. You may be able to grab one or two other quality starters, but for the most part you’ll have to settle for the bargain bin players found in the clearance rack.
Concluding Thoughts
Out of all the different ways to build a 2-QB team in an auction draft, the Nothing But Studs strategy is an easy avoid for me. I’d rather put that money to better use by bidding on (and hopefully winning) top wide receivers and running backs, rather than two elite quarterbacks. You’re going to handcuff any opportunity you have to build a quality team if you spend half of your budget on quarterbacks.
Ideally, I’d like to win 2-4 quarterbacks who come at a reasonable price, and that I’d feel comfortable starting each week. Whether that’s by going Studs and Streaming, Stars and Scrubs, or Scrubs, Scrubs, Scrubs.
Foles and Palmer could be a more-than-serviceable duo each week, and at a combined cost of $37 I still had enough money left over to bid on players at other positions. That’s how I would approach a 2-QB auction draft, and feel it would lead to you coming away with a weekly competitive team.
Other quarterbacks and their prices I felt came at a decent value included: Russell Wilson ($25), Ben Roethlisberger ($20), Ryan Tannehill ($12), Alex Smith ($12), Andy Dalton ($11), Geno Smith ($7), Ryan Fitzpatrick ($6), Jake Locker ($5), and Josh McCown ($2). Winning a trio from that list would also give you some flexibility in terms of how you would build the rest of your roster.
Of course, every 2-QB auction is going to be different, and every fantasy drafter will have their own quarterback values. All you can do is determine how much you’d be willing to spend on each quarterback, and figure out a way to build the most balanced team possible that you can trot out each week with as few holes as possible.
As I mentioned last year, and earlier in this article, I’m not the most experienced when it comes to auction leagues. If you’re looking for more information about 2-QB auction leagues specifically, hit up Josh Berger on Twitter. Then check out his 2-QB auction values.
