Fantasy Football Auction Strategy: How to Budget, Position By Position

Once you experience an auction fantasy football draft, it’s difficult to go away from the format. The auction allows you to get any player you want and involves a lot of strategy and thought. In a snake draft with pick 12, there’s almost no chance to get Bijan Robinson or Ja’Marr Chase. In an auction, it’s possible to get both.

Of course, there is a budget to acquire the players. Most formats use $100 or $200 to build the whole roster. While there are different strategies to put together a team, creating a budget before the draft is one of the best ways to formulate a plan. Going into an auction with no plan is a recipe for failure. If you need auction values for each player, here’s a guide.

Like anything in life, flexibility is key. The blueprint going into the auction helps set a baseline, but if anyone has been in an auction, it’s unpredictable, and pivoting off the plan can happen quickly. Every room is different. By setting a budget for each position, it provides a shell and several players in the target area.

Adjusting Your Budget In Auction Fantasy Football Leagues

That's where the importance of adjusting on the fly comes in. For example, two running backs land on your team for $3-$4 less than the allocated money before the draft, now that’s extra money to spend at WR or TE.

Some people like to go with a stars and scrubs approach in which big money is spent on three to four players, and the rest of the players are cheap. Others like to spread the money around and go with mid-priced players.

The early portion of the auction can give you a gauge of whether people are spending too much or too little. The plan might not include Ja’Marr Chase since the $60 you have for him is above the plan. He is thrown out early, and the room is quiet. Now, he’s on your team for $55.

This is where flexibility on the fly is key. Time to shift the plan around and allocate money to different spots. In another instance, several players go way above, and managers are spending a lot early. This means bargains are going to come. Reading the room is critical to success.

There are many different formats and starting lineups. Some start two wide receivers, others start three, some have one flex, and others start two. Make sure the budget is adjusted to your league rules.

Plan to spend 85-90% on your starters. A lot of good late-round targets will go for $1-$5 to fill out the bench.

Allocating Auction Draft Budget By Position

Quarterback

The plan is simple at quarterback. Only the elite quarterbacks go for a high amount. The top four or five tend to go around $25-$30. If Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, or Jayden Daniels are one of the targets, prepare to spend that much. The problem with paying for an upper-tier quarterback is the restrictions it puts on other positions.

While it’s great to have Allen or Jackson on the team, there will be plenty of cheaper options that produce value. Over the last few seasons, several quarterbacks went for less than $10 and produced more than 20 fantasy points per game. Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, and Jared Goff are examples from last season.

If the plan is to stay away from spending on the top quarterbacks, nominate them early to get money off the table. It also provides a glimpse into what others want to spend at the position. If everyone else has the same mentality and doesn’t want to spend, it might result in a below-market price for an elite player. Most quarterbacks will be cheap and not take up much of the budget. This is a good year for the cheap quarterbacks in auctions. Going with this strategy can be a spend of 5-7%.

Running Back

This is one of the positions to spend. If going cheap at quarterback and tight end, the range could be anywhere from 40-45%. Spending on a top-tier quarterback or tight end will cut it to 35-40%.

There weren’t as many injuries at the position last season compared to recent years. It’s unlikely to repeat, and depth is important at running back. Allocate a certain percentage for the RB1 and RB2 spots and the bench spots.

When placing a percentage at a specific spot, list a few players to target. For example, if Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, or Saquon Barkley are the goal, prepare to spend around 25% of the budget. If the first one is thrown out and well below the money allocated for him, jump in quickly. If the price is way over the budget, it’s time to pivot and move that money elsewhere.

Another option is to get two running backs for the same percentage. In this case, it might be $30 on one where you list three to four running back targets and then another one at $20 with several targets. If the top running back acquired is $32, then the next one might be $18. For each running back slot, have an estimated range of money with three to five players in the tier. There are constant adjustments based on the money spent, and the budget is a guideline. It’s fine to make pivots, and it will usually always happen.

Wide Receiver

This is another position to spend on. Similar to running back, if going cheat at quarterback and tight end, 40-45% is possible. If starting three wide receivers with a flex in a PPR format, it’s important to be strong at receiver.

Slot an approximate price for each receiver spot. Then list three to four players as targets for each. Focusing on spending the majority of the starting positions usually works the best. There will be a lot of cheap options at the end of the auction to fill out the bench. Remember, each move you make affects the next move based on the amount spent.

If the plan calls for taking one of the elite receivers and they go for much more than the values you have, move down to the next tier and shift the money accordingly. The goal is to get value with as many picks as possible.

Experiment with different builds and see what works best. There could be several receivers you are higher than the market on in the $20-$40 range, and you can target three or four of them. The money allocation comes down to the players preferred by each person.

Tight End

Tight end is similar to quarterback. If the elite tight end is a target, it’s going to take around 10-15%. If that is too expensive, then there isn't a need to allocate much money to the position. It’s possible to get a tight end at 5% or lower. If there are enough bench spots, getting a second one for the bench could work, too. Make sure to spend all the money. Leaving money on the table is a mistake and is often a reason to go the extra buck or two in the early part of the auction to land an elite player.

Kicker and Defense

There’s no need to invest much here. Let someone else go to $2 or $3 in the middle of the auction. Going $1 on each is the way to go. There will always be players on waivers for these positions, and streaming is viable.