Planning for Auction Success

Photo: USA Today Sports

Auction Day is getting closer. The anticipation and excitement are building. By far, the most enjoyable fantasy day of the season (aside from winning the championship) is the day where you build your team. You have done all of your homework and you have a plan - or two - or three. Now you are getting concerned about having done too much prep work and that you might be overthinking everything. Just what do you need to bring to Auction Day?

Rest easy - we have you covered here at Footballguys. From the Auction Primer to several questions on how to build your team (with answers) for this year, we have plenty of info. Here we are going to talk about how to enjoy your Auction Day and still feel like you have every piece of preparation that you need.

Here's what to bring for the auction:

1. Your budget list (more on that in a moment)

2. The list of every player, sorted by position, that is likely to be selected in the auction

3. Some way to keep track of all the teams and their budgets (Draft Dominator to the rescue here).

That's it. That's the list.

The good news is that all of this is available right here at Footballguys. The Draft Dominator is a great way to keep track of everything for your auction, and it can even generate your player list. A very good alternative is generating a Footballguys' Cheatsheet to cover all of the players. Those two tools should easily cover Items 2 and 3 above. Now let's get to the heart of the matter, your budget list - or should I say “lists”?

Have Several Plans

As outlined in Part 2 of the Auction Primer, you need to have several “Master Plans” for how your team can be constructed. To build the plan, you have to decide where you should best spend your budget. If you want to go for a top tailback and a top tight end and that is your “Plan A”, then you need to itemize your full roster and the associated prices for each player based on your overall goal. Budget for both your starters (at the skill positions) and your full roster. Odds are that about 80% of your budget should go towards the starting lineup, or you can just work backward with putting in $2 for each backup and see how that adds up. Have his plan on a sheet of paper for the draft - and guard it against lurking eyes.

So what happens on Auction Day if Plan A goes sideways? That's where having several Master Plans can help out immensely. Do a few worst-case scenarios and budget around those possibilities. If the stud running backs go for way too much, consider a Plan B with a stud at tight end and higher quality starters across the rest of the lineup. Plan C could even be if both of your top two options (stud running back, stud tight end) are no longer an option. Having multiple plans with budgets allocated for every draft spot can prevent a lot of anxiety when things possibly go awry.

The goal of the Master Plan sheets is to both spell out a budget for different scenarios and also to allocate your dollars in a worst-case possibility. As your auction progresses, it is paramount to add up your skill position starters as you go - or just keep track of the difference from your plan vs. what you actually spent. Take Plan A below, where you want a top tailback and a stud tight end. If you land both for a total of $95, you now are $5 richer for the rest of your starters or backups. Having baselines for each roster spot and also for your skill players gives you a frame of reference for budgeting to each group. Just keep adding and subtracting from your baseline, and as long as you are close to the original number you are in good shape. If you have a positive number after your skill players are all purchased, just add that number to your bench budget and proceed to crush the competition accordingly.

Take some of the stress and pressure off of yourself for Auction Day. It is the best day of your fantasy season - until you win it all in December. Plan accordingly, and enjoy it!

Plan A - Stud RB and Stud TE

Plan B - Stud TE

Plan C - Balanced Starters

Questions, suggestions, and comments are always welcome to pasquino@footballguys.com.

Follow @JeffPasquino