“Wait a minute, so you’re telling me that I can have both Adrian Peterson and Arian Foster in this fantasy football draft?”
My friend nodded, a giant smile creeping across his face as he was starting to see the light turn on in my brain. I was giggling like an idiot at the possibility, akin to when Merry and Pippin found out in The Lord of the Rings that beer apparently comes in pints.
“I mean you could do that, but you’d be spending an awful lot of your budget on two players. You’ll need to figure out how to spread that amount of money on your entire team, Evan.”
The concept made sense. The year was 2012, and I was introduced to salary cap leagues for the very first time. Having only ever played in standard snake-style drafts before, the format was new to my addled little brain.
“Yeah, that is called a stars and scrubs team. You have a bunch of top-tier players you hope can carry your roster to the championship, and you take fliers on super-cheap players in hopes that one or two hit. It’s kind of risky, but you’ll have a hard time winning this league if you play it super safe”.
And just like that, the seed was planted in my brain.
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Fantasy Football Salary Cap Draft Strategy Advice
I’ve been a staunch supporter of salary cap leagues ever since I first dipped my toes in the water. Though I understand that navigating a standard draft is much easier, it never felt like I could customize my team the way that I truly wanted.
Instead of picking the players I was high on, it always felt like settling for whoever was on the board at my turn. I hated the feeling of being pigeon-holed into a particular style of team depending on draft order, and preferred the freedom to build things as I saw fit. After all, shouldn’t I be rewarded for knowing the player pool better than everyone else?
Pre-Draft Prep
If this is your first time trying out a salary cap draft, I envy you. I get the feeling that once you give it a shot, you’ll prefer the format the same way that I do. It isn’t for the faint of heart, and although the concept is incredibly simple, there are several tips and tricks for getting the biggest bang out of your fake bucks come draft day.
As with any fantasy football league, you’ll want to be up to date on the latest news from around the league. Note players who are injured, have joined new teams or are entering a contract year. Follow our site for all the latest breaking news when it happens, along with all social media outlets.
Before the draft begins, I’d highly recommend all managers take a moment and figure out what portion of their budget they wish to spend on each position. Most leagues operate with a $200 “pool” of money to spend during the draft. How will you allocate the funds?
Since the vast majority of points stem from the running back and wide receiver positions, I’d encourage managers to invest heavily there. How much totally depends on your league format. In PPR leagues, receivers see an obvious boost in their weekly projections, along with pass-catching third-down backs.
Some leagues like the Scott Fish Bowl reward additional points for receptions made by tight ends. Additional variables include leagues that reward “bonus” points for big plays (i.e., a bonus for a touchdown scored from more than 20 yards away), or fluctuations in D/ST or kicker scoring, which can make them more valuable. Every league is different, but pay special attention to your league settings and adjust accordingly.
I’d recommend spending at least two-thirds of your total budget on running backs and wide receivers. This still allows you funds at quarterback and tight end, while allowing you to stream defenses and kickers as necessary. This is an allocation that I’ve used for well over a decade, but I’m very comfortable playing the waiver wire to exploit matchups as necessary.
If you feel that your waiver wire is barren since you play in a deeper format and wish to spend a few extra dollars on a D/ST or kicker that is more matchup-proof (Broncos D/ST or Brandon Aubrey immediately come to mind), feel free. Either way, have a plan in place on roughly how much you want to spend and where.
League Hosts Matter
This seems like a somewhat obvious point to make, but it needs to be reinforced. What site you play on makes a gigantic difference, not only for how default settings are handled, but also for the “recommended” auction prices displayed within draft software.
ESPN is notorious for assigning large auction prices to rookie players. They happen to be the new flashy toys that everyone wants to acquire, so it partially makes sense. Yet you’ll find that Carnell Tate‘s “recommended” price on their site is commonly much higher than an alternative provider like Yahoo! or Sleeper.
The same goes for quarterbacks — the price points for the first tier or two are typically higher on ESPN than other sites. I’m not suggesting this is right or wrong, but seeing someone’s “recommended” price in front of your face definitely influences what they will actually go for.
Want a quick example?
Josh Allen holds a “recommended’ auction value of $22 on ESPN (again, they use a $200 budget). The next three options at the position (Jayden Daniels, Lamar Jackson, Drake Maye) hold a $10 value instead. Is Allen worth more than twice the other players? I’ll let you decide.
Another fun one?
Jeremiyah Love, despite never taking a snap in the NFL before, is valued at $45. Ashton Jeanty is $42. Chase Brown is $34. Saquon Barkley is $36. I’d rather save a few dollars and roll with one of them instead.
And this isn’t me picking on ESPN. Every provider is different in their own unique way. Every person who ranks players has their own tendencies and biases.
Tips & Tricks While Drafting
Like any fantasy football draft in any format, I’d encourage managers to be as fluid as possible. You might enter the draft with your positional budget in mind, but that is totally thrown out the window depending on how aggressive (or passive) your competition is.
A league could hold a salary cap draft back-to-back, one right after the other, with the exact same managers and budgets, and have two totally different results. This is both the fun and infuriating part of the format — the unpredictability.
Avoid Bidding Wars
You might encounter a scenario where both you and another manager are high on a particular player, and hell or high water, you both want him on your teams. This will inevitably create a bidding war, where a player (especially one who has a strong preseason or has been tabbed a sleeper) will potentially go for higher than the “recommended” value, due to interest. In general, I attempt to avoid these sorts of situations whenever possible, as long as I’m confident that another player with similar upside exists within the same tier.
Take this example that played out last year in my home league. I live right outside of Atlanta, GA, and there are several Falcons fans in this league. Drake London was nominated as the next player to bid on, and his projected cost was $38. As we approached that price, I kept an eye on my friends, knowing that this very situation was going to take place. Once his price hit $43, it was down to two managers, and neither wanted to back down.
$45…
$47…
His price hit $49, and we heard the announcer say “sold.” Though my friend was happy to acquire the player that he really wanted, I wondered if it was worth the cost, especially with alternatives on the board like A.J. Brown or Garrett Wilson. Was spending $11 more than the recommended price worth the “get your guys no matter what” mantra? To some it is. To me, that means that London better outperform his projections by almost 25% to justify the cost. I would rather use that $11 elsewhere, if at all possible.
Nominate Players You Don’t Want
I want to avoid the walking headache that is Rashee Rice in drafts this year. Look, his talent is undeniable, and he clearly has a strong rapport with Patrick Mahomes when he’s on the field. However, his lack of common sense or morality off the field makes me want to steer clear of this situation.
Thus, when it comes time for me to bid, I’ll throw Rice out there with a starting value of $1 and let other managers in my league dictate and figure out what his ultimate cost is going to be. Knowing ahead of time that I have zero interest in his services allows me to give myself a slight mental break to step back and reset if needed. Having 45-60 seconds might not sound like much to gather your thoughts, but mini-breaks allow your brain to refocus and gain clarity.
Pay Attention to Tiers
One of my favorite things about FantasyPros is our expert consensus rankings (ECR), which we pull from over 100 analysts around the world and break down into tiers. Before the draft even starts, I’ll have the website pulled up to remind myself which players fall within each grouping.
Understanding that there is a drop in value from a Tier 2 to Tier 3 player, I’ll do everything in my power to acquire a player who is not the last one within their respective tier. If James Cook III, Ashton Jeanty and Chase Brown are off the board, I’m fine grabbing either Saquon Barkley or De’Von Achane as my next running back. If only one of those players is left, I should be aware that there is an increased risk of a bidding war, as other players in your league know that a potential drop-off is coming.
Know Your League Mates
This is especially important in long-standing home leagues, where the same group of managers comes back every season. Take a look at the draft results for the last year or two, and observe manager tendencies.
Perhaps there is someone who likes to spend all of their money early, and then auto-draft $1 players to fill out their bench. Or someone who is a massive college football fan, who enjoys stocking his team with a ton of rookies each year. Or, a manager who likes to stockpile quarterbacks or tight ends and then trades them throughout the year. Everyone is different, but familiarizing yourself with manager tendencies can sometimes help you save money or adjust faster during the middle of a draft.
Mid-Tier Values & Sleepers
Proven veterans will often go for a discount in auction drafts, even in redraft formats. Fielding a team with Terry McLaurin, Breece Hall and Travis Kelce might not be the flashiest, but you’ll often be shocked at the amount of money that you’ll save grabbing “unexciting” names in the middle rounds, and what that will allow you to do later on.
Generally, most managers will have a shared pool of breakout candidates that they all want on their teams. In auction formats, they will keep their fingers crossed that these sleeper picks aren’t nominated first, and that they can be acquired at a discount later on. Yet, this groupthink often leads to the same scenario being played out. Year. After. Year.
Big names will go first.
Trey McBride for $38.
Puka Nacua for close to $60.
Jahmyr Gibbs for $55.
Money will go fast and furious at the beginning, before you hit the crop of players who are proven, but not seeing the same level of hype.
I’m happy with Matthew Stafford as my starting quarterback this season. He’s coming off a QB3 finish and passed for over 4,700 yards and 45 touchdowns last year. Yet, since he’s long in the tooth, we rank him as the QB15. Jaxson Dart, who showed flashes last season before being injured, is currently the QB11. I understand that sort of ranking in keeper/dynasty formats, but in a redraft league? Give me Old Man Winter under center, and I’ll happily pocket a few dollars for later.
This methodology will allow you to have a larger stockpile of funds once the true sleeper picks hit, allowing you to be the one to add those players to your team instead.
Jonathon Brooks of Carolina is a popular sleeper pick this year, and ESPN has his “recommended” auction price set to $2. Do I actually think that he will only go for $2 in most competitive leagues? Absolutely not. The same premise applies to Jadarian Price ($8), Luther Burden III ($11) and Parker Washington ($5). The amount of hype that these players are seeing will almost certainly force their costs to rise.
Save in the middle of the draft, then use those funds on your “must-have” sleepers. Board control is paramount.
Don’t Waste Money
Look, do I really have to explain why spending more than $1 on a D/ST or kicker is a bad idea? Hopefully not. Unless your league uses some truly crazy rule settings, I’d highly encourage you to stream both positions and save a few precious dollars for your sleepers instead. I won’t expand much on this further.
A $5 Brandon Aubrey isn’t worth it.
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