It’s magical. Whether you’re a hardcore NFL fan, or just have knowledge of basic rules and plays, an NFL fantasy auction draft can have you in awe. It can be full of thrilling moments, surprising outcomes, and endearing strategies.
In an auction draft, each team has a predetermined amount of money they can spend on players. During the draft, each team takes turns nominating a player in which case other teams compete by bidding on the players in a silent auction. It’s a riveting process as teams compete to build their dream team and get one up on their friends.
I don’t know about you, but I find myself, and others getting extremely competitive during an auction draft. Everyone wants to find the best value for every dollar they are willing to spend. It takes skill to commit to these higher dollar, riskier players while also managing to not overspend on mediocre players.
What’s more, auction drafts are even more interesting because the strategies used by team owners vary significantly. Some team owners are willing to spend the most on the best players, while others will go the route of gradually building their team one player at a time.
The auction draft can also introduce a sense of humor, as teams get the opportunity to bid on players they do not even want. Sometimes, a team is willing to pay a dollar for a player to deter another team from winning, and other times, teams will randomly throw out outrageous bids in an attempt to get under the skin of other team owners.
I love the spontaneity of the auction draft. In one moment, you could be bidding high for the hottest players and, in the next, you could be harshly cutting the price of the worst one. Will team owners outbid each other? Will the best value be acquired for the lowest price? Will certain team owners outsmart the entire league? That’s the most thrilling part of it all and, as a fantasy league enthusiast, I do not think I will ever get tired of the excitement.
An auction draft can also be used to break the stereotypes of the traditional snake style draft. The wild uprisings of some player prices can be a result of some team owners overbidding or panicking during the draft. As a result, some team owners may get stuck with players who do not have as much value as they thought they would.
More importantly, the auction draft can provide some serious relief from the typical pre-draft scouting and planning. In an auction draft, team owners need to come into the draft without a set strategy, but with enough knowledge of the players and the league to make shrewd decisions on the spot.
For these reasons, I believe that the NFL fantasy auction draft is more exciting and unpredictable than the snake style draft and is the ultimate test for even the most veteran NFL fantasy league fanatics.