Here's a newsflash: Not everyone uses a snake draft (or any kind of draft) to build a Fantasy roster.
In an effort to even out the field and make the player selection process more competitive, some leagues opt to hold an auction. That way, every owner has a shot at every player by having the right to bid on them. By using this format, owners build their rosters on a budget and aren't forced into picking a player when it's their turn in a draft.
We list the auction values for the top players at each position in our positional rankings, but we decided to hold an auction of our own to deliver a more authentic feel of how these things play out. We got 12 of CBS SportsLine's avid Fantasy fans in one room for a couple of hours to spend $100 Fantasy bucks. We went with a standard-scoring system (all TDs worth six points) and 16-man rosters that start one QB, two RBs, three WRs, one FLEX (RB-WR-TE), one TE, one PK and one DST. Here's how it all turned out:
The big shocker of this group is Larry Johnson going for less than Alexander and Gore, most likely because of his uncertain contract status. If you draft before he gets a new contract, expect Johnson to slide a little bit. ... We were also surprised that Alexander went for the same price as Jackson. ... The steal of this group? Rudi Johnson, a lock for 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns annually, going for five bucks less than two young rushers who have had exactly one big year.
Donovan McNabb's $6 sale price made jaws drop around the room, and if we did another auction today, he wouldn't go that cheap. But these types of things happen in auctions when supply exceeds demand. It just happened that McNabb's auction took place long after several other quarterbacks were bought. ... T.O. is a bargain simply because he's the cheapest of the "big five" wide receivers, and equal to the likes of Roy Williams and a buck more than Antonio Gates. Off-field issues aside, he delivers big Fantasy points, and getting him on the cheap helped. ... Coles, Clayton, Kitna, Crumpler and Watson were all late-auctioned guys who snuck in as bargains -- another reminder to save some money for the last third of an auction.
What do most of these guys have in common? They're all well-known entities among the general public, and their name value doesn't match their actual Fantasy value. Only Taylor and Brown aren't, but they're riding the coattails of past success that someone couldn't let go of. ... Edgerrin James should have a nice year, but he's in the same class as Ronnie Brown, Maurice Jones-Drew, Cedric Benson and Clinton Portis, all guys who went for less than $19. The same goes for Moss, who went for more than Javon Walker and T.J. Houshmandzadeh -- two guys who should easily outperform the new Patriot receiver. ... Gates should be the highest-auctioned TE in all leagues, but twice as much as Tony Gonzalez? Again, someone overpaid for the name value, not the Fantasy value.
The teams
Here's how our 12 owners did. We spent several minutes after the draft talking about who did the best, and we couldn't come to a consensus. If you see one owner who did great (or even an owner who spent like a buffoon), tell us about it by clicking here.
Who had the best draft? Who had the worst draft? Who should have been quicker on the trigger to bid more than $6 on Donovan McNabb?! We want you to answer these questions. Drop us a line by sending off an e-mail to DMFantasyFootball@cbs.com. Be sure to put Attn: Auction Draft in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state. Be aware we do not guarantee personal responses to all questions.
