Draft Prep: Mock Auction League
By Dave Richard | Senior Fantasy Writer Follow DaveFollow CBS Fantasy Football
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:
Big-ticket guys
| PLAYER | PRICE | PLAYER | PRICE |
| LaDainian Tomlinson, SD | $38 | Rudi Johnson, CIN | $24 |
| Steven Jackson, STL | $37 | Travis Henry, DEN | $22 |
| Shaun Alexander, SEA | $37 | Reggie Bush, NO | $22 |
| Frank Gore, SF | $36 | Laurence Maroney, NE | $22 |
| Larry Johnson, KC | $32 | Marvin Harrison, IND | $21 |
| Joseph Addai, IND | $30 | Peyton Manning, IND | $20 |
| Brian Westbrook, PHI | $29 | Willis McGahee, BAL | $20 |
| Willie Parker, PIT | $29 | Chad Johnson, CIN | $20 |
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.
Bargains of the auction
| PLAYER | PRICE | PLAYER | PRICE |
| Terrell Owens, DAL | $15 | Jon Kitna, DET | $2 |
| Tony Gonzalez, KC | $7 | Tony Romo, DAL | $1 |
| Donovan McNabb, PHI | $6 | Alge Crumpler, ATL | $1 |
| Laveranues Coles, NYJ | $4 | Benjamin Watson, TE | $1 |
| Matt Hasselbeck, SEA | $3 | Ladell Betts, WAS | $1 |
| Mark Clayton, BAL | $3 | Eagles DST | $1 |
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.
Overpriced players
| PLAYER | PRICE | PLAYER | PRICE |
| Edgerrin James, ARI | $19 | Chester Taylor, MIN | $5 |
| Antonio Gates, SD | $14 | Ben Roethlisberger, PIT | $4 |
| Randy Moss, NE | $11 | Chris Brown, TEN | $3 |
| Matt Leinart, ARI | $8 | Dolphins DST | $2 |
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.
| Ron Davis, Content Producer | Eric Mack, Senior Fantasy Writer |
| Laurence Maroney, NE ($22) | LaDainian Tomlinson, SD ($38) |
| Peyton Manning, IND ($20) | Clinton Portis, WAS ($14) |
| Ronnie Brown, MIA ($18) | Marshawn Lynch, BUF ($13) |
| Randy Moss, NE ($11) | Marques Colston, NO ($9) |
| Jamal Lewis, CLE ($5) | Lee Evans, BUF ($8) |
| Vincent Jackson, SD ($4) | Jeremy Shockey, NYG ($5) |
| Chris Brown, TEN ($3) | Julius Jones, DAL ($4) |
| Chargers DST ($3) | Mike Bell, DEN ($1) |
| Jon Kitna, DET ($2) | Chad Pennington, NYJ ($1) |
| Randy McMichael, STL ($2) | Derrick Mason, BAL ($1) |
| Jerry Porter, OAK ($2) | Rod Smith, DEN ($1) |
| Muhsin Muhammad, CHI ($2) | Ronald Curry, OAK ($1) |
| L.J. Smith, PHI ($2) | Tab Perry, CIN ($1) |
| Sammy Morris, NE ($2) | Robert Meachem, NO ($1) |
| Anthony Gonzalez, IND ($1) | Josh Brown, SEA ($1) |
| Shayne Graham, CIN ($1) | Seahawks DST ($1) |
| Dave Richard, Senior Fantasy Writer | Roland Liwag, SPiN Producer |
| Steven Jackson, STL ($37) | Frank Gore, SF ($36) |
| Vince Young, TEN ($13) | Travis Henry, DEN ($22) |
| Andre Johnson, HOU ($9) | Carson Palmer, CIN ($18) |
| Ahman Green, HOU ($8) | Donald Driver, GB ($10) |
| Reggie Brown, PHI ($8) | Adam Vinatieri, IND ($2) |
| Todd Heap, BAL ($6) | Dolphins DST ($2) |
| Vernand Morency, GB ($5) | Leon Washington, NYJ ($1) |
| Bears DST ($3) | Michael Turner, SD ($1) |
| Braylon Edwards, CLE ($2) | Greg Jennings, GB ($1) |
| Najeh Davenport, PIT ($2) | Matt Schaub, HOU ($1) |
| Jeff Wilkins, STL ($2) | Greg Olsen, CHI ($1) |
| Steve McNair, BAL ($1) | Ashley Lelie, SF ($1) |
| Brian Leonard, STL ($1) | Marty Booker, MIA ($1) |
| T.J. Duckett, DET ($1) | Amani Toomer, NYG ($1) |
| Drew Bennett, STL ($1) | Ben Troupe, TEN ($1) |
| Troy Williamson, MIN ($1) | Bobby Engram, SEA ($1) |
| Peter Madden, Managing Editor, Fantasy | David Gladow, NFL.com Producer/Writer |
| Shaun Alexander, SEA ($37) | Rudi Johnson, CIN ($24) |
| Willis McGahee, BAL ($20) | Edgerrin James, ARI ($19) |
| Deuce McAllister, NO ($13) | Anquan Boldin, ARI ($13) |
| Calvin Johnson, DET ($6) | Michael Vick, ATL ($7) |
| Laveranues Coles, NYJ ($4) | Warrick Dunn, ATL ($6) |
| Ben Roethlisberger, PIT ($4) | Chester Taylor, MIN ($5) |
| Patriots DST ($3) | Terry Glenn, DAL ($4) |
| Isaac Bruce, STL ($2) | Chris Cooley, WAS ($4) |
| Brett Favre, GB ($1) | Matt Hasselbeck, SEA ($3) |
| LenDale White, TEN ($1) | Santana Moss, WAS ($3) |
| Benjamin Watson, NE ($1) | Kevin Jones, DET ($3) |
| Mike Furrey, DET ($1) | Eli Manning, NYG ($2) |
| Devery Henderson, NO ($1) | Joey Galloway, TB ($2) |
| Matt Jones, JAC ($1) | DeShaun Foster, CAR ($2) |
| Michael Pittman, TB ($1) | Robbie Gould, CHI ($1) |
| Neil Rackers, ARI ($1) | Cowboys DST ($1) |
| Chris Lyn-Sue, Marketing Coordinator | Brian De Los Santos, Content Producer |
| Larry Johnson, KC ($32) | Reggie Bush, NO ($22) |
| Tom Brady, NE ($19) | Torry Holt, STL ($18) |
| Cedric Benson, CHI ($15) | Drew Brees, NO ($14) |
| T.J. Houshmandzadeh, CIN ($10) | Brandon Jacobs, NYG ($14) |
| Hines Ward, PIT ($9) | Reggie Wayne, IND ($13) |
| Donte Stallworth, NE ($4) | Fred Taylor, JAC ($4) |
| Anthony Thomas, BUF ($2) | Bernard Berrian, CHI ($3) |
| Kellen Winslow, CLE ($1) | Philip Rivers, SD ($2) |
| Joe Horn, NO ($1) | Jerious Norwood, ATL ($2) |
| Wes Welker, NE ($1) | Heath Miller, PIT ($2) |
| Cedric Houston, NYJ ($1) | Correll Buckhalter, PHI ($1) |
| Mewelde Moore, MIN ($1) | Dallas Clark, IND ($1) |
| Ted Ginn Jr., MIA ($1) | Reggie Williams, JAC ($1) |
| Eric Johnson, NO ($1) | Brandon Marshall, DEN ($1) |
| David Akers, PHI ($1) | Olindo Mare, NO ($1) |
| Steelers DST ($1) | Broncos DST ($1) |
| Amber Wilson, Video Host | J. Darin Darst, Content Producer |
| Marvin Harrison, IND ($21) | Joseph Addai, IND ($30) |
| Chad Johnson, CIN ($20) | Maurice Jones-Drew, JAC ($17) |
| Thomas Jones, NYJ ($15) | Roy Williams, DET ($15) |
| Antonio Gates, SD ($14) | Larry Fitzgerald, ARI ($13) |
| Adrian Peterson, MIN ($10) | Matt Leinart, ARI ($8) |
| Darrell Jackson, SF ($5) | LaMont Jordan, OAK ($3) |
| Jay Cutler, DEN ($2) | Santonio Holmes, PIT ($3) |
| Jerricho Cotchery, NYJ ($2) | Brandon Jackson, GB ($2) |
| Lorenzo Booker, MIA ($2) | Greg Jones, JAC ($2) |
| Ladell Betts, WAS ($1) | Alge Crumpler, ATL ($1) |
| Dominic Rhodes, OAK ($1) | Alex Smith, SF ($1) |
| Jason Witten, DAL ($1) | Dwayne Jarrett, CAR ($1) |
| Eddie Kennison, KC ($1) | Dwayne Bowe, KC ($1) |
| JaMarcus Russell, OAK ($1) | Trent Green, MIA ($1) |
| Nate Kaeding, SD ($1) | Stephen Gostkowski, NE ($1) |
| Eagles DST ($1) | Jaguars DST ($1) |
| David Gonos, Senior Fantasy Writer | Jamey Eisenberg, Senior Fantasy Writer |
| Willie Parker, PIT ($29) | Brian Westbrook, PHI ($29) |
| Terrell Owens, DAL ($15) | Steve Smith, CAR ($17) |
| Marion Barber, DAL ($9) | Marc Bulger, STL ($16) |
| Cadillac Williams, TB ($8) | Javon Walker, DEN ($10) |
| Plaxico Burress, NYG ($8) | Tatum Bell, DET ($6) |
| Tony Gonzalez, KC ($7) | Chris Henry, TEN ($4) |
| DeAngelo Williams, CAR ($7) | Mark Clayton, BAL ($3) |
| Donovan McNabb, PHI ($6) | Reuben Droughns, NYG ($3) |
| Chris Chambers, MIA ($4) | Ravens DST ($3) |
| Tony Romo, DAL ($1) | Deion Branch, SEA ($2) |
| Maurice Morris, SEA ($1) | Vernon Davis, SF ($2) |
| Brandon Jones, TEN ($1) | Jake Delhomme, CAR ($1) |
| D.J. Hackett, SEA ($1) | Kevin Curtis, PHI ($1) |
| Michael Jenkins, ATL ($1) | DeDe Dorsey, IND ($1) |
| Jason Elam, DEN ($1) | Adrian Peterson, CHI ($1) |
| Panthers DST ($1) | Matt Stover, BAL ($1) |
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.
