The Fanex Auction League is wrapping up. It’s been going on for two weeks, and as it wraps up, it underscores the value of getting the quarterback position right. There are a lot of good quarterbacks out there, making it more important than ever to be sure to not to commit too many resources to them.
Everybody knows this, of course, but it’s harder to successfully implement. Cam Newton, Aaron Rodgers and Andrew Luck look very good, but how much do we spend on those guys? (Or, in a draft, how early do you select a passer?)
In this particular league, there are 12 teams drafting 20 players each. And each team is starting 2 RB, 3 WR and a flex player, so the talent will run out that those positions. If you buy big into a quarterback, it’s hard to also have any depth at those positions.
So my plan going in was to look a lot more at price, rather than which player I would wind up with. Had I guessed, I would have expected to wind up with Philip Rivers, with Matt Ryan as a backup.
I didn’t want to get baited into jumping too early at this position, so I set the prices very conservatively. That is, I had Tony Romo, Ryan Tannehill, Joe Flacco and Tyrod Taylor defined as being worth only the $1.00 minimum, even though they’re a little better than that.
I ended up watching the first 18 quarterbacks go by. I had the next-to-last bids on Drew Brees, Marcus Mariota and Philip Rivers, and one of the last bids on Andrew Luck, so it wasn’t as if I was set against buying a quarterback. With Rivers, I got greedy bidding $9. The only reason I didn’t go to $11 was because I could tell the auction as a whole was about $150 over budget at that point. So I felt some good buys would be coming.
With quarterbacks running out, I picked up Blaine Gabbert for a buck as an insurance policy (in case I got stuck buying only one). I’ve spoken about Gabbert before. I think there might be something there, so I’ll keep him around for a few weeks and see what he’s all about.
Anyway, before the end the deals eventually showed up. Carson Palmer for $6, and Matthew Stafford for $4. I had Stafford “valued” at only $3.17, but keep in mind I was using conservative pricing. He might be just fine. I think he’s in there with guys like Carr, Cousins, Mariota, Winston and Dalton. I expect he’ll start some games, and if Palmer gets injured, I won’t be over a barrel.
The worst deals at this position, I though, came early. Here’s how the quarterbacks played out (in order).
| FANEX AUCTION LEAGUE -- QUARTERBACKS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Value | Percent | Player | Franchise |
| $3 | $1.00 | 300% | Joe Flacco | Ric Serritella |
| $7 | $1.00 | 700% | Ryan Tannehill | Michael Nease |
| $19 | $2.05 | 928% | Tom Brady | Ric Serritella |
| $33 | $25.33 | 130% | Cam Newton | Michael Nease |
| $4 | $1.00 | 400% | Jay Cutler | Michael Nease |
| $30 | $17.99 | 167% | Russell Wilson | Brady Tinker |
| $28 | $21.17 | 132% | Aaron Rodgers | Jim Day |
| $3 | $1.00 | 300% | Ryan Fitzpatrick | Brady Tinker |
| $8 | $1.00 | 800% | Tyrod Taylor | Tony Holm |
| $15 | $8.66 | 173% | Blake Bortles | Tony Holm |
| $14 | $12.01 | 117% | Eli Manning | Dolfi-Walls |
| $17 | $20.94 | 81% | Drew Brees | Dish Adams |
| $20 | $22.02 | 91% | Andrew Luck | Tony Holm |
| $8 | $4.84 | 165% | Jameis Winston | Mike Perlow |
| $10 | $14.30 | 70% | Philip Rivers | Matt Schauf |
| $9 | $4.53 | 199% | Kirk Cousins | Jim Day |
| $16 | $8.23 | 194% | Ben Roethlisberger | Duane Cahill |
| $8 | $2.45 | 326% | Matt Ryan | Carlos Panizo |
| $6 | $2.96 | 203% | Marcus Mariota | Dolfi-Walls |
| $1 | $1.00 | 100% | Blaine Gabbert | Ian Allan |
| $9 | $8.13 | 111% | Andy Dalton | Mike Perlow |
| $7 | $1.00 | 700% | Brock Osweiler | Carlos Panizo |
| $11 | $7.17 | 153% | Derek Carr | Brady Tinker |
| $1 | $0.00 | --- | Robert Griffin III | Carlos Panizo |
| $6 | $9.96 | 60% | Carson Palmer | Ian Allan |
| $5 | $1.00 | 500% | Tony Romo | Duane Cahill |
| $4 | $3.17 | 126% | Matthew Stafford | Ian Allan |
| $1 | $1.00 | 100% | Sam Bradford | Ric Serritella |
| $1 | $1.00 | 100% | Teddy Bridgewater | Mike Perlow |
| $1 | $0.00 | --- | Jared Goff | Dish Adams |
| $1 | $0.00 | --- | Colin Kaepernick | Matt Schauf |
| --- | $1.00 | --- | Alex Smith | not picked yet |
Overall, the team looks pretty solid. Started off dreadfully, bidding $48 on LeVeon Bell just before news of his probable suspension broke. If we were rebidding now, he’d probably go for about $30. But whatever, I’ve got some other backs, and he could really give my team a boost.
Overall, my team is “worth” about $267. That is, worth (I think) about $67 more than the $200 I started with.
| IAN'S FANEX AUCTION TEAM | ||
|---|---|---|
| Price | Pos | Player |
| $6.00 | QB | Carson Palmer |
| $4.00 | QB | Matthew Stafford |
| $1.00 | QB | Blaine Gabbert |
| $48.00 | RB | LeVeon Bell |
| $13.00 | RB | Carlos Hyde |
| $13.00 | RB | Matt Jones |
| $7.00 | RB | Ryan Mathews |
| $3.00 | RB | Tevin Coleman |
| $1.00 | RB | Terrance West (pending) |
| $17.00 | WR | Donte Moncrief |
| $25.00 | WR | Sammy Watkins |
| $22.00 | WR | Jeremy Maclin |
| $10.00 | WR | Kevin White |
| $8.00 | WR | Willie Snead (pending) |
| $4.00 | WR | Tavon Austin |
| $7.00 | WR | Josh Gordon |
| $5.00 | TE | Dwayne Allen |
| $1.00 | TE | Richard Rodgers |
| $1.00 | PK | Chandler Catanzaro |
| $1.00 | D | NY Jets |
This is a PPR league, by the way. We’ll play head-to-head. Last year, I led this league in scoring but didn’t make the playoffs. The previous year I finished 2nd in scoring, got hot in the playoffs, and won it. I don’t remember who got hurt or underperformed, but I did poorly in the startup year in 2013 – 8th in scoring and a 6-8 record.
This auction isn’t over yet, but if you want to look at the mostly completed rosters, they’re available at MyFantasyLeague.com.
—Ian Allan