The Huddle Experts Auction Draft

Over the years, I’ve played in a number of industry leagues and while I don’t want to play favorites, one of the drafts I most look forward to each year is for the Huddle.com Experts Auction. I mean, who doesn’t love an auction? Every player is available for the right price and if you set yourself up with a strong plan and viable bid strategy, you can come away with a phenomenal roster.

I’ve been in this league for six or seven years and the competition is insanely tough. Two years ago I lost in the finals and last year, I made it to the semi-finals and lost to the eventual champion. What follows below is a look at my team, my strategy and some thoughts about how the auction went.

League Specifications

12-team, full-point PPR

Starting Rosters: 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 Flex (R/W/T), 1 K, 1 D/ST

8-player bench

The scoring is the usual point per 10 yards rushing/receiving, 25 yards passing with 4 points for a passing TD and 6 points for rushing/receiving TDs. You do get individual player credit for return touchdowns in addition to the touchdown credit for the D/ST unit. Everything else, you know the drill.

The Participants:

Strategy Going In:

I’ve taken a real stars and scrubs approach in the past, so I wanted to see about maybe holding some money back and not overpaying for some of the more elite names. I wanted to make sure I grabbed three strong bell-cow backs and figured I would settle in on the second and third tier of wideouts for PPR leagues. Didn’t feel the need to spend big on quarterbacks or tight ends which is my usual M.O. anyway, so it all fit together. It was really just a matter of letting go of the David Johnsons and Antonio Browns after their costs exceeded my projected values.

My Team

Quarterbacks:

I didn’t pay very much at all and landed one of my favorite QB1’s in Marcus Mariota. Grabbing Carson Wentz as my back-up will keep me well-covered and given my thoughts on his progress and my overall expectations, he could find himself in the top-10 QB discussion by season’s end.

Running Backs:

Crushed it here. Absolutely crushed it. I was ecstatic when the bidding stalled on LeSean McCoy, especially considering David Johnson went for $56, Le’Veon Bell for $52 and a pre-suspension Zeke for $49. To then get Jordan Howard for a few bucks cheaper and Dalvin Cook for $20 was a serious coup. Chris Thompson should be a sufficient bye week replacement if I actually need him and Wayne Gallman will get a look as a potential TD vulture. He’s also an easy drop should I need the roster space.

Wide Receivers:

Some decent PPR guys in Golden Tate, Eric Decker, DeVante Parker and Stefon Diggs. A couple of solid back-ups in DeSean Jackson and Torrey Smith, but there’s nothing too exciting about this group. They should be both solid and consistent and keep my team set with a strong base of points each week.

Tight Ends:

These are my two boys this season. Zach Ertz should pick up right where he left off last year and he and Wentz should be a formidable tandem all year. If he can continue to average close to 10 targets like he did over the final seven weeks of the 2016 season, he’s going to be a HUGE asset. And Austin Hooper? Come on. He’s my breakout candidate of the year at this crap-hole of a position.

Kicker and Defense

Yawn. Move along. Nothing to see here. Wasn’t going to spend more than a buck on any of it. Feel like a schmuck having paid $2 for the Panthers but it was late and I was tired.

Overall Thoughts

I’m a big fan of this team, though I do wish I had one more high-end wide receiver. I think my team is very strong across the board with three of the top running backs in the game. Yes, Cook is a rookie and I don’t want to go too crazy overboard with the praise or the projections, but this kid is an absolute beast and his competition in the backfield is pure garbage. Again, the wideouts are solid, but there really are no big game-breakers. I’m just looking for a solid baseline of points from them while the rest of my team lights it up. Hopefully I can avoid the injury bug and maybe, if someone is in dire need, I can trade one of my RBs for a higher-end wideout. If it’s even necessary, that is.