Fantasy football 2014 auction strategies: Nominating players

The way in which you nominate players is a crucial tactic within overall auction strategy. On the surface, it might seem like you can throw out any old player and bid or not bid on him accordingly. If you do that, however, you will be missing out on a chance to better craft your own roster and force your league-mates into uncomfortable decisions. Below are some best practices for nominating players to maximize each dollar in your wallet.

SI's 2014 fantasy football preview: Rankings, projections, stats and more

Draining your opponents’ budgets

2014 Fantasy Football Top 300

There are bound to be a handful of high-priced players that are not on your target list. At the same time, they’re also high priced for a reason. Most of the fantasy community likes the players you are predicting will go bust, or at least will not perform up to their preseason expectations. These are exactly the types of players you want to nominate early in your auction.

Put simply, any dollar spent by one of your rival owners on a player you don’t want is a potentially harmful dollar rendered toothless. For example, one player I’ve been vocal about disliking this summer is Zac Stacy. His average auction value, according to FantasyPros, is $30. That’s one dollar fewer than Alfred Morris, three dollars fewer than Jordy Nelson and Alshon Jeffery, two dollars more than Randall Cobb, and two dollars more than Andre Ellington.

The other five guys are players that I am targeting in all my leagues. If an owner spends $30, or perhaps even more, on Stacy, that same owner might bow out of bidding on one of the players I actually do like. This becomes even more acute if I can get Stacy out there early in an auction. This owner might be wary about spending too much too soon, thus taking a pass on someone like Jeffery or Nelson. One fewer bidder in the mix can make all the difference.

What’s more, when everyone is flush with cash in the early stages of an auction, they might be willing to spend a bit more freely. That could lead to an even higher price tag on a player you have no intention of buying. This is the single most effective way to drain your opponents’ resources.

Get your secondary players out there when better players are still available

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While owners may more likely act like spendthrifts early on in auctions, they similarly may be unwilling to go after second- and third-tier players when the elite players are on the board. An owner who is dead set on getting one of the top-five backs may not go too strongly after someone like DeMarco Murray, Le’Veon Bell or Montee Ball if guys like Jamaal Charles, LeSean McCoy and Matt Forte are still on the board. That could lead to bargains on those players who aren’t quite elite, but who would typically go late in the first round or early in the second round of a draft.

What does that mean for owners in auction leagues? If you’ve got a player you like in the No. 40-50 overall range in terms of average draft position, get them out there early in your auction. These are the types of players who have first- and second-round ceilings but can be had at a serious discount in auctions if they hit the block at the right time. Some players I will have in mind to nominate early include Roddy White, Michael Floyd and Rashad Jennings.

FANTASY FOOTBALL BREAKOUTS: AFC | NFC
FANTASY FOOTBALL BUSTS: AFC | NFC
FANTASY FOOTBALL SLEEPERS: AFC | NFC

Don’t be too predictable in your nominations

Even in an auction, you don’t want your league mates to know what you’re thinking. It’s not as dangerous as it is in a draft. In the draft format, if a rival owner picking next to you catches on to your thought process, they can easily pick up a player you want. In an auction, it’s going to be obvious whether or not you’re interested in a player given that you will either be bidding on him or sitting idly by. Still, you’re better off if you can keep everyone else in the room guessing.

To keep your fellow owners off the scent, don’t always nominate the same types of players. Yes, you should throw big-name players out there that you don’t like early in an auction. But you should mix it up by nominating players that you actually want on occasion. If you only nominate players you aren’t interested in, that, by extension, will hint at the players you are targeting. It might not matter too much early in the auction when you have plenty of money to spend, but when funds get thin in the latter stages, one of your leaguemates can pin you in by starting the bidding for a certain player higher than you can afford. By nominating both players that you want and players you wouldn’t touch regardless of the cost, your motives can remain hidden.

2014 Fantasy Football Sleepers Vol. 2

Jeremy Hill - RB, Cincinnati Bengals

Hill is the new power back to compliment Giovani Bernard in Cincinnati. The second-round rookie should play a role similar to BenJarvus Green-Ellis last season but with significantly more upside.

LeGarrette Blount - RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

Blount averaged five yards per carry last season in New England and his style translates perfectly to Pittsburgh’s smash-mouth style. He’s one Le’Veon Bell injury away from being a fantasy asset.

Storm Johnson - RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Toby Gerhart is a true three-down back but he had better perform in his first season as a starter, because Johnson will be waiting for his chance. The talented rookie from UCF has the tools to emerge as a capable fantasy option.

Latavius Murray - RB, Oakland Raiders

Murray is only draftable in extremely deep leagues, but he’s a talented runner who is backing up two injury-prone veterans on the depth chart. Keep an eye on him if Maurice Jones-Drew or Darren McFadden goes down with an injury.

Darren Sproles - RB, Philadelphia Eagles

Sproles has caught at least 70 balls in each of the last three seasons and moved to Chip Kelly’s pass-happy offense in Philadelphia. He’s a big-play threat who should outperform his average draft position, especially in PPR formats.

Mark Ingram - RB, New Orleans Saints

Will this be the year that the 2009 Heisman Trophy winner breaks out? It could be, with Darren Sproles out of town and Pierre Thomas falling down the depth chart. Ingram is still only 24 years old and has the tools to be a fantasy star.

Jonathan Grimes - RB, Houston Texans

Grimes is emerging as the primary backup to Arian Foster with a nice training camp. Fantasy owners know all about Foster’s injury history and his backups tend to make an impact at some point during the season.

James Starks - RB, Green Bay Packers

Starks averaged 5.5 yards per carry last season and is a must-own handcuff for all Eddie Lacy owners. Starks instantly becomes a high-end RB2 in all leagues if Lacy goes down at any point.

Andre Williams - RB, New York Giants

The rookie out of Boston College will take a backseat to Rashad Jennings early in the season but is talented enough to eventually steal the job. Either way, Williams is expected to be the goal-line back and fantasy owners should keep an eye on him.

Emmanuel Sanders - WR, Denver Broncos

Peyton Manning has a new toy and that's great news for fantasy owners. Sanders has the skillset to make a significant impact as the Broncos’ third receiver.

Cole Beasley - WR, Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys should have a dominant passing game and Beasley should be a capable slot receiver. He could emerge as one of Tony Romo’s favorite targets.

Odell Beckham - WR, New York Giants

The rookie from LSU is expected to stretch the field for Eli Manning and could be a nice fantasy asset immediately. His average draft position should creep up as he proves healthy in camp.

Golden Tate - WR, Detroit Lions

Tate moves to an up-tempo offense in Detroit and gets to play opposite Calvin Johnson, which is very good news for his fantasy appeal. He should be a nice WR3 facing single coverage on a weekly basis.

Mike Evans - WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The No. 7 overall pick has lofty expectations and is in a great situation to succeed. The 6’5 Evans will find plenty of single coverage playing opposite Vincent Jackson and could be the league’s top rookie for fantasy purposes.

Charles Johnson - WR, Cleveland Browns

The Grand Valley State product has been a training camp standout and could emerge as a starter in Cleveland. The Browns will be desperate for a play-making WR once Josh Gordon starts serving his suspension.

Kyle Rudolph - TE, Minnesota Vikings

Rudolph isn’t necessarily a “sleeper,” but he could easily outperform his ADP. Norv Turner turns tight ends into fantasy stars and Rudolph is primed for a career-best season.

Jordan Reed - TE, Washington Redskins

Reed showed glimpses of his potential last season, when he caught 45 balls in only nine games. The sky is the limit if Reed can stay healthy in 2014. He’s simply too talented to be overlooked.

Eli Manning - QB, New York Giants

The younger Manning gets a fresh start with new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo and he should improve upon his miserable 18/27 TD/INT ratio from 2013. You can draft him as a backup for fantasy purposes but he has the ability to sneak into the Top 12 QBs when the season concludes.

Andy Dalton - QB, Cincinnati Bengals

Dalton was quietly a fantasy monster last season, finishing with 4,293 passing yards and 33 TDs. Doubters will say Dalton is streaky, just signed a huge deal and has a new offensive coordinator, but, regardless, he is an absolute steal at his current ADP.

Josh McCown - QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

McCown was an elite fantasy QB during a three-game stretch last season and parlayed the success into a starting gig in Tampa Bay. His new weapons (Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans) resemble his old weapons (Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery) in both size and ability. McCown is a sneaky option if you need a QB late in your draft.

Try to steal your favorite kicker

As a general rule of thumb, you shouldn’t spend more than a dollar on kickers. You never know when you’ll need an extra dollar, and you’d much rather use it to get a skill-position player rather than, say, Stephen Gostkowski.

At the same time, most everyone would agree that Gostkowski, Matt Prater, and perhaps a select few other kickers are a cut above everyone else at the position. Instead of waiting until the endgame to get a kicker, nominate one of those elite kickers early on in your auction. Either you get them for a dollar, or you force someone else in your league to spend $2 on a kicker. You can’t lose.

Auction Strategy Series:
Part I -- Setting position budgets
Part II -- Deliberately nominate players