2025 Fantasy Football Auction Draft Strategy Guide: Fade Josh Allen And Lamar Jackson

Auction formats give fantasy managers better control over the player pool, allowing each team to develop a game plan to build their roster. The challenge is winning those key players for fair prices within your per-auction budget.

There are many different versions of auctions due to scoring, league rules, and roster sizes. With each variation, there is a change in player values. In addition, keeper formats invite overspending on the top available talent. Trading leagues allow fantasy managers some leeway to use the free pool and assets to restructure their roster to overcome possible injuries during the year or even fix a poor buy in the auction.

In non-trading auction leagues, each team is at the mercy of its auction decisions, and there are no life rafts from fellow league mates during the season.

The easiest fantasy site to view auction values is the National Fantasy Football Championship. Here’s a link to their ADPs and auction prices. This site allows the user to change between different formats and time frames to help see trending or fading players.

For reference, here’s a look at the top players at each position based on the auction bidding in July:

Quarterbacks

1 – Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens ($23)

2 – Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills ($21)

3 – Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals ($18)

4 – Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders ($18)

5 – Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles ($14)

Running Backs

1 – Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons ($53)

2 – Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions ($52)

3 – Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles ($49)

4 – Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers ($43)

5 – De’Von Achane, Miami Dolphins ($42)

6 – Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders ($42)

7 – Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens ($38)

8 – Chae Brown, Cincinnati Bengals ($35)

9 – Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($33)

10 – Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts ($32)

Wide Receivers

1 – Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals ($59)

2 – Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings ($52)

3 – CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys ($52)

4 – Puka Nacua, St. Louis Rams ($46)

5 – Malik Nabers, New York Giants ($45)

6 – Brian Thomas, Jacksonville Jaguars ($44)

7 – Drake London, Atlanta Falcons ($43)

8 – Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions ($43)

9 – Nico Collins, Houston Texans ($42)

10 – Ladd McConkey, Los Angeles Chargers ($39)

Tight Ends

1 – Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders ($33)

2 – Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals ($30)

3 – George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers ($19)

4 – Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions ($11)

5 – Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs ($10)

12-Team Auction Rules

Each team must acquire the 20 NFL players at a total cost not to exceed $200, using only the league player pool. Teams will nominate players for bidding counter-clockwise from the auctioneer.

No team owner may make a bid for a player that they cannot afford. For example, a team with $3 left and two openings on its roster is limited to a maximum bid of $2 for any one player. An owner that bids over his/her limit will not be allowed to obtain that player, and the auctioneer will determine whether to give that player to the next highest bidder or to put that player up for auction again (if the error was discovered too late).

Scoring

Six-point passing touchdowns

Minus two points for an interception

PPR scoring

.05 points for each passing yard

.1 points for each rushing or receiving yard

Starting Roster

QB, RB1, RB2, WR1, WR2, WR3, TE, Flex (RB, WR, or TE), K, and DEF

Bench Players

In this format, each fantasy manager can use their bench (10 slots) for any combination of players they choose.

Playoffs and League Schedule

Four teams make the postseason

Best H2H Record (total points is the first tie-breaker)
Most Total Points (second-most if the best H2H record scored more points)
Next Most Points
Next Most Points

This format favors the best teams while rewarding only one team with success in weekly wins and losses.

All Play in Weeks 1, 2, and 3 (Top six teams get wins)

Head-to-Head play over the next 11 weeks

League Playoffs are in Weeks 15, 16, and 17 (Total Points determine the league winner)

Game Theory Thoughts

For easy math, the above rules are for a fantasy league with no trading. Before each auction, it is critical to understand what it takes to make the league playoffs. In this format, the goal should be to average about 150 points per week, while also understanding that the fourth-place team may fall in the 135 to 140 point range in some leagues.

For the most part, the goal should be to score close to 20 combined fantasy points from your kicker and defense. Based on this, the remainder of each team's starting eight roster slots must score between 120 and 130 fantasy points per week (about 15 points per position at the low end).

Paying up for top-tier quarterbacks tends to lower the quality of your bench options
Do you want to invest 75% of your budget in your core players? How much will my 9th to 12th skill players cost?
Buying mid-tier skill players (RBs, WRs, and TEs) creates many failed lineup decisions and mediocre results
The best fantasy teams have the least number of lineup decisions each week
Focus on buying three foundation players with an idea of where you want to go at quarterback and tight end
Identify upside players with low expected costs
Handcuff running backs can be easier to roster in auctions at the backend of the player pool
Buying players off career seasons in football rarely leads to repeated success

Player Calls

A common mistake fantasy managers make is hoping the players they want don’t get called out early. It sounds good in principle, but the problem is that all the other good players are coming off the board while I sit back, holding my money. If I wait and miss on my targeted players, I will have fewer options to build my team.

Getting my key players called out as quickly as possible is essential. For example, if I want a player in the auction and believe he is the key to building my foundation, I would like to call him out on my first opportunity. By doing this, I find out how much he will cost (higher or lower than my predicted price point) or if I need to start looking for someone else to develop my team around. The quicker I know where I stand on critical players, the better my chance of executing my plan or adjusting on the fly.

Three Parts of an Auction

Core Spending – This is the aggressive bidding part of the auction. Attack targeted players, but also know when to let a player go when he is clearly overpriced
Mid Auction – Many teams will be in this area of the auction when they have between $75 and $35 left. The goal is to find value players, along with sneaking in some mispriced high-ceiling options.
End Game – Winning with overbids in the end game can lead to a much stronger bench. In addition, the highest scoring players left in the back 25% of a football auction are quarterbacks. An auction player should expect about half of the starting quarterbacks to cost $2 or less, allowing some teams to micro-manage the position if they choose.

Final Note

Winning an auction league requires a solid game plan, effective execution during the auction, and targeted players delivering their expected stats. Every manager in the auction will know the players and develop similar evaluations. When I try to implement my plan, there will be battles for critical players. I will win some and lose some. I hope to win the right ones. I would rather lose with a team I like than lose with players I didn’t want.

Remember, the more thought invested in a game plan with variations, the better decisions a fantasy manager can make in the split seconds when bidding on players.