The Auction Block: Bargain Basement Shopping

Vincent Gabriele

brian_quick

Editor’s Note: This particular article is submitted by a new Member Corner author, Vincent Gabriele.  We welcome Vincent to the Member Corner and look forward to seeing more of his work in the future! 

My league has gone with an auction format for 12 years now and there is absolutely no way we would go back to anything else. The beauty of the auction format is that you can have ANY player you want, as long as you’re willing to pony up the dollars. The composition of your team is not determined by draft position, but by your ability to outbid and out maneuver the opposition.  If you are determined to have Adrian Peterson on your team this year and are willing to spend $90-$100 for him, he is yours – this just means you have to be efficient with how you allocate the rest of your funds and finding those low cost gems is what ultimately leads to wins and fantasy glory. Here are a few players I like this year that can help your dynasty team for a nominal price.

1.) Lance Moore, WR NO ($3)

For some reason, this player gets absolutely no love in my long running auction league, despite going for 61/920/6 last year and posting three 100+ yd games. Is he getting the same type of respect in dynasty formats? Reason is the majority of auction dollars allocated to the New Orleans passing game are going to Marques Colston and Jimmy Graham, leaving a few scraps for Moore. I do not expect this trend to change – Colston signed a five year deal for $36.3 million last year and remains Drew Brees’ favorite target. Graham is entering a contract year and despite a drop off in production last year, will command Rob Gronkowski-like money and will cement his place in the offense.  My latest auction model has Moore going anywhere in the $1-$3 range, which is dirt cheap for a player in a pass first offense playing with a top three quarterback. Moore’s role on the team is more than secure and there is no reason to think he can’t post similar numbers in 2013 with some upside given Payton calling plays from the sidelines again.

2.) Jeremy Kerley, WR  NYJ ($1)

As talent deficient I believe the Jets are, Kerley is one of the few bright spots on a team that really needs to restack the roster with NFL capable talent. A similar comparison to Kerley is San Diego’s Vincent Brown, the only difference is that Kerley caught 56 balls for 827 yards and two touchdowns while Brown sat out the entire season with an ankle injury and yet still has more value than Kerley in most fantasy circles. Listen, the Jets quarterback situation is a bad joke at this point and while they bring in every washed up veteran not named Matt Cassel, I still think Mark Sanchez will win the job and they will find themselves playing from behind a lot. With any luck, Santonio Holmes gets healthy and plays to his WR1 potential, Stephen Hill takes the next step in his development and Kerley settles in as their slot guy who can help your team as a nice WR4, especially in PPR leagues.

3.) Rashard Mendenhall, RB ARI ($6)

Rest assured, the Ryan Williams hype machine will be in full effect come August. Not that I don’t like Williams, I just think it is difficult to trust a player who simply cannot get on the field. Having said that, Mendenhall has not been the picture of health either, but I do think he is young enough (25) and possesses all the skills of a three down back to grab the #1 spot and put up respectable numbers. Don’t forget new Head Coach Bruce Arians knows Mendenhall well from their time in Pittsburgh together which will give him a leg up in his competition with Williams. Arians also favors a “feature back” approach, so if Mendenhall does win the job, he will see plenty of touches. For $6, you can get a RB3 who definitely has RB2 upside on the cheap. If you want to hedge your bet, I would have no problem spending the same money for Ryan Williams to secure the Arizona running game for what you would normally pay for a RB3 in most auction formats.

4.) Sam Bradford, QB STL ($3)

Before the daggers come out, I am NOT saying you can spend $3 on Bradford and win your dynasty championship. I am saying however, that $3 for a former #1 overall pick who is FINALLY going to have the same OC for consecutive seasons for the first time since he has entered the league is a bargain. This guy was sacked 35 times last season and 105 times since he entered the league and has had to deal with talent deficiencies at the receiver position – not exactly a recipe for success in today’s NFL.

So, what did St. Louis do this off-season to address these issues?

First off, they gave Jake Long (the best LT in this year’s free agency class) a four-year, $36 million contract to protect Bradford’s blind side. Long is a player the Rams loved coming out of Michigan and he will bring stability and leadership to that unit the minute he walks into the facility. They then signed TE Jared Cook to a five year, $38 million contract with every intention of making the 6’5″, 248 pound athletic specimen a big part of their offensive. Add that to a nice young group of receivers in Brian Quick (see below) and Chris Givens (who is a poor man’s DeSean Jackson) and the Rams look like they are ready to take the next step in the progression of their offense. The running back position will be in flux until they are convinced that Isaiah Pead can be the guy (expect them to bring in a veteran player to compete for the job with Pead and Daryl Richardson), but overall I like what they are doing on the offensive side of the ball. To me, all this sets up Bradford to have this best year and be a player you plug into your lineup when the matchup is favorable or as a bye week replacement at worst.

5.) Brian Quick, WR STL ($2)

Two bucks buys you Quick in my auction league and this is a player I am really high on heading into this season. At 6’4″, 220 pounds, this is exactly the type of receiver I want on my team. Comparisons have been made to Vincent Jackson. who also came from a small school and basically redshirted his first year in the league as he acclimated himself to the pro game. Jeff Fisher has publicly come out and said he expects big things from Quick in his second year in their offense and given the expectation the Rams may take Tavon Austin in the first round of this year’s draft, I think Quick will find himself playing the Z position in an offense that will be able to throw the ball. This guy is big, physical and will be Bradford’s go-to-guy in the red zone. He has huge upside and if you are patient, he can develop into a high quality receiver – get him now before it is too late.

vincent gabriele
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