Four Cheap Dynasty Auction Targets

I hope you’ve listened to the recent episodes of our DLF Dynasty Podcast. In the past few episodes, Dan, Matt, and I have discussed some new leagues we’ve created in an effort to “keep dynasty weird.”

The new leagues, Red List 3 and My Favorite Things, are both multi-copy, auction leagues. For those of you who aren’t so weird, multi-copy simply means there is more than one of each NFL player available to roster in the league. Instead of one lucky manager sporting Patrick Mahomes on his roster, two or three others could have the same luxury. Typically, the number of copies is determined by how many teams are in the league. While there is no requirement or limit, normally a 24-team league would result in two copies of each player, 36-teamer equates to three copies and the pattern would continue with each new group of twelve teams.

My Favorite Things is the league I created with some truly funky rules, if I do say so myself. Most of those aren’t really important here. What you need to know is that it is a four-copy, 48-team league. In this league, my team is one of the three “vampires” so I am scouring for some bargains, as my team is starting with a small fraction of the budget of most other teams.

As I began my auction prep, I located the DLF Dynasty Auction App, located under the “Tools” and “More Player Value Tools” tabs at the top of the homepage. This tool is among the handiest we have and is way undervalued based on how much time it can save a player prepping for a dynasty auction.

I began adjusting the League Settings on the right side of the page, adjusting player values for superflex and tight end premium leagues before plugging in the number of teams, budget, and number of copies available.

As soon as I completed this information, the numbers began to change. The default of Justin Jefferson as the projected top player shifted to Patrick Mahomes, based on my league’s settings, and soon a complete cost projection was produced. While adding Mahomes, Josh Allen, or Lamar Jackson to my team is exciting, remember, I’m a vampire. Instead of $400 available to spend, I only have $20 bucks. I could scroll all the way to the bottom but instead, I simply chose to download the auction values. Just like that, I had an Excel doc with all player cost projections. That’s when I began my search for players that fit my tiny budget. Eventually in an auction, every team will be bargain shopping, so these players are important to every team.

Here are four players, projected to cost $2 or less, that I will be targeting. Oh, even if you’re not in a startup auction, consider these low-cost draft or trade targets. Value is value.

Jaleel McLaughlin, RB DEN

As a rookie in 2023, McLaughlin was a nice surprise, especially early in the season when he popped off for a pair of RB1 performances. He eventually settled into a three-man backfield in Denver, but there is reason for excitement entering year two. While Denver did bring in more competition, in the form of rookie Audric Estime, that addition is more reflective of veterans Samaje Perine, a rumored cut candidate, and Javonte Williams, who enters the final year of his rookie deal. Back to McLaughlin, he left OTAs with a ton of positive buzz, with some calling him the “most dynamic offensive player” and offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi praising McLaughlin’s work ethic, speed, and explosiveness.