Fantasy Football Preseason Auction Rankings

This is for 12 team leagues, $200 budget. If your fantasy football league has a different number of teams, just adjust proportionately (If you have 10 teams, which is 1/6 less than 12, then lower every value by 1/6).

Updated August 30

QBs.jpg

RANK QB VALUE NOTE
1 Aaron Rodgers, GB 30 Paying over $30 for a top QB is like paying $2 for a good-looking $1 bill
2 Tom Brady, NE 29 The rotating family of receivers reminds me of the Brady Bunch, if that football had given Marcia a concussion and then Gisele told the media about it
3 Drew Brees, NO 28 The last of the tier 1 QB mountain. Touch the void, fantasy football drafters!
4 Matt Ryan, ATL 17 Ryan averages over 4,000 yards for his nine seasons, the missing piece of the fantasy puzzle has always been touchdowns
5 Jameis Winston, TB 15 As smooth and deadly as a pack of actual Winstons
6 Kirk Cousins, WAS 14 Confused about the surname “Cousins.” People’s last names are usually based on professions, so I guess his lineage was just super into nepotism
7 Marcus Mariota, TEN 14 Poised for a breakout year
8 Russell Wilson, SEA 12 If I read the first names vertically I get “Marcus Russell,” as a Raiders fan this triggers PTSD
9 Phillip Rivers, SD 8 When you have 8 defenders, you don’t fear pressure, but instead, welcome the potential sweet release of concussion damage
10 Andrew Luck, IND 5 I want to say, “you can’t depend on Hilton for a career if you are perpetually messed up” but Nicole Richie did it, so…
11 Ben Roethlisberger, PIT 5 Don’t hop on the fantasy football hype train, Big Ben has never had more than 32 touchdowns in a single season
12 Derek Carr, OAK 4 Carr already has 16 more touchdowns than his brother threw in 10 seasons
13 Cam Newton, CAR 4 Newton’s great seasons have always been propped up by his rushing touchdowns. His down seasons were propped up by whatever splint was supporting his broken ribs
14 Matthew Stafford, DET 3 Over 4,200 yards for 6 straight seasons, but never more than 32 touchdowns
15 Dak Prescott, DAL 2 Prescott was 4th in completion percentage, last year, besides legends Matt Ryan, Drew Brees, and… Sam Bradford?
16 Andy Dalton, CIN 1 I expect Dalton to throw a lot, as his offensive line won’t hold long enough for him to hand the ball off
17 Carson Wentz, PHI 1 Wentz was 4 for 4 for 56 yards and a touchdown in his first preseason games. Based on last year’s attempts, I have no problem predicting his preseason trend will continue, giving him a season total of 8,500 yards and 150 touchdowns

RBs.JPG

RANK RB VALUE NOTE
1 David Johnson, ARI 68 David Johnson had 2,000 combined yards in 2016. We’ve all collectively agreed to ignore his severe week 17 injury, which means it never existed
2 Le’Veon Bell, PIT 65 Slightly worse prospects then DJ, but consider taking Le’Veon first just for all the team name pun possibilities
3 LeSean McCoy, BUF 55 McCoy averaged a whopping 5.4 yards per carry in 2016, the most of his lengthy career
4 Devonta Freeman, ATL 52 Trying to decide if Freeman + Coleman for ~70 is a sweet deal
5 DeMarco Murray, TEN 49 Grab this guy, grab Henry, and get a top 6 back every week for the price of a top 2 RB
6 Leonard Fournette, JAX 40 Jags gonna have him stand near Bortles and just rip the ball away if ever Blake tries to pass
7 Melvin Gordon, SD 40 High upside, high potential for breakdown with no real backup
8 Jordan Howard, CHI 40 You’ll find FootballAbsurdity is high on top running backs. If you’re in a league that lets a top 8 back go for under 40, your in a really bad league and don’t need our help to win.
9 Jay Ajayi, MIA 38 Wheels are coming off Miami as preseason injuries mount
10 Ezekiel Elliott, DAL 36 Will miss half the fantasy football season, but a fresh-legged RB could propel a midseason plodder team to the championship
11 Lamar Miller, HOU 35 The defense will keep games close, and Miller has the skills. The missing piece, however, is the offensive line, ranked 29th by Pro Football Focus
12 Isaiah Crowell, CLE 34 Cleveland has the offensive line skills, they just need to gel to put forth a top 5 back
13 Kareem Hunt, KC 31 Ware put Kareem Hunt concerns to rest in his first preseason showing, but keep an eye on the situation
14 Carlos Hyde, SF 30 Hyde came to camp motivated. A great buy-low candidate
15 Bilal Powell, NYJ 29 With Forte wearing down, Powell looks to be the major shareholder in the Jets’ rushing game
16 Mark Ingram, NO 28 Two strong seasons are being pitted against one of the best three-way back situations ever
17 Ty Montgomery, GB 26 Green Bay’s “main” back doesn’t have the physicality. Expect another rusher (maybe Jamal Williams) to create a 50-50 split
18 Dalvin Cook, MIN 25 Dalvin Cook has looked electric this preseason, despite Minnesota’s questionable line
19 Marshawn Lynch, OAK 24 Will look great behind that solid line until he goes out-for-season week 3
20 LeGarette Blount, PHI 21 You could put Santa Claus behind that awesome O-Line and he’d rush for 1,000 yards… unless Philadelphians boo’ed him off the field, first
21 Frank Gore, SF 18 The Russian Roulette of fantasy football starting running backs
22 Joe Mixon, CIN 18 Mixon has been looking solid, but Cincinnati’s incredibly bad O-line prompts real concerns
23 Ameer Abdullah, DET 17 High upside, but the downside is he’s tweaked and gives you a start-or-sit headache every week
24 Paul Perkins, NYG 16 Hard to get excited about a ho-hum Giants’ running game, but the G-Men have shown propensity towards making Perkins a bell cow
25 Christian McCaffrey, TEN 15 Don’t mistake speed and skill for between-the-tackles success
26 Tevin Coleman, ATL 15 Good as a backup, or as a fantasy football RB3 option, Coleman finished with 11 touchdowns and over 900 yards
27 Terrence West, BAL 14 Well, he starts. That’s about the only thing I have to say about him
28 Danny Woodhead, BAL 12 The fact that he is the next guy after his teammate RB is indicative of the shared workload
29 Robert Kelley, WAS 12 Seems to have distanced himself from Perine, but volume might not come
30 Mike Gillislee, NE 10 The regular roulette of New England running backs
31 Derrick Henry, TEN 10 A solid handcuff for smart people, and an easy excuse to root for Murray to get injured for evil people
32 CJ Anderson, DEN 9 Denver’s year-end rushing leader might not even be on the team, yet
33 Doug Martin, TB 8 Martin’s production seems to only come in years which he has extra motivation (contract year, rookie year). This is neither of those years
34 Darren McFadden, DAL 8 Once we get more confirmation of his place as heir to Elliott, his value in auctions should double
35 Thomas Rawls, SEA 5 Seems to be the top rusher on the team with the worst-ranked offensive line
36 Duke Johnson, CLE 4 Might find that old pass-catching magic
37 Theo Riddick, DET 4 A solid touchdown option for bye weeks
38 Adrian Peterson, NO 3 Odds are stacked against him, but he’s beaten higher odds before
39 Jonathan Stewart, CAR 3 Might be the lead shareholder on the Panthers, but durability is always a concern
40 Thomas Rawls, SEA 2 If you want to get involved with the Seahawks’ rushing mess, go ahead, at least it will be a cheap lesson
41 James White, NE 2 New England’s prolific offense makes White a solid fantasy football fill-in option
42 Jamaal Williams, GB 2 Seems to be creeping up the Packers’ depth charts
43 Jalen Richard, OAK 2 Once Beast Mode inevitably dies by week 4, Richard should be in line for the most carries in Oakland
44 Samaje Perine, WAS 1 Looked horrible in preseason debut, but has the skills to turn it around
45 James Conner, PIT 1 Might be Bell’s backup, might as easily not, but that’s why he’s so cheap
46 Alvin Kamara, NO 1 Dark horse to emerge as the top back in the Saints top 5 offense
47 Jonathan Williams, BUF 1 McCoy’s untested backup, probably

WRs.jpg

RANK WR VALUE NOTE
1 Antonio Brown, PIT 68 If I bet on a horse to top 3 four times in a row, and that horse catches passes for over 1,284 yards every single year… do I look that gift horse in the mouth? Do I worry about mixing metaphors? Hell, no!
2 Julio Jones, ATL 64 Julio Jones was heartbroken at the end of last year’s superbowl. However, Bridget Jones was heartbroken at the end of her first book, and then she found love in every subsequent installment (note: I only read ¾ of the first Bridget Jones’ novel to research this single joke, so this might not entire be accurate.)
3 Odell Beckham, Jr, NYG 61 Tied for both most receptions in a player’s first three seasons (Jarvis Landry) and most follicle damage done with absurd hairstyles (Katy Perry)
4 Mike Evans, TB 55 Evans had 12 touchdowns in 2 of his first 3 seasons,
5 Jordy Nelson, GB 48 Darling status is in question as midnight draws near
6 A.J. Green, CIN 45 Amazing skill trumps injury risk and double coverage
7 Michael Thomas, NO 43 Most likely to leap into fantasy football top 5 receiver status, although Brees likes to spread it around
8 Doug Baldwin, SEA 39 Top 10 finish in two straight years, un-sexy as hell
9 Amari Cooper, OAK 35 Based on third-year-breakout formula, should go nuts this year. Or maybe he keeps toiling in the “pretty good” ranks
10 Demaryius Thomas, DEN 34 Fantasy football production always there despite constant QB woes
11 DeAndre Hopkins, HOU 32 It’s utterly absurd that, “his quarterbacks are not literally the worst starting quarterback on the planet” is a selling point for a top 12 WR but, here we are
12 Dez Bryant, DAL 32 Either has a great year or gets hobbled and struggles
13 T.Y. Hilton, IND 31 Top tier skill, Luck’s question marks temper expectations
14 Michael Crabtree, OAK 29 Seems to be quarterback’s favorite weapon in a potent offense
15 Brandin Cooks, NE 27 Randy Moss comparisons are ridiculous, plus it’s suspicious how willing New Orleans was to deal with him
16 Keenan Allen, SD 25 Boom-or-bust. Personally, I prefer security in my fantasy football WRs, and to gamble with my RBs
17 Terrelle Pryor, WAS 24 Has the skills and the system, but new to playbook (and, frankly, he’s new to his position still)
18 Jarvis Landry, MIA 23 PPR machine still has to establish chemistry with Cutler
19 Allen Robinson, JAX 22 I would not invest in the Jacksonville passing game in fantasy football
20 Golden Tate, DET 20 Should get the production, but passing touchdowns from Stafford are always iffy
21 Stefon Diggs, MIN 19 Might do great, but third-year-explosion is already factored into price, so don’t expect value
22 Davante Adams, GB 19 James Jones and Randall Cobb were vaunted as the next great Packer WR, but…
23 Jamison Crowder, WAS 18 High expectations, although there are a lot of mouths to feed in the Redskins receiver core
24 Martavis Bryant, PIT 18 I fully expect his reinstatement, he’s already practicing with the team. Get in on this value in your early auctions
25 Alshon Jeffrey, CHI 16 With a decent quarterback, might be able to excel
26 Willie Snead, NO 15 Another third-year WR, with Brees at the helm he is all but a lock to level up
27 Larry Fitzgerald, ARI 15 In 2016, led league in both receptions and AARP benefits
28 Tyreek Hill, KC 14 Don’t invest in gadget players!
29 Kelvin Benjamin, CAR 13 Media tore him apart in off season, but might be worth the risk at this price
30 Devante Parker, MIA 13 Breakout season? Or will Cutler’s buffoonery erase all hope?
31 Eric Decker, TEN 12 A solid week-to-week producer on an established offense
32 Tyrell Williams , SD 12 Super cheap considering his skillset and the strength of his offense. Volume is a concern
33 John Brown, ARI 11 Already banged up in preseason, taking the shine off of one of the gems of off-season discussion
34 Emmanuel Sanders, DEN 10 Over 1,000 yards in three straight seasons. Another unexciting player who creates bargains at the auction table
35 DeSean Jackson, TB 8 Going to score two touchdowns in four game, and nothing in 12
36 Randall Cobb, GB 7 This is essentially a $7 scratch-off lottery ticket: You will almost definitely lose but there’s a slight chance you won’t (hate yourself by week 4)
37 Sammy Watkins, BUF 7 Limping down the field with Goff trying desperately to get the ball somewhere near him? Pass
38 Pierre Garcon, SF 7 Reunited with Shanahan, which is the only reason he’s not in the dollar bin
39 Kenny Britt, CLE 6 The Rams’ best option, last year, so naturally they traded him to a team with a doodoo QB
40 Brandon Marshall, NYG 5 On a better offense, but getting long in the tooth
41 Donte Moncrief, IND 5 When he and Andrew Luck are both not injured together, he’s amazing. Not sure that will ever happen this season, though
42 Mike Wallace, BAL 4 Caught over 1,000 yards last year, but QB health and age make him a tough sell
43 Jeremy Maclin, BAL 4 I guess if you’re a Ravens fan and you must have a dude from their, Maclin has the least potential for damage
44 Adam Thielen, MIN 3 Huge game during last year’s fantasy footblal playoffs may be convincing people he is anything more than a cheap bye week fill-in
45 Corey Coleman, CLE 3 Might do big things, but it’s the Browns
46 Ted Ginn, NO 2 Good gamble, but he’ll be one of those things where you can’t decipher which weeks he will go off
47 Robby Anderson, NYJ 2 Number one wide receiver on number one worst team
48 Tyler Lockett, SEA 2 Injury concerns, and gadgety-ness are critical concerns
49 Sterling Shepard, NYG 2 Will be great if he can overcome his injury, but there’s a good chance he’ll be pushed into service way too early to fully recover
50 Mohamed Sanu, ATL 2 If you want a cheap piece of the Falcons’ offense, this is your best bet
51 Kenny Stills, MIA 2 It’s his fifth year and he’s had no fantasy-worthy seasons, but he has big play potential
52 Zay Jones, BUF 2 Now the best option on a rapidly-fading Bills’ passing game
53 Kenny Golladay, DET 2 Preseason has doubled his stock from $1 to $2
54 J.J. Nelson, ARI 1 Third year guy. Good offense. That’s about it
55 Jordan Matthews, BUF 1 Chipped chest bone raises well-founded concerns about ability to stay on the field in 2017
56 Marvin Jones, DET 1 Had a great start to 2016… might find that synchronization again
57 Rishard Matthews, TEN 1 Top 10 fantasy football WR last year, in what might be the biggest fluke since CJ Spiller
58 Corey Davis, TEN 1 Top rookie WR, proven system

Tight ends.jpg

RANK TE VALUE NOTE
1 Rob Gronkowski, NE 35 If you like to hedge your bets, grab Dwayne Allen cheap
2 Travis Kelce, KC 30 Safer than Gronk, but less larger-than-life
3 Greg Olsen, CAR 25 Consistently finishes among the top at his position, but won’t win you weeks
4 Jimmy Graham, SEA 17 Might have returned to top form
5 Jordan Reed, WAS 13 Could win you a few weeks before he goes out for season
6 Kyle Rudolph, MIN 8 Last season with Vikes was more than likely a fluke, as it was his first in six years with over 500 yards
7 Cameron Brate, TB 5 Don’t be afraid of his rookie tight end competition
8 Delanie Walker, TEN 5 Steady earner, but might have peaked (he’s 33)
9 Hunter Henry, SD 5 Breakout candidate, but that may have already been factored into his fantasy football costs
10 Martellus Bennett, GB 4 Good player, good system, but Green Bay hasn’t had a good TE in years
11 Zac Ertz, PHI 4 With Wentz finding his feet, this could be his breakout year
12 Jack Doyle, IND 3 Looked good last season, and Indy trusts him enough to trade away Allen and Fleener
13 Tyler Eifert, CIN 3 Touchdown threat, but also injury risk
14 Jason Witten, DAL 1 If you just want to pay a $1 and get top 12 TE production, this is it
15 Eric Ebron, DET 1 Yet to live up to his top 10 draft status
16 Coby Fleener, NO 1 Maybe last year’s mess up was due to the new system?
17 CJ Fiedorowicz, HOU 1 Might click as a safety valve for Houston’s rookie QB

Broncos D.JPG

RANK DST VALUE
1 Denver Broncos 2
2 Arizona Cardinals 2
3 Kansas City Chiefs 2
4 Houston Texans 2
5 Pittsburgh Steelers 1
6 Minnesota Vikings 1
7 New England Patriots 1
8 Seattle Seahawks 1
9 Carolina Panthers 1
10 Green Bay Packers 1
11 Jacksonville Jaguars 1
12 Philadelphia Eagles 1

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RANK KICKER VALUE
1 Justin Tucker, BAL 1
2 Stephen Gostkowski, NE 1
3 Matt Bryant, ATL 1
4 Mason Crosby, GB 1
5 Will Lutz, NO 1
6 Dan Bailey, DAL 1
7 Sebastian Janikowski, OAK 1
8 Dustin Hopkins, WAS 1
9 Chris Boswell, PIT 1
10 Matt Prater, DET 1
11 Brandon McManus, DEN 1
12 Ryan Succop, TEN 1

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