Auction Domination: Best Fantasy Football Auction Value Bargains on Yahoo and ESPN

Trader Tim scoured the ESPN and Yahoo fantasy football auction prices to find the best values to exploit.

Hello my friends, fresh off of last week’s Fantasy Football Auction Values, we’ve had a few changes of note. A few hours after my dollar values hit, we had the Ezekiel Elliott suspension and the Sammy Watkins/Jordan Matthews trades.

Just a quick note on how that should change their dollar values: Zeke should drop from a $50+ player to somewhere around $30, Darren McFadden should gain about $5-10 in value over his previous value, Sammy Watkins should stay about the same (I don’t think he’ll perform appreciably worse than he would have in Buffalo), Todd Gurley may be worth an extra buck or two with less stacked boxes, Jordan Matthews should go up by about $3-$5 (although he’s already injured so maybe that increase should go to Anquan Boldin or Zay Jones instead) and finally I think Zach Ertz increases his value by about $3.

This week we’re going to take a look at some of the best bargains in Yahoo and ESPN auction leagues based on where I have the player valued and where they do. As a general rule, people tend to stick closer to the value listed on the host site when bidding on a player so if you can get these players for the value listed on their respective site, I think you’ll be happy with the production you get for the cost. These amounts are based off of 12 team leagues for both sites.

Yahoo Bargains

Quarterback: Derek Carr – $6 Yahoo ($13 my projection)

I don’t believe last year is a fluke and all the quarterbacks are overpriced on Yahoo so I think waiting for a guy like Derek Carr is smart. You can likely get him for even less than the $6 they have listed and I think he’s worth a decent amount more.

Running Back: Jeremy Hill – $1 Yahoo ($15 my projection)

Apparently Yahoo hasn’t reacted to the news that Jeremy Hill will be the starter for the Bengals. Watching Joe Mixon in the preseason opener would certainly paint the picture that he will be the starter sooner than later, but the Bengals seem intent on keeping Hill involved and depending on how Mixon’s pass protection grows, it’s possible that Hill gets a lot more than just goal line carries for a good chunk of the season. Either way, if you can steal Hill for $1 he’s the perfect kind of running back to pair with a suspended player like Ezekiel Elliott or Doug Martin because you won’t even care if he loses the job after the first few months.

Wide Receiver: Kelvin Benjamin – $10 Yahoo ($20 my projection)

Kelvin Benjamin is a puzzling player because some games he uses his size and looks like an unstoppable monster and other games he pouts like a bitch and seems not to be involved in the game in any way. He won’t offer a ton of consistency but last year represents his downside and if the Panthers are serious about Cam Newton throwing the ball more this year, Benjamin should be a beneficiary. Definitely worth taking if you can get him at such a bargain price.

Tight End: Julius Thomas – $1 Yahoo ($7 my projection)

Tight end is another position that doesn’t offer a ton of value on Yahoo but I think Julius Thomas can solidly outproduce their $1 price tag for him. To be fair, I wouldn’t want to rely on Thomas as my only tight end, but as a flyer pick, I think he can offer some good touchdown potential being back with Adam Gase.

ESPN Bargains

Quarterback: Marcus Mariota – $2 ESPN ($14 my projection)

I think Marcus Mariota has a chance to be one of the top QBs this year. He has new weapons and has already shown the ability to average very solid points per game through his first two seasons. With Eric Decker and Corey Davis in tow, and his ability to run, it wouldn’t be at all shocking to have a lite version of Cam Newton’s 2015 numbers. If you can bag him for $2 on ESPN, you shouldn’t hesitate.

Running Back: Doug Martin – $3 ESPN ($24 my projection)

I think Doug Martin on ESPN represents one of the biggest bargains you can get in any auction draft. By all accounts, Martin looks focused and ready to have a great season (which he always seems to do every other year). His usage in the first preseason game seemed to solidly peg Martin as the starter and main runner, particularly at the goal line. He is going to miss the first 3 games due to suspension, but there is no real chance that Jacquizz Rodgers is going to steal his job. Grab Martin for $3 and Rodgers for $1 and you should have a very productive Tampa Bay running game for peanuts.

Wide Receiver: Devante Parker – $3 ESPN ($18 my projection)

Yet another huge bargain on ESPN, Devante Parker is in a position to finally deliver on the promise he has shown for the past two years. I think he’s as big a breakout candidate at WR as there is in the league, especially since Jay Cutler has shown a propensity to lock onto his most athletic wideout and throw all day long. You can get Parker for the cost of a bench player on ESPN and watch him grow into an every week starter.

Tight End: Tyler Eifert – $4 ESPN ($13 my projection)

Tyler Eifert is certainly often injured but it seems that most of the good tight ends are (Rob Gronkowski, Jordan Reed). When healthy there is no question that Eifert is an end zone beast. There are no other players in a draft that you can invest only $4 into that have a very reasonable chance to put up double digit touchdowns.

That’s it for this week my friends. Make sure you get on Yahoo and ESPN and take advantage of all of these great bargains. A team filled with some or all of these players and a handful of studs should take you a very long way. We’ll be back next week with some players that you should avoid on Yahoo and ESPN because they’re way overpriced. Until then, don’t be afraid to holler at me in the comments below!

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