Air It Out

Yes to the first (either RB for any of those WR, preferably Jordy). I would not do the second, but I'm not a huge Gronk fan.

Did my last draft in a 14-team Standard League (1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 K, 1 D/ST; NO FLEX). I have my thoughts but want to know what you all think. Thanks, and WHIR (of course). QB: Carr. RB: Freeman, Elliot, Coleman, R. Kelley WR: Alshon, D. Adams, R. Matthews, Marvin Jones, Jr., Adam Thielen, Cooper Kupp TE: Fiedorowicz K: Boswell D/ST: Buff (streaming)

How many RBs can you play? how many roster spots are there? how many teams in the league? I believe the savings you have with Shady and Ajayi are each more than the savings from DJ. Shady will go in the $50s, and Ajayi in the upper $40s or $50s. Even if DJ goes for $80, you're still saving money by keeping Shady/Ajayi for $30 and spending bigger for DJ. You can actually have 3 RB1 and a WR1 when all is said and done, then fill out your roster where you can. $30 for Shady/Ajayi, around $75 for DJ, $65 for Julio-type is $170, leaving $30 for the rest. Depending on how many roster spots you need to fill, you can get QB, TE, WR2 and scrubs for the rest. So, in short, I'd keep Shady/Ajayi and try to get DJ back.

I'm in a 16-team auction draft league, play 1 QB, 2 WR, 2 RB, 1 TE, 1 Flex, K, D/ST, 4 bench spots. My team is: QB: Wilson, Rivers WR: Jordy, D. Thomas, D. Parker, Maclin RB: D. Murray, Abdullah, Ingram, Fat Rob TE: H. Henry I really want to get D. Henry to handcuff D. Murray. Is it worth giving up Ingram given my RB group? Kelley is the clear starter in Washington, and Ingram will at very best split carries with AP. Thanks, and, of course, WHIR.

Here's my team, 16-team, 1 PPR Auction Draft ($200 budget). What do you think? QB: Wilson ($20); Rivers ($9) WR: Jordy ($17 - keeper); D. Thomas ($34); D. Parker ($11); Maclin ($9) RB: D. Murray ($34 - keeper); Abdullah ($15 - keeper); Ingram ($24); R. Kelley ($8) TE: H. Henry ($6 - keeper) K: Crosby ($3) D/ST: Carolina ($2) To give some idea of the overspending in my league, here are some examples of crazy spending: AB ($77); Gronk ($43); OBJ ($71); Julio ($78); Aaron Rodgers ($65); Fournette ($53); McCaffrey ($57); Zeke ($52 - suspension and all). Now that you've seen the team and have your first impression, I will admit that I thought the draft was tonight but apparently it was this morning at 10, so everything but the keepers is an autodraft. Oops. Gonna have to drop Fat Rob for someone else, and maybe Maclin, but he can produce if Flacco comes back soon. Parker could actually be a great receiver with Cutler throwing to him. So, did autodraft screw me? I actually think I can work with this squad. I'm not super disappointed, to be honest.

If you don't have to keep a second and instead would get an additional early pick, I'd do that and only keep OBJ. But, if it doesn't make a difference if you keep a second player or not, I'd also lean CJ, but I'd almost be willing to take a flyer on Abdullah. I'm personally very high on him this year and think he'll have a breakout year.

Thanks, but to be clear, it was Hunter Henry (TE) for $6, not D. Murray's handcuff. I ended up keeping D. Murray, Jordy, Abdullah, and H. Henry for a total of $72, leaving me with $128 to spend on another WR1 (I know AB, JJ, and OBJ are available and will go for mid-$60s, so I will try to get one of them). If they go above that, I'll maybe go for Dez in the $50 range or even K. Allen (though I don't want both Keenan and Henry). I also think I'm going after Zeke at a depressed value (maybe mid-$40s, which accomplishes two things: it gets me Zeke for later in the year, and also hopefully as a keeper for next year, as his value only goes up $5 in first year kept and $10 per year after that). I figure a top WR and Zeke will cost me about $110, leaving $18 for the rest (unless, as said, I go for lower WR like Dez). We play 1 QB, 2 WR, 2 RB, 1 TE, 1 Flex, 1 K, 1 D/ST, and have 4 bench spots. So, $18 for a QB (Rivers, maybe), K, D/ST, and 4 bench guys should be enough.

So, I'm making final choices for keepers tonight in a 16-team, 1 PPR league. $200 budget. Can keep up to 4. Here are my choices and their keeper values: D. Murray for $34 Abdullah for $15 Jordy for $17 (obvious) Dez for $50 K. Allen for $33 H. Henry for $6 Jordy is obvious, as is Murray for $34 (I just hope he holds off D. Henry for one more year). Then I'm looking for value, and I don't think Dez at $50 is good value, as that's about what he'll go for in the auction. I like Abdullah's upside for $15, so it comes down to which Charger. if Allen stays healthy and is the PPR monster we know he can be, then $33 for him is great value. But $6 for H. Henry as a very solid TE option is pretty hard to pass up, and going with Henry leaves me $128 in the draft to get another WR1 for $60 or so (I know Julio, AB, and OBJ will be available). What does everyone else think? thanks, and WHIR

A.J. Green. You have your RBs and need a WR, and he's the best available.

Do you lose the round they were picked in 2016? If so, I'd look at keeping Baldwin in the 8th. That's really good value.

I would ask whether it's PPR or standard, but I don't think it matters. Personally, I take Julio.

Not a fan in PPR setting. I think you really need to upgrade your WR, and your depth is suspect (unless Matthews and Perkins perform). Maybe package Ajayi and Snead for a WR to a guy who has a better WR set and/or needs a RB and/or loves Ajayi. I actually don't think Ajayi will be all that (I see him having a season like Gurley did last year, not living up to the hype).

So this is the "complete redraft" year? I get why you'd take Zeke at the 2nd spot for a 3-year keeper, and I assume the first to go will be DJ. Is it PPR? If so, you could look to one of the top WR for a 3-year league (Evans or OBJ, most likely). I don't think that's a bad play in a PPR league at that spot, either. That all being said, I do think the suspension gets reduced, maybe to 4 games, and in a 3-year keeper, I don't think that 4 games (or even if it stays at 6) takes away the value of having Zeke for those three years. It would not be too high to take him.

I'm actually trying to package Murray and a WR for Howard ($6) or Ajayi ($13). I'm actually not high on Murray because I think he'll lose a lot of value with an increased D. Henry role, so I'm trying to sell him and his $34 to get cheaper RB value. I was thinking of Murray and Keenan Allen for Howard, then keeping Howard, Abdullah, Nelson, and Henry for $44. Either that or trading Murray and Allen for Baldwin ($16) or Thomas ($9), so I'd keep Jordy, Abdullah, Baldwin/Thomas, and Henry for $54 (Baldwin) or $47 (Thomas). Both of those teams don't have solid WR keepers (EDIT: meant to say RB keepers, which is why giving them Murray would induce them to trade solid WR in Baldwin or Thomas). If I can't do any of those trades, I'll probably keep Henry and spend for a high-end WR to pair with Jordy.

Then maybe look to keep DJ, Julio, and Evans, instead of OBJ. Personally, I think those three are pretty interchangeable in any given year, and B. Marsh might impact OBJ the same way DJax will impact Evans or Sanu/Gabriel will impact Julio. So, if you can keep those three next year, too, then it might be better to keep them and not risk not having 3 very viable keepers next year. You can always NOT keep one of them if you have a guy who becomes a stud this year, but at least you're secure in having keepers for next year, too.

Dammit, knew I forgot something. I edited the initial post to include for future readers, but the auction budget is $200. My other potential keepers are: D. Murray ($34) P. Perkins ($6) Abdullah ($15) Dez ($50) Keenan Allen ($33) Hunter Henry ($6) Leaning D. Murray, Abdullah, and either Allen or Henry for a total of $99 (with Allen) or $72 (with Henry). Thanks.

PPR or no, and how many teams? Considering your keepers are AB, OBJ, and Gordon, that tells me guys like DJ, Bell, and Zeke (even with the suspension) will be off the board, too. Which also tells me there's no way Evans makes it to the 5th pick (though if he's there, you have to get him). I think you need another RB, as you already have two stud WR, and while I personally don't trust Murray to put up numbers again this year and he'll lose touches (and I think especially goal line) to Henry, I think you might really consider him if he's available with the 5. If he's gone, you could take a flyer on Fournette or go with Dez or T.Y. Crowell could be interesting, but he may also be available in the second round. I think McCaffrey is like Woodhead, so not worth a 1st rounder unless PPR, but a major risk even then.

16-team 1 PPR Keeper League, $200 budget. Keep up to 4 guys. Auction value increases $10 per year. I've been offered the following trade: Give: Jordy ($17 this year, $27 next, etc.) Get: D. Adams ($6 this year, $16 next, etc.) I'm leaning toward decline because I think Jordy still has this year and next year as the No. 1 in GB, but I'm curious what people think of Adams taking over that spot within a year or two, which might make the decreased value worth it. Probably not, but still curious.

If you can only keep one, then it's absolutely ARob at that value. Even if you could keep more, I don't think you should, honestly.

Agreed. $51 for Bell is "value." He'll actually probably go for above that, so it's "good" value. And you get Howard for "excellent" value. Take those two off the board, focus on getting a couple of solid WR with the rest of your cash and fill out your roster.

In my league with a $200 budget, Bell went for $71 last year and Zeke for like $75 or some crazy number (then again, some guy paid $73 for Andrew Luck, so I will admit some guys in my league are not so savvy). I personally think it's a bit much and wouldn't pay that for him. It's a PPR and I'd pay into the $60s for top WR and maybe low $60s for a Bell, DJ, or Zeke (minus suspension), but not into the $70s. That all being said, I tend to want a more well-rounded team if I can and I'll pay for more mid-tier guys and look for guys to have above-average years, or look for value, than to pay top-dollar for the studs. For instance, two years ago in the first year of an auction draft keeper league, I took Jordy for $2 knowing he'd ride my bench all season because of the injury but also knowing he'd only cost me $7 last year and $17 this year. I'm keeping Abdullah for $15 and looking to offload D. Murray for $34 to get another top WR at good value (Baldwin and M. Thomas have good value and their owners need RB) because I don't trust Murray to stay top-dog and I'd rather take the flyer on the WRs at better value.

You definitely need to have a price-escalation clause for keepers. For instance, in my keeper league, we have a $200 budget, and keepers go up $5 in the first year kept and $10/year after that. So, in our first year (2 years ago), I was able to draft Jordy for $2 because it was after the knee injury. Granted, he rode my bench all year, but I knew I'd get him for only $7 last year and only $17 this year, so it was a calculated risk. I figured by the time he's $37 in 2 years, his value will actually match his production and he won't be a keeper, but I think it's a good balance between good drafting, good foresight, but also limiting the amount of time someone can have an elite player. A guy happened to get DJ as a FA two years ago, so he counted only as $6 last year and $16 this year. He'll keep DJ for another 4-5 years until his price is $66, which will be commensurate with his going rate at the auction, anyway. You can adjust it so that those kinds of steals either can be kept longer (making the annual auction value increases smaller) or getting them back into the pool quicker (making the annual auction increases larger), but I think you need to agree on a rule like that moving forward AFTER this coming year. Or you can simply reset for this year and move forward like that.

You win on the OBJ v. AB part, big time, because of the cost and OBJ's youth (how much does the salary increase each year you keep them, if at all?) You also win with Luck at $17 in a 2 QB league, great pickup. As I said, losing Zeke hurts a lot, but you still have Bell, Gurley, and Howard to throw out there, and Cook could become a solid RB2 by year's end. I think you did good.

I take it you didn't do that trade for Luck? I liked that, but this is actually solid. I would absolutely do this in a 2 QB dynasty league. You're not losing a tremendous amount between AB and OBJ, plus the cost of OBJ is far superior. It does hurt to lose Zeke, but at $46, he's going to be hard to keep long term, anyway, and Perkins could be a serviceable RB2 for years at that price. Cousins is a solid QB and at $22, I think you're getting a good deal.

You definitely need an upgrade at QB in an 8-team league. But no QB is worth any of your top 5 guys (Bell, Gordon, OBJ, Green, Baldwin) in a 1-to-1 trade. OBJ should be worth an upgrade at QB and TE, for instance, or at least getting back a better QB and a mid-level WR.