Early Fantasy Football Mock Auction: Splurging on Stud RBs, Including Jahmyr Gibbs and Ashton Jeanty

It's time to begin preparing for fantasy football season. Baseball is the only major American sport in action right now (once we return from the All-Star break), so it's easy to divert a little attention toward the most popular sport and fantasy sport in this country.

We never really stop with the NFL: the regular season and playoffs go from September to mid-February, free agency and the draft take us through April, and training camps take place throughout the summer until we hit the preseason in August. It slows down, with the summer months not bringing much, but we even get a few trades sprinkled in, like the Jalen Ramsey/Minkah Fitzpatrick trade at the end of June.

We're entering prime mock fantasy draft time, and I like to try different strategies to see how my team unfolds based on the positions I choose early/wait on in different scenarios. Since I'm doing this personal research, why not share it with the fine people like you who make up the fantasy world?

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Strategy

For this exercise, I was in a 10-team, standard-scoring auction draft. My only rule was that I was going to grab three stud running backs, using most of my budget before filling out the rest of the team with low-cost players. I had tried this before with two RBs, but this was just for practice, so why not shoot for the moon?

Below are the results with the listed prices I paid for each player out of a $200 budget and what I was thinking with each pick.

Stud Running Backs

Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions, $68

Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders, $56

Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens, $46

Saquon Barkley was my original thought as the top guy in this scenario, but these three will do just fine. By spending big on these three players, I'm essentially locking down my two running back spots and the flex every week aside from byes (unless I get unlucky with injuries).

Getting three first- or second-round picks, I drained $170 of my $200. That's hugely significant and will turn off most owners. The plan, though, is to have these guys as the core of the team and mix-and-match around them. There are so many more good receivers than running backs, and you can find WRs in free agency much easier, so this is a bet on loading up with stars at the scarcest position and otherwise piecing together fantasy lineups.

Depth Running Backs

David Montgomery, Detroit Lions, $7

Cam Skattebo, New York Giants, $2

J.K. Dobbins, Denver Broncos, $2

Travis Etienne, Jacksonville Jaguars, $1

Depth is still necessary in case of emergency, and these are each players with hope of finding some success. I'm not really into RB handcuffs unless there's no one better, but Montgomery is a different story. Yes, he is the handcuff to Gibbs in this case, but he has also had two really good years in Detroit behind one of the best offensive lines in football. He's both insurance for Gibbs and a decent low-cost bet with recent success. He's the only player I paid more than $2 for aside from the three top backs.

Skattebo had buzz in the draft as a valuable player in the middle rounds, and the Giants got him in the fourth round at No. 105. They found a very useful back in the fifth round last season in Tyrone Tracy Jr., who ran for over 800 yards and had nearly 300 more receiving, but he gained just an average 4.4 yards per attempt. Devin Singletary is still around; he is also a cut candidate if everyone makes it to Week 1 healthy. Skattebo will run and catch the ball and could see major snaps by the end of the season.

Dobbins has been effective when on the field but also consistently injured, missing games every season. The Broncos drafted RJ Harvey at the end of the second round, and he's most likely to get the first chance to start, but Dobbins could get carries for a winning team, and that's worth a late-round and low-cost flier. (Harvey also still hasn't signed his rookie contract.)

While Etienne looks to be on his way down, his new head coach, Liam Coen, was the offensive coordinator in Tampa Bay last season, where RB Rachaad White caught over 50 passes. Even if Tank Bigsby runs the ball more, Etienne could find a nice role that makes him a PPR darling and even a feasible standard player. Again, he's worth a flier.

Wide Receivers

Deebo Samuel Sr., Washington Commanders, $2

Michael Pittman, Indianapolis Colts, $2

Jayden Reed, Green Bay Packers, $1

Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers, $1

With so much money spent on running backs, the wide receiver group had to be pieced together. Last season, this group of four would have cost over $50. There's a reason they have fallen in value, but there is still something here that could piece together at least an average unit.

Aiyuk will miss the beginning of the year after tearing his ACL last season, but there's a chance he could return after missing just four games if things progress well, and even if he misses more time, Aiyuk is a big-time upside play as a stash candidate if you have an IR spot.

Part of the intrigue with Aiyuk is that his former teammate, Samuel, was shipped to Washington. Terry McLaurin leads the way for the Commanders, but Washington figures to have a high-powered offense again, and Samuel will get the ball in different ways, including rush attempts and screen passes.

Pittman was down last season but still put up decent numbers, topping 800 yards at nearly 12 yards per catch. There are a lot of bodies in Indianapolis, but I'm not sure there's anyone who can really grab that WR1 spot other than Pittman. Rookie tight end Tyler Warren might be his biggest threat to targets. The QB situation might be the biggest hindrance to stardom, with Anthony Richardson Sr. and Daniel Jones in a battle for the QB1 spot.

Reed fits in nicely as a WR2, and Green Bay is surely hoping that first-round pick Matthew Golden can become the eventual top dog, but rookies don't always excel right away, and Reed might still be the top option. He is another guy who was more sought-after last season and has seen his value dip despite 55 catches, 857 yards, and six touchdowns.

All four of these receivers are value plays with upside; it's the best I could do with limited funds after the big three RBs. Wide receiver is probably the easiest place to find fantasy performers, though, and in this scenario, I'm happy to try to piece together a good unit of pass catchers.

Tight End

Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills, $2

I had high hopes for Kincaid last season, expecting him to find a bigger role with Buffalo's weaker wide receiver group. He only played 13 games, but his receptions, targets, and yards all came down significantly, and Kincaid was just part of the crowd rather than standing out. Everything looks about the same this year; Kincaid shouldn't be counted on for big things, but he's fine if you miss out on the top guys.

Quarterbacks

Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers, $2

Justin Fields, New York Jets, $1

If receiver isn't the easiest position at which to find fantasy production, then it has to be quarterback. Especially with more running QBs entering the league, there are more guys than spots in most fantasy leagues, and owners can play matchups to find contributors.

Purdy finished as QB6 and QB14 the past two seasons. He doesn't have all the same weapons he did before, particularly with Samuel walking out the door, but Christian McCaffrey will (hopefully) be back, Jauan Jennings is ready to take a bigger role, and last year's first-round pick, Ricky Pearsall, should also step in to help make up for Aiyuk's absence until he returns. Oh, and George Kittle might be the best tight end in the league right now.

Fields has had his ups and downs, but running quarterbacks make major fantasy impacts, and Fields has top-10 fantasy potential at the position. He's far from a sure thing, but Fields will get every opportunity to excel, and a smart offensive coordinator is going to build a plan around his running, not just let him drop back to pass over and over. Fields was QB6 in 2022 when he ran for over 1,000 yards and scored eight times.

Defense

Denver Broncos D/ST, $1

The Broncos are generally seen as the top D/ST group in fantasy. One strategy I love to use in auction drafts is nominating my favorite defense and kicker early to see if I can steal them for $1. You're going to pay that dollar later anyway, so it's not like you're losing anything, and if someone else wants to spend $2 or more? Fine, you can get someone later. This is an easy way to get your choice of player at these fungible positions.

Kicker

Jake Bates, Detroit Lions, $1

Copy and paste from above. Bates is one of the top-rated fantasy kickers, and bidding $1 on him early (or someone else you love at the position) can get you that top guy while everyone else is thinking about RBs and WRs, and you don't miss out on anything since you can bid on every player. Steal this trick; your fellow league-mates might find it annoying, but we're here to win, right?

Conclusion

While this strategy isn't for the faint of heart, it is a plausible way to build a winning team. It might take some work on the waiver wire to reinforce every position, but that's true of pretty much any way you go about drafting your team, and the upside of the three top backs is tremendous.

In an auction draft, I am happy to get multiple guys who I couldn't pair together in a snake draft at the expense of fantastic depth later, though one or two injuries could tank the season.