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Welcome to "Money Talks". The general purpose of this column will be to give you some advice for one of the more popular methods of adding new fantasy players each week – the Free Agency Acquisition Budget, or "FAAB". What this is in a nutshell is a budget of money that every team is given to bid on free agents each week, much like in an auction. Usually this is done via blind bids, meaning that no other owner knows how much you have bid on a given player – unless you announce your bid in some sort of a poker-like bluff move. Some leagues do reveal all bids after the bidding is closed and waivers are processed, while other leagues just show winning bids. It can be fun to see if several teams bid on a given player or if an owner spent a ton of money on a guy no one else even wanted.
Enough of that for now. I will give both general advice and also some weekly assistance for this advanced waiver process in this column. I hope you enjoy and get the player(s) you want every week. Here we go.
ASSUMPTIONS
As with anything in fantasy football, not all leagues are the same. Some are big, some are small. Such is the way with FAAB waivers. Some leagues use a big budget of $1,000 per owner or more, while others use $100 or less. I will assume $1,000 for the purposes of this article and let you, the reader, do the math to adjust to your league. Another difference is that in some leagues the FAAB process is the ONLY way to get new players. Other leagues have the FAAB process first and then allow free transactions for that week on any player not getting a bid (so you can cover your kicker's bye, for example, for free). I will assume that is NOT the case here and think that every transaction will cost you something. If it does not, great – but at least you know why I might say to grab a kicker now for a buck.
Now let's talk about bidding in general. For many more experienced leagues, round numbers are the kiss of death. Even older leagues (and owners) start to see bidding trends over time ("Jeff loves to end in a 7"), which can be dangerous when you are trying to outbid everyone. The natural assumption is to bid in large round numbers – please avoid that temptation. $53 vs. $50 may seem like a trivial difference, but many more people bid $50 instead of adding a few extra bucks that can change who wins.
Another generally accepted rule – do not be stingy early in the year. Sure it is nice to hold on to extra "cash" in case a stud RB goes down for the year, but look around your league and count how many NFL backups are even available on the waiver wire. Not many? Right. Go big early on players who seem to come out of nowhere, like Victor Cruz last year. Most fantasy studs appear on the scene in September instead of weeks later.
There is a "ying" to the "yang" of the last rule – which is to not excessively churn your roster. While it may not seem like much, but if you drop 5-10% of your bankroll each week on bench players that never see the light of day in your lineup, then you are just wasting money. Think about it this way – if you save for a rainy day, you can be prepared to go all out for when you need that money to go "all in" on a player you really want. Of course the trick is figuring out which player is worthy of such a big bid.
Last comment for now – it is far better to bid on a player a week or two early instead of a week late. That can be the difference between a $3 player and a $300 player. If you really want Adrian Peterson’s understudy, get him now before Peterson pulls that hammy and everyone gets in on the action.
Week 3 Comment: Another item to discuss – who to drop. Keep perspective on your team. If you are short on running backs, you probably want to cut a different position player to grab running back depth. To say that another way, if you are strong and deep already at wide receiver, a sixth or seventh wideout is very unlikely to help. Let that steer your cuts.
Week 4 Comment: Bye weeks are starting now, so teams are going to be more active on the waiver wire, especially with New England off in Week 4. Kickers and defenses will be added and dropped, so start looking ahead and you’re your lineups for the weeks where you will be short a starter or two. Depth is going to play a bigger part in the next several weeks, so do not be afraid to add players for a rainy day now instead of later.
Week 5 Comment: Bye weeks are here, so some of the best deals are both players on a bye week or coming off of one. For example, New England and Tennessee were both off last week. With the idea of "out of sight, out of mind", players on both teams could be bargain acquisitions – and this general trend will continue through Week 12.
Week 6 Comment: The fantasy regular season is nearly half over, so if you are sitting on some free agent money, it is probably time to buy some guys you might need – now or later. Even if a player is only startable for 2-3 games, that is a big percentage of the fantasy regular season. Shoot the lock off of that wallet.
Week 7 Comment: Not only is the (fantasy) season half over, injuries are starting to pile up. Once you can start to get past some bye weeks, depth on rosters will matter. Add players and handcuffs accordingly.
Week 8 Comment: This week is a make or break waiver wire week to me. Pick up the wrong guys and you will pay dearly for it. Waiver wire money will cost you, as will the wasted roster spot, but also the missed chance to get someone else. I see lots of Fools' Gold this week, so read on and choose wisely.
Week 9 Comment: Time to make some moves. With stars from six teams on the bye week, it is either time to build some depth or to position your team for a playoff push. Throw the budget away and get some guys you want (and might need) for November and the fantasy playoffs.
Week 10 Comment: Time to make some moves. With stars from six teams coming off of the bye week, those guys could fly under the radar. it is either time to build some depth or to position your team for a playoff push. Throw the budget away and get some guys you want (and might need) for November and the fantasy playoffs.
Week 11 Comment: Bye weeks are almost behind us, with just six more teams to take a week off. Now it is time to roster some guys to back up your top backs and receivers and get the roster set for your fantasy playoffs.
Week 12 Comment: You are likely running out of time (and possibly dollars as well). Grab any applicable handcuffs and if you have enough money left, spend it now on a Top 5 waiver wire prospect. Even if you have a strong team, keep hot hands off of the opposing rosters.
Week 13 Comment: If your fantasy playoffs are imminent, make sure you have backups at each spot - even kicker. Anyone can get hurt down the stretch.
Week 14 Comment: It is clearly time to go "all in". These are the final weeks, and it is likely your playoff time. If you can make moves (some leagues are already locked), then grab weekly starters or guys that can help right away. Everyone else does not matter.
Week 15 Comment: Same as last week - It is clearly time to go "all in". These are the final weeks, and it is likely your playoff time. If you can make moves (some leagues are already locked), then grab weekly starters or guys that can help right away. Everyone else does not matter.
Week 16 Comment: For most of you, this is the final week. Go get a player or two to help you win right now. Nothing else matters.
Week 17 Comment: Well, if you are still here, this is it. Week 17 is the final regular season week. This is a tough week for pickups, as anyone you add has to immediately contribute. That makes this week's list a bit short, so for the most part ride the lineup you had last week. I will throw out a few names to help a little this week, I hope. Good luck and see you next season!
BIG BUCKS
Big Bucks are reserved for immediate starter potential players (QB1, RB1/2, WR1/2/3, Flex, TE1) in most league formats.
- Bilal Powell, RB, Jets ($250): The Jets keep feeding Powell the ball, and why not? Ivory gets banged up and Powell produces. The Jets need a win to get in the postseason, and Powell will help I that effort.
- Mike Gillislee, RB, Bills ($225): Buffalo hosts the Jets in Week 17, and they are all about the running game with Gillislee and Karlos Williams. Expect both of them to be heavily involved in the final game plan of the year for Buffalo.
- Charles Sims, RB, Buccaneers ($202): Who is Sims, anyway? Only the #5 receiving running back and he has topped 1,000 yards for the Buccaneers on the year. Look for Tampa Bay to continue to play and evaluate him against Carolina this week.
- Isaiah Crowell, RB, Browns ($201): Tough matchup against Pittsburgh this week, but the Browns keep feeding Crowell the ball lately in a less-crowded Cleveland backfield. He is a decent RB2/flex option pickup if you need one.
- Dontrelle Inman, WR, Chargers ($200): Inman is the WR1 for San Diego pretty much by default with San Diego running out of options. His 8-82-1 performance last week was stellar by most any standard, and even though he faces Denver in Week 17 he should be in the WR3/flex conversation.
MEDIUM MONEY
Medium Money is reserved for players who could be bye week starters or that have upside potential on good matchups in most league formats.
- Keshawn Martin, WR, Patriots ($166): New England has some injuries at the wideout spots, and they are unlikely to risk Danny Amendola or Julian Edelman in Week 17 with a bye coming up before what they hope will be another Super Bowl run. That means Martin is likely to be a top target for Tom Brady one more week in a visit to Miami. New England still wants one more win to lock up the top seed, so Brady will be playing hard, so Martin could benefit.
- Jermaine Kearse, WR, Seahawks ($160): The wide receiver pickup list is thin this week, but Kearse has 17 catches, 200+ yards and a touchdown in the past three weeks for Seattle. He is a decent WR3/flex option, especially in PPR leagues.
- Theo Riddick, RB, Lions ($155): Another PPR back to consider, but valuable in most any format as RB2/flex option for Week 17. Detroit visits a bad Bears defense, so Riddick could post solid numbers even in a shared backfield.
- DuJuan Harris, RB, 49ers ($141): San Francisco chose to use Harris as their top back on Sunday, and they could do it again after Harris had a solid (11-73) rushing day. The 49ers host the Rams, so a RB2/flex value is about as much as one can hope for Harris this week.
- Joique Bell, RB, Lions ($131): Bell makes for a good pickup as a RB2 in most formats as he has had the goal line work for Detroit the past month (three 1-yard touchdowns in the past five games). Detroit visits Chicago this week, so the matchup is favorable.
- Donald Brown, RB, Chargers ($121): A bit of a desperation pickup here, but Brown has touched the ball 31 times in the past two weeks. The matchup is not favorable (at Denver) but if you are desperate for a tailback this week, he is an option.
CHUMP CHANGE
Chump Change is reserved for players who are relatively considered to be a good flier pick to stash on a fantasy bench in case he blows up over the next few weeks and becomes a potential immediate or spot starter.
- Not this time of year. Go big or go home.
Questions, suggestions and comments are always welcome to pasquino@footballguys.com.