Fantasy Football - Serpentine or Auction Draft?

Question

I am the commissioner of a 12 team fantasy football league and our host site is offering Auction draft for the first time, so the debate has begun.

Is the auction draft actually better? I have read up on the theories, and read our sites official rules regarding it, but I am seeking someone who has made that change to find out if they actually like it better.

Also, currently we are a keeper league. Can we still be a keeper league with the auction draft? How does that work...?

Answer 1

Whats up Big Daddy,

I honestly have not participated in an Auction draft, but I've thought long and hard about it.  To me (and to most of the people in my league) the most exciting part of the football season is the fantasy draft.  The serpentine drafting format is the most exciting, IMO, because it allows each owner to control their own destiny.

Sure, in the auction draft you could get the player you want (if your price is high enough), but I like the idea of having an entire draft board to choose from and knowing that when my turn arrives I can have my pick of the litter.  The idea that anyone can have any player is just too restricting to me and doesn't allow for as much strategy to come into play.  

If the isn't enough, I can't imagine how long an auction draft would take.  People in my league are completely loaded by the end of a serpentine draft and I can't imagine what a party would look like at the end of an auction draft; it must be exhausting.

As far as having keepers in an auction league, it seems logical that you would just remove the kept players out of the auction altogether and auction everyone else.  You would have to subtract out the projected value of first round picks from each team's allotted credits to even things out.

I know you were looking for first-hand experience, but I thought I'd add my thoughts anyway.

Good luck.