Printable one-page fantasy football auction value cheat sheets

Fantasy football auction drafts have grown popular because they give every NFL fan equal access to every player, not just whoever a random draft slot happens to land in front of.

Instead of watching a top target get taken by someone else's pick, any manager can buy any name on the board if the budget allows it. That structure rewards preparation and discipline over luck of the draw.

Below is a breakdown of auction strategy by position, along with dedicated approaches for superflex and IDP formats, built around this year's player pool and pricing.

(Note: Cheat sheets can be found at the bottom of the article.)

Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) spins a ball on his finger before a game against the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium.

Enter every auction with tiers, not a strict ranking, so a run on any position doesn't force a reach. Set a max bid on your top targets before bidding opens and hold that number even when the room gets loud. Two builds tend to win. Some call it a stars-and-scrubs build, spending 60-70% of the budget on three or four difference makers, then fill the rest with $1 dart throws.

A balanced build keeps most bids under $30-40 and rosters six or seven dependable starters instead. Either way, never spend more than 70% of the budget on three players, or the back half of the roster gets left to chance.

Nominate players early that you don't want, since it drains rival budgets while your actual targets sit untouched. Late in the draft, flip that and nominate $1 players aggressively to squeeze thin-budget managers out of bench value.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs to win Super Bowl LIX at Ceasars Superdome.

Josh Allen tops the position across every format, valued at $30 in standard, $29 in PPR and $28 in half-PPR, but the depth behind him supports waiting. More than a dozen quarterbacks carry legitimate weekly starter upside this year, so paying up early often means passing on a running back or receiver who won't have the same depth of replacement later.

Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow sit in the next tier around $14-16 across formats, offering a discount on production close to Allen's. If the board gets to Jared Goff or Bo Nix in the $1-4 range, the value gap between the top and the middle has narrowed enough to make waiting the stronger play.

Falcons running back Bijan Robinson (center) carries the ball against San Francisco 49ers safety Ji'Ayir Brown (27) during the third quarter at Levi's Stadium.

Running back still commands the top of every board. Bijan Robinson leads standard at $61 and half-PPR at $59, with Jahmyr Gibbs close behind at $57 and $55. Christian McCaffrey , Jonathan Taylor and Saquon Barkley round out the tier that can anchor a stars and scrubs build.

The middle tiers carry real risk. Backs priced in the $15-25 range, like Kyren Williams or Breece Hall , often come with a clearer path to touches than their price suggests, but committee backfields can sink that value fast. Ashton Jeanty stands out as a value target in that same range, with a cheaper price tag that undercuts veterans with a similar point projection.

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (88) celebrates after a play against the Kansas City Chiefs during the third quarter at AT&T Stadium.

Wide receiver is deep enough this year that patience pays off. Ja'Marr Chase and Puka Nacua anchor the position at $52-59 depending on format, with Jaxon Smith-Njigba , Amon-Ra St. Brown and CeeDee Lamb close behind in the $44-51 range. After that top handful, the price gaps flatten out.

Drake London , George Pickens and Chris Olave sit in the $27-37 range across formats, and the position stays useful well past that point. Malik Nabers , valued around $20-23, is a name to watch for a discount given his target share as a rookie last year, since a shaky quarterback situation is suppressing the price, not his talent.

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers (89) enters the field before the game against the Cleveland Browns .

Tight end splits into two clear plans this year. Brock Bowers and Trey McBride sit alone at the top, valued between $24-33 depending on format, a real tier above the rest of the position. Paying up secures a weekly scoring edge no other tight end offers. The alternative is fading the position entirely.

Tucker Kraft and Colston Loveland sit in the $16-23 range and offer a credible floor at a fraction of the cost. Depth behind them runs deeper than in past years, so a manager who waits can still land a usable starter for $5 or less late in the draft.

Kickers should be the last dollar spent, not the first. Brandon Aubrey and Ka'imi Fairbairn top the position at $2 across formats, but the gap between a $2 kicker and a $1 kicker rarely shows up in points at the end of the season.

Streaming the position based on weekly matchup beats paying up for name value, since ADP has been a poor predictor of which kicker finishes as a top scorer.

Defense pricing stays flat and low across every format, with the Texans , Seahawks and Rams topping the position at just $2. That flatness reflects how unpredictable defensive scoring is week to week. Spending anything beyond the minimum here takes a dollar away from a roster spot that would matter more.

Treat draft-day defense as a placeholder, then plan to stream the position off the waiver wire once the schedule reveals soft matchups.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen signals to the offensive line a play during first half action at Empower Field.

Superflex flips the auction economy since two starting quarterback slots double the position's demand without adding a single passer to the pool.

Josh Allen jumps to $47, with Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow both climbing to $42, prices that now sit alongside the top running backs and receivers on the board. Budget 35-45% of total spend for quarterback before bidding even opens, since spending like a one-quarterback league here leaves a roster short at the position all year.

Justin Herbert and Jayden Daniels , priced at $36-38, offer a real discount on production close to the top tier. Punting the position outright is rarely worth the points given up over a full season.

Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. (3) reacts against the Las Vegas Raiders during the first half at SoFi Stadium.

IDP scoring flips positional value compared to offense, since linebackers who rack up tackles carry the most weekly point volume. Jordyn Brooks and Jack Campbell top the position at $15-16, with Cedric Gray and Roquan Smith close behind in the $12-14 range.

Defensive linemen and defensive backs price lower across the board, topping out around $9-11 for names like Myles Garrett and Kyle Hamilton . Budget discipline still applies since overspending on the top two or three linebackers leaves little room to fill six total IDP starting spots. Depth at defensive back and defensive line runs deep enough that $1-3 bargains late in the draft can still start every week.

Printable one-page fantasy football auction value cheat sheets

(Update: All cheat sheets updated Wednesday, 8/26 at 8:45 a.m. EST with auction values added.)