Alvin Kamara and Christian McCaffrey -- taken by the same Fantasy manager to play on the same Fantasy team.
We're not making this up. It happened.
Will Brinson, our intrepid NFL blogger, got both. He could never, ever pull this off in a typical seasonal redraft league where everyone takes a turn to pick a player in a neat and orderly fashion. No, the lawless Brinson took advantage of the format and guidelines that auctions, not drafts, provide and spent nearly two-thirds of his budget on two players!
The rules are simple: Every manager gets a fictional budget to spend on players, usually $100 or $200. One by one, players are nominated and their services are put up for bid. The manager who bids the most gets the player added to his roster. Managers can only spend their allotment (they could spend less, but why?) and must fill every roster spot. Players go for as low as $1 or as high as, in the case of this mock, $37, which is what Saquon Barkley fetched.
Auctions also reflect how people really feel about players -- the popular running backs will always bring back top dollar while any rusher with concerns about health, workload, experience or anything else won't. These results reflect that -- five running backs went for $30 or more, five went between $20 and $29, and six went between $15 and $19.
The results are way different than what you'd find in a snake draft. We went with a PPR format that included two running backs, two receivers and a flex. All touchdowns were worth six points, all turnovers worth minus-two points.
Here's who participated, including a note about their overall teams and the number of top-24 ADP players as of July 30:
Dave Richard, Senior Fantasy Writer
- Auction veteran. Good balanced lineup with weak receiver depth. Spent $65 on James Conner, Tyreek Hill and Aaron Jones. Two top-24 players.
Jamey Eisenberg, Senior Fantasy Writer
- Auction veteran. Patient approach, amazing receivers, risky tight end. Two top-24 players.
Heath Cummings, Senior Fantasy Writer
- Auction veteran. Spent $22 or less on every player. Risky quarterback. Two top-24 players.
Chris Towers, Senior Editor, Fantasy
- Auction veteran. Spent up on Saquon Barkley and Todd Gurley with surprisingly good lineup around them. Two top-24 players.
George Maselli, Fantasy Editor
- Some auction experience. Spent $16-plus on four players including Patrick Mahomes. Running back depth weak. One top-24 player.
Ben Gretch, Fantasy Editor
- Auction veteran. All but two players cost $9 or less. Amazing receiver depth. One top-24 player.
Casey Keirnan, CBS Sports HQ Host
- First auction ever. Went big on three top-24 players, cheap on everyone else. Major depth issues.
Eric Chylinski, Director of Marketing, CBS Sports
- Auction veteran. Spent under $20 on every player, including $28 on Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler combined. Two top-24 players.
Will Brinson, Senior NFL Writer
- Auction veteran. Spent $68 on Kamara and McCaffrey, $7 or less on everyone else. Wide receiver is very weak, depth is iffy. Two top-24 players.
Wyatt Ferber, CBS Sports HQ Producer
- Auction veteran. Spent $71 on Le'Veon Bell, David Johnson and Antonio Brown. All but one other player cost $4 or less, including Aaron Rodgers. Three top-24 players.
Michael Kiser, Director, Video Production
- Some auction experience. Patient, cost-efficient approach. Fantastic receiver depth. Spent $8 or less on each running back. One top-24 player.
R.J. White, NFL Editor
- Spent $77 on Julio Jones, Davante Adams and Joe Mixon but found solid bargains at running back. Depth is very shaky. Three top-24 players.
Position By Position |
| TEAM BY TEAM | ||
QUARTERBACK | BEN GRETCH | |||
SALARY | PLAYER | SALARY | PLAYER | |
$16 | Patrick Mahomes, KC | $4 | Deshaun Watson, QB, HOU | |
$4 | Aaron Rodgers, GB | $7 | Derrick Henry, RB, TEN | |
$4 | Deshaun Watson, HOU | $6 | Kenyan Drake, RB, MIA | |
$4 | Kyler Murray, ARI | $6 | David Montgomery, RB, CHI | |
$3 | Lamar Jackson, BAL | $26 | Odell Beckham, WR, CLE | |
$3 | Andrew Luck, IND | $11 | T.Y. Hilton, WR, IND | |
$2 | Ben Roethlisberger, PIT | $9 | D.J. Moore, WR, CAR | |
$2 | Russell Wilson, SEA | $7 | Kenny Golladay, WR, DET | |
$2 | Matt Ryan, ATL | $6 | A.J. Green, WR, CIN | |
$2 | Baker Mayfield, CLE | $5 | Mike Williams, WR, LAC | |
$1 | Philip Rivers, LAC | $4 | Dante Pettis, WR, SF | |
$1 | Dak Prescott, DAL | $3 | Christian Kirk, WR, ARI | |
$1 | Jared Goff, LAR | $2 | Hunter Henry, TE, LAC | |
$1 | Drew Brees, NO | $1 | Ka'imi Fairbairn, K, HOU | |
$1 | Jameis Winston, TB | $3 | DST Vikings, MIN | |
$1 | Tom Brady, NE | CASEY KEIRNAN | ||
$1 | Carson Wentz, PHI | SALARY | PLAYER | |
$1 | Cam Newton, CAR | $4 | Kyler Murray, QB, ARI | |
RUNNINGBACK | $1 | Philip Rivers, QB, LAC | ||
SALARY | PLAYER | $34 | Ezekiel Elliott, RB, DAL | |
$37 | Saquon Barkley, NYG | $22 | Dalvin Cook, RB, MIN | |
$34 | Christian McCaffrey, CAR | $1 | Duke Johnson, RB, CLE | |
$34 | Ezekiel Elliott, DAL | $1 | Alexander Mattison, RB, MIN | |
$34 | Alvin Kamara, NO | $27 | JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, PIT | |
$30 | David Johnson, ARI | $3 | Donte Moncrief, WR, PIT | |
$29 | James Conner, PIT | $1 | Albert Wilson, WR, MIA | |
$26 | Le'Veon Bell, NYJ | $1 | DeSean Jackson, WR, PHI | |
$23 | Joe Mixon, CIN | $1 | James Washington, WR, PIT | |
$23 | Kerryon Johnson, DET | $1 | Jordan Reed, TE, WAS | |
$22 | Dalvin Cook, MIN | $1 | Austin Hooper, TE, ATL | |
$19 | Nick Chubb, CLE | $1 | Robbie Gould, K, SF | |
$19 | Damien Williams, KC | $1 | DST Packers, GB | |
$18 | Melvin Gordon, LAC | CHRIS TOWERS | ||
$18 | Todd Gurley, LAR | SALARY | PLAYER | |
$17 | Leonard Fournette, JAC | $1 | Dak Prescott, QB, DAL | |
$15 | Devonta Freeman, ATL | $37 | Saquon Barkley, RB, NYG | |
$14 | Aaron Jones, GB | $18 | Todd Gurley, RB, LAR | |
$13 | Marlon Mack, IND | $4 | Sony Michel, RB, NE | |
$12 | Josh Jacobs, OAK | $2 | Jerick McKinnon, RB, SF | |
$10 | Austin Ekeler, LAC | $1 | Devin Singletary, RB, BUF | |
$9 | Mark Ingram, BAL | $12 | Tyler Lockett, WR, SEA | |
$9 | James White, NE | $5 | Tyler Boyd, WR, CIN | |
$8 | Phillip Lindsay, DEN | $4 | Alshon Jeffery, WR, PHI | |
$7 | Tevin Coleman, SF | $3 | Robby Anderson, WR, NYJ | |
$7 | Tarik Cohen, CHI | $1 | Emmanuel Sanders, WR, DEN | |
$7 | Derrick Henry, TEN | $1 | John Brown, WR, BUF | |
$6 | Kenyan Drake, MIA | $9 | Evan Engram, TE, NYG | |
$6 | David Montgomery, CHI | $1 | Adam Vinatieri, K, IND | |
$5 | Royce Freeman, DEN | $1 | DST Browns, CLE | |
$5 | Chris Carson, SEA | DAVE RICHARD | ||
$4 | Darrell Henderson, LAR | SALARY | PLAYER | |
$4 | Sony Michel, NE | $3 | Andrew Luck, QB, IND | |
$3 | Justin Jackson, LAC | $29 | James Conner, RB, PIT | |
$3 | Rashaad Penny, SEA | $14 | Aaron Jones, RB, GB | |
$2 | Chris Thompson, WAS | $2 | Damien Harris, RB, NE | |
$2 | Damien Harris, NE | $2 | Darwin Thompson, RB, KC | |
$2 | Jerick McKinnon, SF | $2 | Ronald Jones, RB, TB | |
$2 | Darwin Thompson, KC | $2 | Jordan Howard, RB, PHI | |
$2 | Dion Lewis, TEN | $2 | Miles Sanders, RB, PHI | |
$2 | Ronald Jones, TB | $22 | Tyreek Hill, WR, KC | |
$2 | D'Onta Foreman, HOU | $9 | Chris Godwin, WR, TB | |
$2 | Kalen Ballage, MIA | $6 | Calvin Ridley, WR, ATL | |
$2 | Derrius Guice, WAS | $2 | Keke Coutee, WR, HOU | |
$2 | Latavius Murray, NO | $2 | Jared Cook, TE, NO | |
$2 | Jordan Howard, PHI | $1 | Wil Lutz, K, NO | |
$2 | Lamar Miller, HOU | $1 | DST Patriots, NE | |
$2 | Miles Sanders, PHI | ERIC CHYLINSKI | ||
$2 | Jaylen Samuels, PIT | SALARY | PLAYER | |
$1 | Adrian Peterson, WAS | $2 | Matt Ryan, QB, ATL | |
$1 | Jay Ajayi, PHI | $19 | Nick Chubb, RB, CLE | |
$1 | Giovani Bernard, CIN | $18 | Melvin Gordon, RB, LAC | |
$1 | Matt Breida, SF | $10 | Austin Ekeler, RB, LAC | |
$1 | Duke Johnson, CLE | $9 | James White, RB, NE | |
$1 | Carlos Hyde, KC | $2 | Derrius Guice, RB, WAS | |
$1 | Devin Singletary, BUF | $1 | Nyheim Hines, RB, IND | |
$1 | Nyheim Hines, IND | $10 | Stefon Diggs, WR, MIN | |
$1 | Alexander Mattison, MIN | $3 | Anthony Miller, WR, CHI | |
$1 | Justice Hill, BAL | $3 | Will Fuller, WR, HOU | |
$1 | Kareem Hunt, CLE | $3 | Sammy Watkins, WR, KC | |
$1 | LeSean McCoy, BUF | $2 | Courtland Sutton, WR, DEN | |
$1 | Peyton Barber, TB | $16 | George Kittle, TE, SF | |
$1 | Ito Smith, ATL | $1 | Matt Prater, K, DET | |
WIDE RECEIVER | $1 | DST Saints, NO | ||
SALARY | PLAYER | GEORGE MASELLI | ||
$28 | DeAndre Hopkins, HOU | SALARY | PLAYER | |
$27 | Julio Jones, ATL | $16 | Patrick Mahomes, QB, KC | |
$27 | JuJu Smith-Schuster, PIT | $2 | Baker Mayfield, QB, CLE | |
$27 | Davante Adams, GB | $23 | Kerryon Johnson, RB, DET | |
$26 | Odell Beckham, CLE | $19 | Damien Williams, RB, KC | |
$24 | Michael Thomas, NO | $2 | Chris Thompson, RB, WAS | |
$22 | Tyreek Hill, KC | $1 | Kareem Hunt, RB, CLE | |
$19 | Mike Evans, TB | $9 | Robert Woods, WR, LAR | |
$15 | Antonio Brown, OAK | $2 | Golden Tate, WR, NYG | |
$14 | Keenan Allen, LAC | $1 | Larry Fitzgerald, WR, ARI | |
$14 | Brandin Cooks, LAR | $1 | Marquez Valdes-Scantling, WR, GB | |
$12 | Amari Cooper, DAL | $1 | N'Keal Harry, WR, NE | |
$12 | Adam Thielen, MIN | $1 | D.K. Metcalf, WR, SEA | |
$12 | Tyler Lockett, SEA | $18 | Zach Ertz, TE, PHI | |
$11 | T.Y. Hilton, IND | $1 | Jake Elliott, K, PHI | |
$10 | Stefon Diggs, MIN | $3 | DST Bears, CHI | |
$10 | Julian Edelman, NE | HEATH CUMMINGS | ||
$9 | Robert Woods, LAR | SALARY | PLAYER | |
$9 | D.J. Moore, CAR | $3 | Lamar Jackson, QB, BAL | |
$9 | Chris Godwin, TB | $15 | Devonta Freeman, RB, ATL | |
$7 | Sterling Shepard, NYG | $7 | Tevin Coleman, RB, SF | |
$7 | Kenny Golladay, DET | $3 | Justin Jackson, RB, LAC | |
$6 | Calvin Ridley, ATL | $2 | Dion Lewis, RB, TEN | |
$6 | A.J. Green, CIN | $2 | D'Onta Foreman, RB, HOU | |
$5 | Tyler Boyd, CIN | $2 | Latavius Murray, RB, NO | |
$5 | Cooper Kupp, LAR | $2 | Lamar Miller, RB, HOU | |
$5 | Mike Williams, LAC | $1 | Ito Smith, RB, ATL | |
$4 | Dante Pettis, SF | $19 | Mike Evans, WR, TB | |
$4 | Curtis Samuel, CAR | $14 | Brandin Cooks, WR, LAR | |
$4 | Alshon Jeffery, PHI | $5 | Cooper Kupp, WR, LAR | |
$3 | Anthony Miller, CHI | $22 | Travis Kelce, TE, KC | |
$3 | Geronimo Allison, GB | $1 | Jason Myers, K, SEA | |
$3 | Corey Davis, TEN | $1 | DST Ravens, BAL | |
$3 | Jarvis Landry, CLE | JAMEY EISENBERG | ||
$3 | Dede Westbrook, JAC | SALARY | PLAYER | |
$3 | Christian Kirk, ARI | $1 | Jameis Winston, QB, TB | |
$3 | Allen Robinson, CHI | $17 | Leonard Fournette, RB, JAC | |
$3 | Robby Anderson, NYJ | $13 | Marlon Mack, RB, IND | |
$3 | Will Fuller, HOU | $4 | Darrell Henderson, RB, LAR | |
$3 | Sammy Watkins, KC | $3 | Rashaad Penny, RB, SEA | |
$3 | Donte Moncrief, PIT | $2 | Kalen Ballage, RB, MIA | |
$2 | DaeSean Hamilton, DEN | $1 | Justice Hill, RB, BAL | |
$2 | Golden Tate, NYG | $28 | DeAndre Hopkins, WR, HOU | |
$2 | Keke Coutee, HOU | $14 | Keenan Allen, WR, LAC | |
$2 | Courtland Sutton, DEN | $10 | Julian Edelman, WR, NE | |
$1 | Parris Campbell, IND | $2 | DaeSean Hamilton, WR, DEN | |
$1 | Michael Gallup, DAL | $1 | Kenny Stills, WR, MIA | |
$1 | Albert Wilson, MIA | $2 | Delanie Walker, TE, TEN | |
$1 | Antonio Callaway, CLE | $1 | Justin Tucker, K, BAL | |
$1 | Jamison Crowder, NYJ | $1 | DST Rams, LAR | |
$1 | Kenny Stills, MIA | MICHAEL KISER | ||
$1 | Emmanuel Sanders, DEN | SALARY | PLAYER | |
$1 | Larry Fitzgerald, ARI | $2 | Russell Wilson, QB, SEA | |
$1 | DeSean Jackson, PHI | $1 | Carson Wentz, QB, PHI | |
$1 | Tyrell Williams, OAK | $8 | Phillip Lindsay, RB, DEN | |
$1 | Marquez Valdes-Scantling, GB | $7 | Tarik Cohen, RB, CHI | |
$1 | John Brown, BUF | $5 | Chris Carson, RB, SEA | |
$1 | N'Keal Harry, NE | $1 | Peyton Barber, RB, TB | |
$1 | D.K. Metcalf, SEA | $24 | Michael Thomas, WR, NO | |
$1 | Marvin Jones, DET | $12 | Amari Cooper, WR, DAL | |
$1 | James Washington, PIT | $12 | Adam Thielen, WR, MIN | |
TIGHT END | $4 | Curtis Samuel, WR, CAR | ||
SALARY | PLAYER | $3 | Dede Westbrook, WR, JAC | |
$22 | Travis Kelce, KC | $3 | Allen Robinson, WR, CHI | |
$18 | Zach Ertz, PHI | $6 | O.J. Howard, TE, TB | |
$16 | George Kittle, SF | $1 | Greg Zuerlein, K, LAR | |
$9 | Evan Engram, NYG | $1 | DST Jaguars, JAC | |
$6 | O.J. Howard, TB | R.J. WHITE | ||
$4 | Eric Ebron, IND | SALARY | PLAYER | |
$3 | Vance McDonald, PIT | $1 | Jared Goff, QB, LAR | |
$2 | Delanie Walker, TEN | $1 | Drew Brees, QB, NO | |
$2 | Hunter Henry, LAC | $23 | Joe Mixon, RB, CIN | |
$2 | Jared Cook, NO | $12 | Josh Jacobs, RB, OAK | |
$2 | David Njoku, CLE | $1 | Adrian Peterson, RB, WAS | |
$1 | Jimmy Graham, GB | $1 | Jay Ajayi, RB, PHI | |
$1 | Mark Andrews, BAL | $1 | Giovani Bernard, RB, CIN | |
$1 | Jordan Reed, WAS | $1 | Matt Breida, RB, SF | |
$1 | Austin Hooper, ATL | $27 | Julio Jones, WR, ATL | |
KICKER | $27 | Davante Adams, WR, GB | ||
SALARY | PLAYER | $1 | Michael Gallup, WR, DAL | |
$2 | Stephen Gostkowski, NE | $1 | Marvin Jones, WR, DET | |
$1 | Adam Vinatieri, IND | $1 | Mark Andrews, TE, BAL | |
$1 | Jake Elliott, PHI | $1 | Harrison Butker, K, KC | |
$1 | Jason Myers, SEA | $1 | DST Cowboys, DAL | |
$1 | Ka'imi Fairbairn, HOU | WILL BRINSON | ||
$1 | Wil Lutz, NO | SALARY | PLAYER | |
$1 | Mike Badgley, LAC | $1 | Cam Newton, QB, CAR | |
$1 | Matt Prater, DET | $34 | Christian McCaffrey, RB, CAR | |
$1 | Robbie Gould, SF | $34 | Alvin Kamara, RB, NO | |
$1 | Harrison Butker, KC | $5 | Royce Freeman, RB, DEN | |
$1 | Justin Tucker, BAL | $2 | Jaylen Samuels, RB, PIT | |
$1 | Greg Zuerlein, LAR | $1 | LeSean McCoy, RB, BUF | |
DST | $7 | Sterling Shepard, WR, NYG | ||
SALARY | PLAYER | $3 | Geronimo Allison, WR, GB | |
$3 | DST Bears | $3 | Corey Davis, WR, TEN | |
$3 | DST Vikings | $3 | Jarvis Landry, WR, CLE | |
$1 | DST Ravens | $1 | Antonio Callaway, WR, CLE | |
$1 | DST Bills | $3 | Vance McDonald, TE, PIT | |
$1 | DST Browns | $1 | Jimmy Graham, TE, GB | |
$1 | DST Packers | $1 | Mike Badgley, K, LAC | |
$1 | DST Jaguars | $1 | DST Bills, BUF | |
$1 | DST Rams | WYATT FERBER | ||
$1 | DST Patriots | SALARY | PLAYER | |
$1 | DST Saints | $4 | Aaron Rodgers, QB, GB | |
$1 | DST Cowboys | $2 | Ben Roethlisberger, QB, PIT | |
$1 | DST Redskins | $1 | Tom Brady, QB, NE | |
|
| $30 | David Johnson, RB, ARI | |
|
| $26 | Le'Veon Bell, RB, NYJ | |
|
| $9 | Mark Ingram, RB, BAL | |
|
| $1 | Carlos Hyde, RB, KC | |
|
| $15 | Antonio Brown, WR, OAK | |
|
| $1 | Parris Campbell, WR, IND | |
|
| $1 | Jamison Crowder, WR, NYJ | |
|
| $1 | Tyrell Williams, WR, OAK | |
|
| $4 | Eric Ebron, TE, IND | |
|
| $2 | David Njoku, TE, CLE | |
|
| $2 | Stephen Gostkowski, K, NE | |
|
| $1 | DST Redskins, WAS | |
