2021 Fantasy Football Auction Rosters

2021 fantasy football roster construction season is in full swing. My “home league” is a dynasty auction league format where we hold our annual auction early to increase the level of difficulty. I started a traditional years ago to give my take on the rosters, which is a great way to pass the weeks before the start of the season, and keep up the chatter. For the readers it’s an opportunity to see an example result.

A couple of notes, this is a 12 team, auction ($500 cap), super flex league with no defense. Due to dynasty league there are some salary anomalies (e.g. Jalen Hurts was bought last year for $2).

Definitions:

• Avg. Weekly Score/Points — The points are derived from the FootballOutsiders Kubiak 2021 projections.
• League Winner — is a player who explodes for more than 2k scrimmage yards and/or 20+ TD’s. A QB can be a league winner but it’s extremely rare (Mahomes in ’19, Brady in ’07 are the rare examples).
• Best Buy — this is the best value on each roster.

“The Pretenders”

The teams that have a low probability to win it all but then again anything is possible, these predictions are holistically faux, based on random projections of how actual football players will perform in the future. Which is another way to say…these teams on paper seem like long shots but who knows.

Take Mahomes Road

• Avg. Weekly Score: 101.1
• League Winner — None (Maybe Matt Ryan but QB’s rarely fit the bill)
• Best Buy — WR Brandon Aiyuk ($11) — Love him; he ascends to legit WR1

Summary:

Deep, solid roster but aside from George Kittle, there is a lack of any superstar talents. If a young talent explodes (e.g. Trevor Lawrence, AJ Dillon, Damien Harris and/or Brandon Aiyuk) and at least one veteran stars (e.g. Matt Ryan, Adam Thielen or Leonard Fournette) has a surprise career year, they will outperform expectations. Otherwise this roster is targeting 2022 with lots of young emerging talent.

Jimmy Graham Ballers

• Avg. Weekly Score: 102.4
• League Winner — RB Najee Harris — longshot but upside is there
• Best Buy — TE T.J. Hockenson ($10) — If he gets 120 targets he’ll be a fantasy stud

Summary:

The opposite approach than Take Mahomes Road with a top 3 performer @ QB in Lamar Jackson, strong Ram WR teammates Cooper Kupp & Robert Woods, and a potential stud back in rookie Najee Harris. However there is smaller roster depth means less lottery tickets for upside, and thus a lower margin of error.

Team Never To Be Named

• Avg. Weekly Score: 104.6
• League Winner — RB Austin Eckler — If he stays healthy & Herbert ascends, there is a chance
• Best Buy — WR D.J. Moore ($38) — This is a high price so it’s less of a “best buy” and more (pun intended) of a shout out that I think Moore will be a $75+ value this year. The man is a star in waiting of a QB to feature him.

Summary:

Solid depth…loss of Cam Akers was devastating to their potential. They’re counting on a full Burrow recovery and J’Marr Chase rookie explosion to be a contender. There are a lot of nice lottery tickets who could surprise if injury & opportunity come knocking (Damien Williams, Tony Pollard, Jakobi Meyers, Laviska Shenault and more).

MourningSideWreckingCrew

• Avg. Weekly Score: 106.5
• League Winner — RB Saquon Barkley — potential is unlimited but can he stay healthy?
• Best Buy — QB Mac Jones ($19) — He looks great and this is a nice dynasty player

Summary:

Stars or bust are the name of the game for this squad. If Zeke, Kyler, Saquon and Davante Adams all live up to their potential (and ideally Saquon or Zeke are “league winning” level producers) then they will outperform. However there isn’t room for error (aka injury) to key performers or underperformance from their secondary starters.

“The Contenders”

These squads have more depth and/or a starting lineup that puts them in the mix to qualify for the playoffs and thus have a higher probability of winning.

Horse Collar

• Avg. Weekly Score: 107.8
• League Winner — RB J.K. Dobbins — He has the talent but maybe too RBBC
• Best Buy — WR Chase Claypool ($3) — He may be the WR3 in Pittsburgh but he has the look of a fantasy star.

Summary:

Depth is the name of the game, the Achilles heel is a lack of top-end talent. If Chase Claypool, J.K. Dobbins, Travis Ettiene, and/or Tua Tagovailoa can break out Horse Collar will be a force to reckon with. They need those guys plus a secondary starter to emerge as breakout talents — and the players are there to make it happen.

Los Chicharrones

• Avg. Weekly Score: 108.3
• League Winner — RB Nick Chubb — As talented as any RB in a great offensive scheme
• Best Buy — WR CeeDee Lamb ($19) — He’ll be a star this year as he ascends to the top 15 fantasy WR.

Summary:

With a nice mix of stars and depth, the current projection of weekly scores underestimates the depth and upside of this squad. Similar to Horse Collar, there are solid starters (Nick Chubb, Russell Wilson) and some great upside (CeeDee Lamb, Justin Fields & Cortland Sutton).

Taysom Time

• Avg. Weekly Score: 112.6
• League Winner — QB Josh Allen — He’ll need to exceed 50 total TD’s & 5k total yards.
• Best Buy — RB Chase Edmunds ($6) — Edmunds is the poor man’s Austin Eckler.

Summary:

This is a well-constructed dynasty fantasy football roster. LOVE Trey Lance for 2022, and the Deshaun Watson lottery ticket. Nice depth and upside at RB & WR as well. If things break right, this roster will be the favorite.

Corn Stars

• Avg. Weekly Score: 113.9
• League Winner — RB Jonathan Taylor (+ WR DHop)
• Best Buy — WR DeVante Parker ($14) — Just on pure opportunity & production, this is a great value.

Summary:

This roster’s highest production is dependent on Dak Prescott’s healthy return (and Amari Cooper benefitting) and the Miami Dolphins finding their passing groove (Parker + rookie Waddle). It’s a contender nonetheless though because they have strong, upper echelon Quarterbacks (ARod + Dak); strong RB’s with upside (JTaylor + Gipson + Javonte Williams), and plenty of talent at WR to mix & match.

“The Favorites”

The handful of teams that have the highest probability of making the playoffs and winning it all.

Naughty Thoughts

• Avg. Weekly Score: 117.8
• League Winner — RB Josh Jacobs (+ RB Mixon)
• Best Buy — TE Darren Waller ($20) — I could have gone Lockett but Waller is a clear top TE after back-to-back 1k yard+ seasons.

Summary:

There aren’t sure-fire league winners or stars but this is a very strong roster filled with high-quality starters (Joe Mixon, Josh Jacobs, A.J. Brown, Tyler Lockett & Chris Godwin) and lots of mix/match potential at every position. Stafford is a potential blow-up at QB in the Rams, they go 4 deep at RB, feature one of the best TE’s (Waller), and are 5 deep at WR.

Agitated Burches

• Avg. Weekly Score: 117.9
• League Winner — RB Derrick Henry — If he can his bullying act to the next level.
• Best Buy — QB Justin Herbert ($24) — Lockett has been a consistent top 15 fantasy WR for the past four years.

Summary:

This team features a ton of players I love. Trey Sermon, Tyler Boyd, Michael Thomas (at that price is great) are a few (plus Herbert). The question for this squad will be if they can find a few explosive jumps from their secondary guys (e.g. Myles Gaskin, Evan Engram) and navigate the inevitable injuries.

Beavercats

• Avg. Weekly Score: 125.2
• League Winner — RB CEH or Darrell Henderson — Both are longshots but in top offensives that give them a chance to be a league winner.
• Best Buy — WR DK Metcalf ($22) — Metcalf is one of the few WR’s who could be a league winner b/c he’s a faster, stronger Megatron 2.0 type.

Summary:

Another deep roster with a density of stars but there are question marks. Their 2nd QB, starting TE and entire RB core is filled with players who have upside but could flop. If they have a major injury to a star and/or their RB’s underwhelming, this team could end up as a pretender.

Tha Shiznit

• Avg. Weekly Score: 135.6
• League Winner — RB’s CMC, Kamara & Dalvin Cook — Insane RB core — CMC was a league winner in ’18 & Kamara/Cook borderline in ’19 & ’20 respectively.
• Best Buy — RB Phillip Lindsay ($4) — Reports from camp say Lindsay is the lead guy, he’s always been talented and underrated.

Summary:

This roster lacks depth and has an Achilles heel at the sport's most important position — QB. However, they feature the #1 overall TE (Kelce), #1–3 RB’s (CMC, Alvin Kamara & Dalvin Cook), and arguably the #1 overall WR (Diggs). This is a roster that looks like a 6 or 8 team league, not a 12 team one. To say Tha Shiznit is the favorite is an understatement. That said if they have an injury to a key guy and/or QB, it’ll change their trajectory more than most.