Yahoo League 290699 · Salary Cap Draft
12 teams · $260 budget · superflex · full PPR · 6-pt passing TDs · no K, no DEF · 16 roster spots + 2 IR. Nominations 30s, bids 20s.
The plan
Superflex plus 6-point passing touchdowns means a top-six QB outscores every RB and WR in this league, and there are only ~32 startable QBs for 24 league-wide QB slots. Published $200 auction values still hold for RB/WR/TE here — the extra budget should flow to quarterback. Win condition: leave with two startable QBs (one from tier 1–2) while still landing two real anchors and four mid-tier flex players. Never leave money unspent — a dollar saved is a dollar wasted.
The edge
That's the theory. Your league doesn't play it. In the 2025 auction this room put just 22.8% of its money into quarterbacks and 72% into RB/WR — in a superflex league with 6-point passing TDs. Three teams punted QB almost entirely. Drake Maye sold for $25 and finished as a top-3 fantasy quarterback. That trade is on the table again.
| Pos | Spent | Share |
|---|---|---|
| WR | $1,079 | 37.6% |
| RB | $981 | 34.2% |
| QB | $653 | 22.8% |
| TE | $156 | 5.4% |
The room also left ~$250 unspent — more than $20 per team, thrown away.
| Picks | Spent | Cum. | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–24 | $1,286 | 45% | $53.60 |
| 25–48 | $678 | 68% | $28.20 |
| 49–72 | $447 | 84% | $18.60 |
| 73–96 | $220 | 92% | $9.20 |
| 97–192 | $238 | 100% | $2.50 |
Picks 49–96 are the bargain window. If you still hold $80–110 at pick 50, you are the richest bidder in a room that has stopped bidding.
| Band | What they went for |
|---|---|
| Top 6 | Lamar $71 · Allen $67 · Burrow $60 · Hurts $57 · Daniels $52 · Mahomes $41 |
| ↓ $15 cliff ↓ | |
| QB7–16 | Purdy $26 · Maye $25 · Dak $24 · Kyler $24 · Herbert $23 · Nix $23 · Baker $22 · Love $21 · Caleb $18 · McCarthy $17 |
| QB17–22 | Goff $15 · Fields $11 · Lawrence $11 · Tua $10 · Stroud $8 |
| QB23+ | $1–5 |
Your 2025 draft · Dez Nutz
Chase $67 · Jacobs $45 · Purdy $26 · McMillan $21 · Pollard $16 · DeVonta $12 · then ten players at $7 or less · $24 left unspent.
$34 total — Purdy $26, Darnold $5, Cam Ward $3 — in a superflex league with 6-point passing TDs. The league averaged $54 and that was already too low.
If your Q/W/R/T slot held a ~10 PPG flex while opponents ran a ~20 PPG quarterback, that's −10 points a week, ~−140 on the season. Bigger than any other call you made.
The ask is not 40% on QB. It's just: don't be the cheapest QB team in a superflex room.
| Band | You | League avg |
|---|---|---|
| $40+ | 2 | 2.1 |
| $20–39 | 2 | 2.7 |
| $10–19 | 2 | 2.0 |
| $5–9 | 7 | 2.0 |
| $1–4 | 3 | 7.2 |
Exactly inverted from the room. $24 unspent + ~$18 of endgame overpay ≈ $42 of dead budget — a whole mid-tier flex you never bought.
Two studs, two mid, then a cliff — only 2 players in the $10–19 band where this plan wants four. A barbell works in a 1-QB league; in superflex it means your 9th starter is a $6 dart.
You spent $82 across picks 49–96 against a league average of $55. You're one of the few managers still buying when the room is broke.
That instinct is right — it was just funding the wrong position. Point it at QB2 this year.
Buy the same two anchors early. Then, in the pick 49–96 window where you're already strong, take two quarterbacks instead of one. Fund it by never bidding $5–9 on an endgame flier again — go $1–3 or go $12+, nothing in between — and by spending the last $24.
Budget
| Slot | Targets | Budget |
|---|---|---|
| QB1 · tier 1–2 | Allen / Lamar / Maye / Daniels / Burrow / Hurts | $55–70 |
| QB2 · tier 3–4 | Caleb / Herbert / Dak / Dart / Nix / Goff | $25–40 |
| Anchor 1 · WR/RB | Puka / Chase / Gibbs / Bijan / JSN / ASB | $40–50 |
| Anchor 2 | London / Taylor / Cook / CeeDee / Jefferson tier | $28–38 |
| TE | McBride / Bowers — or punt with Fannin / Warren | $8–26 |
| Mid flexes ×4 | $10–20 players from tiers 3–5 | ~$55 |
| QB3 + endgame ×6 | $1–5 fliers, IR stashes | ~$12 |
Max sensible bid at any moment = money left − (open spots − 1). The top bar tracks this live from the players you mark as won.
Draft day
| Slot | Player | Paid |
|---|
Player board
| Player | Pay up to | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | ||
| Josh AllenBUF | $70 | Rushing floor + 6-pt TDs; the only tier-1 |
| Tier 2 | ||
| Lamar JacksonBAL | $60 | Healthy. '25 dip was hamstring + back; consensus QB2 overall now ($71 here in '25) |
| Drake MayeNE | $58 | 2025 breakout; now throws to A.J. Brown. Cost $25 here last year — they won't repeat that |
| Jayden DanielsWAS | $55 | |
| Jalen HurtsPHI | $54 | Lost A.J. Brown; tush-push TDs remain |
| Joe BurrowCIN | $52 | No rushing, but 6-pt passing TDs juice him |
| Tier 3 · the value band — room paid $18–26 here last year | ||
| Justin HerbertLAC | $42 | Best value on the board. Mike McDaniel hired as OC; Slater + Alt back. Cost $23 here in '25 |
| Caleb WilliamsCHI | $36 | QB7 ADP, Ben Johnson yr 2. Lost D.J. Moore — and cost $18 here in '25. Don't chase to $45 |
| Brock PurdySF | $36 | Career-best 24.2 FPPG in '25 when healthy; Evans + Kirk added ($26 here) |
| Trevor LawrenceJAX | $32 | Went $11 here last year — cap your bid |
| Tier 4 | ||
| Dak PrescottDAL | $30 | Pickens + Javonte added |
| Jaxson DartNYG | $28 | ESPN: 3,689 pass / 553 rush / 7 rush TD. But Giants preach run-first, Nagy calls plays, and Dart may protect his body |
| Bo NixDEN | $28 | Waddle is his WR1 (118 proj. targets). Short/quick offense — 7.3 air yds/att caps the ceiling |
| Jared GoffDET | $25 | Pure passer — 6-pt scoring helps |
| Matthew StaffordLAR | $24 | Age risk |
| Tier 5 | ||
| Kyler MurrayMIN | $18 | Traded to Vikings — Jefferson upgrade |
| Jordan LoveGB | $16 | |
| Baker MayfieldTB | $14 | Solid QB2 ($22 here in '25) |
| Patrick MahomesKC | $12 | ⚠️ Torn ACL and LCL, Nov '25 — not just "a knee." Hopes for Wk 1, no guarantee. Cost $41 here last year. Nominate him early |
| Malik WillisMIA | $12 | 3yr/$67M to start; 44.8 rush yds/gm in 6 career starts. Worst WR corps in the NFL. Highest-upside cheap QB2 |
| Tier 6 | ||
| Sam DarnoldSEA | $9 | |
| Tyler ShoughNO | $9 | Sophomore riser |
| C.J. StroudHOU | $8 | |
| Daniel JonesIND | $8 | |
| Bryce YoungCAR | $8 | |
| Cam WardTEN | $6 | |
| Tier 7–8 · QB3 darts | ||
| Fernando MendozaLV | $5 | Rookie starter |
| Geno SmithNYJ | $4 | |
| Brissett · Rodgers · Tua · Penix · Shedeur · Watson | $1–2 | ATL situation murky — Tua/Penix |
| Player | Pay up to |
|---|---|
| Tier 1 | |
| Jahmyr GibbsDET | $51 |
| Bijan RobinsonATL | $51 |
| Tier 2 | |
| Christian McCaffreySF | $43 |
| Jonathan TaylorIND | $38 |
| Tier 3 | |
| James CookBUF | $33 |
| Omarion HamptonLAC | $30 |
| Saquon BarkleyPHI | $30 |
| Ashton JeantyLV | $29 |
| Chase BrownCIN | $29 |
| De'Von AchaneMIA | $28 |
| Kenneth WalkerKC | $27 |
| Derrick HenryBAL | $26 |
| Tier 4 | |
| Jeremiyah LoveARI · rookie | $25 |
| Breece HallNYJ | $25 |
| Kyren WilliamsLAR | $24 |
| Josh JacobsGB | $23 |
| Cam SkatteboNYG | $22 |
| Javonte WilliamsDAL | $21 |
| Quinshon JudkinsCLE · lead back, 290-carry proj. | $26 |
| Bucky IrvingTB | $20 |
| Tier 5 | |
| Bhayshul TutenJAX · camp riser | $19 |
| Travis EtienneNO | $18 |
| D'Andre SwiftCHI | $18 |
| David MontgomeryHOU | $13 |
| Tier 6 | |
| TreVeyon HendersonNE · 50/50 w/ Stevenson | $12 |
| Tony PollardTEN | $12 |
| Jaylen WarrenPIT · Dowdle competition | $9 |
| Jadarian PriceSEA · rookie | $11 |
| Stevenson · Hubbard · Dobbins | $10–11 |
| Rachaad WhiteWAS | $10 |
| Player | Pay up to |
|---|---|
| Tier 1 | |
| Puka NacuaLAR | $52 |
| Ja'Marr ChaseCIN | $51 |
| Jaxon Smith-NjigbaSEA | $48 |
| Amon-Ra St. BrownDET | $46 |
| Tier 2 | |
| Drake LondonATL | $38 |
| Justin JeffersonMIN | $34 |
| CeeDee LambDAL | $34 |
| Chris OlaveNO | $33 |
| Tier 3 | |
| Rashee RiceKC · Mahomes knee risk | $24 |
| Nico CollinsHOU | $30 |
| A.J. BrownNE | $29 |
| Garrett WilsonNYJ | $28 |
| George PickensDAL | $26 |
| DeVonta SmithPHI | $26 |
| Zay FlowersBAL | $25 |
| Tier 4 | |
| Emeka EgbukaTB | $22 |
| Tetairoa McMillanCAR | $22 |
| Jaylen WaddleDEN · WR1, 118 proj. tgts | $21 |
| Davante AdamsLAR | $21 |
| Jameson WilliamsDET | $21 |
| Ladd McConkeyLAC | $19 |
| Tier 5 | |
| Christian WatsonGB · clear WR1, $110M ext. | $19 |
| Rome OdunzeCHI · foot 100% | $19 |
| Tee HigginsCIN · 17 games missed in 3 yrs | $18 |
| D.J. MooreBUF | $17 |
| Malik NabersNYG · ⚠️ ACL + meniscus | $17 |
| Luther Burden IIICHI · groin, Wk 1 hopeful | $16 |
| Terry McLaurinWAS | $16 |
| DK MetcalfPIT | $16 |
| Tier 6 | |
| Marvin Harrison Jr.ARI | $14 |
| Mike EvansSF · age 33, name > role | $13 |
| Michael Pittman Jr.PIT | $13 |
| Courtland SuttonDEN · loses tgts to Waddle | $12 |
| Carnell TateTEN · rookie | $11 |
| Jakobi MeyersJAC | $10 |
| Player | Pay up to |
|---|---|
| Brock BowersLV | $28 |
| Trey McBrideARI | $26 |
| Tyler WarrenIND · Pittman gone, Pierce hurt | $20 |
| Harold Fannin Jr.CLE · 27% target share | $17 |
| Colston LovelandCHI · Ben Johnson's X-factor | $16 |
| Kyle PittsATL | $11 |
| Sam LaPortaDET · hip, IR stash | $3–6 |
Nominations
Mechanics
Verified Aug 23
| Player | Status | Draft implication |
|---|---|---|
| Patrick Mahomes | Torn ACL + LCL (Nov '25). "Good spot," hopes for Wk 1, no medical commitment | Far worse than "a knee." $12 max — and nominate him early |
| Malik Nabers | Torn ACL + meniscus (Sept '25). Full-speed 11-on-11 in a non-contact jersey; no Wk 1 commitment | Meniscus repair slows the timeline. Bid like an IR stash, not a WR2 |
| Sam LaPorta | Hip flared up ~Aug 20; Campbell bullish long-term, won't guarantee Wk 1 | Short-term. Best IR-stash value in the draft at $3–6 — DET opens Sept 13 |
| Luther Burden III | Groin; "hopeful" for Wk 1 | Slight fade vs. Odunze, who is 100% |
| Alec Pierce | Ankle surgery, missed camp | Avoid — and it boosts Tyler Warren |
| Rome Odunze | ✅ Foot 100%, 15 clean camp practices | Last year's stress fracture is a non-issue. Buy |
| Lamar Jackson | ✅ Healthy — '25 was hamstring + back | Genuine bounce-back; consensus QB2 overall |
| Quinshon Judkins | ✅ Fully cleared from the '25 leg injury | Undisputed lead back — board was $11 too low |
| Justin Herbert | ✅ Healthy; Slater (knee) + Alt (ankle) back | New OC Mike McDaniel raving about him in camp |