Waiver Wire Power

[jthirteentimes]

This debate really highlights a problem I see in some leagues that give the weakest teams at the beginning of the year top waiver priorities. Lets say I start the season off terribly and go 0 and 3 or something, yet later make the playoffs because I'm rewarded through waivers with a combo of Foster, Hillis, and Lloyd for example. I hate leagues that do this, yet I stay in some of them because they are still guppy ponds that you can win money in

I agree. Blind bid waiver auction is the way to go.

[Orca]

This debate really highlights a problem I see in some leagues that give the weakest teams at the beginning of the year top waiver priorities. Lets say I start the season off terribly and go 0 and 3 or something, yet later make the playoffs because I'm rewarded through waivers with a combo of Foster, Hillis, and Lloyd for example. I hate leagues that do this, yet I stay in some of them because they are still guppy ponds that you can win money in

I agree. Blind bid waiver auction is the way to go.

Great points. The leagues I run have blind bid auctions. I prefer it.

This brings one of the essential questions I have. Do you think this year's waiver wire crew is particularly strong or do you think we'd find similar results if we looked at past years? Like I said it seems extremely strong but is it just because chris johnson, ray rice and larry fitzgerals owners are still licking the fresh wounds inflicted upon them by the likes of Brandon Lloyd, Steve Johnson and P. Hillis?

[jthirteentimes]

This brings one of the essential questions I have. Do you think this year's waiver wire crew is particularly strong or do you think we'd find similar results if we looked at past years? Like I said it seems extremely strong but is it just because chris johnson, ray rice and larry fitzgerals owners are still licking the fresh wounds inflicted upon them by the likes of Brandon Lloyd, Steve Johnson and P. Hillis?

I'm inclined to say that you'd find similar results in past years. This is my first year playing dynasty, so its hard for me to say which players would have been available early on in dynasty leagues last year, but I'll give it a try. Some of these will inevitably be wrong, but here are some names that come to mind:

J. Charles (?)
M. Austin
J. Finley (?)
B. Celek
Steve Smith (nyg)
Mike Sims Walker
Pierre Garcon
A. Collie
Mike Wallace (?)
Fred Jackson
Sidney Rice (?)
C. Henne
T. Hightower
J. Forsett
Louis Murphy
K. Orton
R. Rice (?)

I believe most - if not all - of these guys were making meaningful fantasy contributions during the stretch run in 2009. The question is: How many of them were available in dynasty leagues in September of '09?

[Misfit74]

Torain, Keiland Williams, Danario Alexander, Brandon Lloyd, Jabar Gaffney, Chris Ivory, Mike Williams-SEA, hmm....

[skip]

I like the worst to first waiver order as one of the ideas with the system is to help the worst teams in the league. Our league uses it for the first 2-3 weeks of the year. Then after that we go on a rotation so the teams that make a selection on a given week move to the bottom. The NFL awards waivers in a worst-to-first order, I don't see why it can't apply to fantasy leagues.

[Risky bidness]

If Foster was a waiver wire pickup then you got lucky. He was at least a 6th rd pick in redrafts a month before the season.

The true gems are Hillis, Llyod, and steve Johnson IMO

[Steelersfan]

Great post Gino! I think there are always great WW finds each season but have there ever been so many in one season that are performing at such a high level?

Here are the standard PPR rankings (avg) by position for some of the top players listed (WCOFF scoring):

QB
1 - Vick
9 - Fitzpatrick

RB
1 - Foster
2 - Hillis

WR
5 - Lloyd
11 - S. Johnson

TE
5 - Lewis

Not a bad line up...