QB - Patrick Mahomes - KC/6 - $27 (5.5%)
QB - Caleb Williams - CHI/7 - $16 (16.3%)
RB - De'Von Achane - MIA/6 - $21 (18.7%)
RB - Rico Dowdle - DAL/7 - $8 (22.6%)
RB - Bucky Irving - TB/11 - $5 (11.0%)
RB - Trey Sermon - IND/14 - $3 (2.7%)
RB - Kimani Vidal - LAC/5 - $3 (11.1%)
RB - Justice Hill - BAL/14 - $2 (9.2%)
RB - Dylan Laube - LV/10 - $2 (6.1%)
RB - Will Shipley - PHI/5 - $2 (4.7%)
WR - CeeDee Lamb - DAL/7 - $38 (6.7%)
WR - Malik Nabers - NYG/11 - $19 (23.4%)
WR - Rashee Rice - KC/6 - $13 (37.2%)
WR - Rome Odunze - CHI/7 - $11 (23.0%)
WR - Ja'Lynn Polk - NE/14 - $7 (7.4%)
WR - Andrei Iosivas - CIN/12 - $5 (9.3%)
WR - Greg Dortch - ARI/11 - $5 (9.5%)
WR - Tre Tucker - LV/10 - $3 (2.7%)
TE - Kyle Pitts - ATL/12 - $17 (15.0%)
TE - George Kittle - SF/9 - $15 (17.1%)
TE - Theo Johnson - NYG/11 - $4 (2.2%)
TE - Colby Parkinson - LAR/6 - $3 (8.0%)
PK - Joshua Karty - LAR/6 - $3 (12.3%)
PK - Nick Folk - TEN/5 - $3 (8.7%)
PK - Cam Little - JAX/12 - $3 (6.1%)
TD - Atlanta Falcons - ATL/12 - $3 (14.3%)
TD - Green Bay Packers - GB/10 - $3 (17.1%)
TD - Los Angeles Chargers - LAC/5 - $3 (9.6%)
TD - Las Vegas Raiders - LV/10 - $3 (8.5%)
29 player roster, a lot like what I usually do (my past avg: 28.9 players) with some differences.
QB: 2 for $43 (my past avg: 2.9 for $27)
With every starting QB priced high, I knew I was only getting 2 of them. I have never spent close to this much at QB before and it was probably a mistake. I do like this duo - I see that it's the same as what the
18-20 player roster picked - and I stacked them each with a young value WR. Was considering Mahomes-Darnold but they share a bye.
RB: 8 for $46 (my past avg: 4.8 for $77)
A larger and cheaper RB corps than I've ever done before, taking advantage of cheap backups including the return of $2 options. 5 players for $12; probably at least one of them will produce like we're expecting the $12ish RBs to over the second half of the season. These are the kinds of contingent upside backs that zero RB drafters love. I skipped out on the 3 elite studs (who each cost $33+) in favor of a much cheaper potential stud in Achane; in previous years I would've tried to find a way to pay up for one of the best (probably $37 CMC). Also got the obvious $8 value play in Dowdle.
WR: 8 for $101 (my past avg: 9.3 for $83)
I usually love collecting cheap WR contributors, but pickings were slim this year. I got 3 of the $5 and under guys (Tucker, Dortch, Iosivas); maybe could've added someone like $4 Van Jefferson. The elite WRs all cost $32+; I paid up for the best, $38 Lamb. I usually mostly skip the middle price range, but this year I have 3 young guys in the $10-$20 range. 2 are stacked (Rice & Odunze), 2 are in the mix with the guys behind that elite tier (Nabers & Rice), and 2 are rookies who were top 10 NFL picks (Nabers & Odunze). Also got Polk as my 3rd rookie WR.
TE: 4 for $39 (my past avg: 4 for $43)
There is no superelite TE at the top this year - it's a flatter, larger tier of high-end TEs. I got 2 of the cheaper guys near the top who are in contention to have big seasons or at least occasional huge games. Cheap TE values were better than cheap WR values and I got 2 of them. $8 Taysom Hill and $3 Gerald Everett were close to making my roster.
PK: 3 for $9 (my past avg: 3.7 for $9)
Got 3 of the cheapest, with relatively safe holds on the starting job, though there's some risk with the rookies.
DEF: 4 for $12 (my past avg: 4.2 for $11)
Lots of cheap guys who can have spike weeks. Week 15-17 opponents include NE (2x), NO (2x), CAR, DEN, TB, MIN, SEA.
Overall I threw more numbers at RB, and more money at QB & WR. I got more potential studs at reasonable prices ($13-$21) and fewer clear studs. I used more cheap roster slots on contingent upside guys who could do nothing or could hit big, and fewer on contributors who are relatively safe bets to at least see the field reliably. I am wishing I had made this roster a little more like my typical roster in some ways; I wish I'd managed to include 1 more clear stud (at a flex-able spot) and 30 total players with at least 1 more cheap contributor (at a flex-able spot), probably by spending less at QB.
Edited to add ownership%. Average is 11.9%, which is slightly lower than I usually have. 6.4% of teams have the Williams+Odunze stack which is high enough to make me think I should've gone another direction with my stack. 2.7% have the Mahomes+Rice stack - Rice might be the most rostered player in the contest, but most people sensibly avoided the expensive Mahomes.
