QB - Josh Allen - BUF/7 - $26
QB - Justin Herbert - LAC/12 - $15
RB - Saquon Barkley - PHI/9 - $36
RB - Jordan Mason - MIN/6 - $11
RB - Bhayshul Tuten - JAX/8 - $8
RB - Jacory Croskey-Merritt - WAS/12 - $6
RB - Kendre Miller - NO/11 - $4
WR - Matthew Golden - GB/5 - $12
WR - Ricky Pearsall - SF/14 - $11
WR - Emeka Egbuka - TB/9 - $10
WR - Rashid Shaheed - NO/11 - $8
WR - Jayden Higgins - HOU/6 - $7
WR - Joshua Palmer - BUF/7 - $7
WR - Brandon Aiyuk - SF/14 - $6
WR - Marquise Brown - KC/10 - $6
WR - Keenan Allen - LAC/12 - $5
WR - Jalen Coker - CAR/14 - $3
WR - Troy Franklin - DEN/12 - $3
WR - Elic Ayomanor - TEN/10 - $2
WR - Pat Bryant - DEN/12 - $2
WR - Kyle Williams - NE/14 - $2
TE - Trey McBride - ARI/8 - $30
TE - Mason Taylor - NYJ/9 - $7
TE - Harold Fannin Jr. - CLE/9 - $4
PK - Chris Boswell - PIT/5 - $4
PK - Blake Grupe - NO/11 - $3
PK - Cairo Santos - CHI/5 - $3
TD - New Orleans Saints - NO/11 - $3
TD - Atlanta Falcons - ATL/5 - $3
TD - Jacksonville Jaguars - JAX/8 - $3
I stuck with this roster, so I'm badge eligible.
Roster: 30 for $250 (my 2015-2024 avg: 28.9 for $250) (avg across everyone's entries in last year's contest: 19.9 for $250)
I like big rosters with a bunch of cheap contributors who have a chance to produce each week, which also include a few top players who can have huge games and a huge season.
WR: 14 for $84 (my avg: 9.2 for $85) (last year's contest avg: 5.6 for $88)
Matthew Golden - GB/5 - $12
Ricky Pearsall - SF/14 - $11
Emeka Egbuka - TB/9 - $10
Rashid Shaheed - NO/11 - $8
Jayden Higgins - HOU/6 - $7
Joshua Palmer - BUF/7 - $7
Brandon Aiyuk - SF/14 - $6
Marquise Brown - KC/10 - $6
Keenan Allen - LAC/12 - $5
Jalen Coker - CAR/14 - $3
Troy Franklin - DEN/12 - $3
Elic Ayomanor - TEN/10 - $2
Pat Bryant - DEN/12 - $2
Kyle Williams - NE/14 - $2
WR is where the value was at this year. I got 14; woulda had more if the roster wasn't capped at 30. Most of them even come with some upside, either as potential breakouts (6 rookies and 3 second-year players) or bounceback candidates (3 vets who have previously been a fantasy WR2 or better). Some people might think that 14 WRs is overkill, but I think that overdoing it at a position is more about dollars than number of players. The rest of my roster still had 16 slots and $166 to work with, and for WR production I like this group of 14 more than most ways of spending $84 at WR.
TE: 3 for $41 (my avg: 4.0 for $42) (last year's contest avg: 2.4 for $29)
Trey McBride - ARI/8 - $30
Mason Taylor - NYJ/9 - $7
Harold Fannin Jr. - CLE/9 - $4
All the great WR values made it tricky to get an elite WR without either overspending at WR or passing up a bunch of the cheaper WR values, so I got elite players at the other positions instead. McBride is joined by two value-ish rookie TEs who fit in pretty well with my WRs (though the WRs I got with similar profiles cost about a dollar less).
QB: 2 for $41 (my avg: 2.8 for $28) (last year's contest avg: 2.5 for $40)
Josh Allen - BUF/7 - $26
Justin Herbert - LAC/12 - $15
My QBs & stacks was the hardest part to figure out. I tried to talk myself into stacking my top receiving option by taking Kyler Murray, or Geno Smith with a pivot to Bowers, but I couldn't convince myself to rely on either of those guys. Eventually settled on the guy who I consider the favorite to lead all QBs in scoring, and my favorite of the mid-range QBs, both lightly stacked. For a while I had been thinking I'd take two mid-range QBs (maybe Herbert plus Stroud, Lawrence, or Fields), but I wanted to add elite talent somewhere and it is nice to have an elite QB when you're only rolling with two.
RB: 5 for $65 (my avg: 5.1 for $74) (last year's contest avg: 5.2 for $74)
Saquon Barkley - PHI/9 - $36
Jordan Mason - MIN/6 - $11
Bhayshul Tuten - JAX/8 - $8
Jacory Croskey-Merritt - WAS/12 - $6
Kendre Miller - NO/11 - $4
At RB I went with 1 stud and 4 cheapish guys who will hopefully combine somehow to be a solid RB2 and some depth. I considered getting a second stud, or a mid-range guy like Hampton or Henderson, before settling on this configuration. Last year I went with more cheapish guys, but last year's pricing was different - guys like Marks or Tahj Brooks were $2-$3 instead of $4-$5.
PK: 3 for $10 (my avg: 3.6 for $9) (last year's contest avg: 2.1 for $10)
Chris Boswell - PIT/5 - $4
Blake Grupe - NO/11 - $3
Cairo Santos - CHI/5 - $3
Three cheap ones. Spent an extra dollar on Boswell because there weren't enough $3 options with good job security.
DEF: 3 for $9 (my avg: 4.2 for $11) (last year's contest avg: 2.1 for $10)
New Orleans Saints - NO/11 - $3
Atlanta Falcons - ATL/5 - $3
Jacksonville Jaguars - JAX/8 - $3
Three cheap ones. Week 15-17 opponents include TEN, NYJ (2x), IND, and CAR.