I assume you are talking h2h and if so these are my thoughts, if roto disregard.
In 9 cat punt assists is my favorite strategy, let everyone overpay for assists and in turn you win turnovers vs them.
In 8 cat punt you can punt pts and build a juggernaut in the auction with basically your whole team ranking in the top 50 with pts turned off but in a 1 week sample it is extremely risky with both %'s and 3's.

The same as snake except you can actually target all the guys you want- though a lot of the best punt anchors are also highly ranked so you'll end up paying for them. With punt Ft or FG builds there are a few guys you can target later in drafts. Check the Punt article in the draft guide.

This year , I don;t like punt assts though I have seen it done correctly and efficiently.

Since most assists are at the top of drafts I've seen many teams soft punt assisst accidentally. Even having a decent # on your teams can win you more than a few weeks in H2h due to this fact.

Also in reviewing teams I've seen a lot of soft punt rebounds too FWIW.

Auction is the method of acquiring players. While it gives you more freedom to select who you want it shouldn't be a significant influencer on team build strategy.

This should be driven by league functional settings (no. Teams, squad depth and position limits, etc.)

Further... i dont get the idea of adjusting player rankings by excluding punt cats. All other things being equal the player who doesnt tank your FT is still better, punt FT strategy or not.

It's mathematical my good man.

Since rankings are done in a 9-cat (roto) vacuum, removing one cat changes the dynamics of how the player helps or hurts your team.

Even something as simple as 8 vs 9-cat. If you remove a cat that a player normally hurts you in, he no longer does, which means the his positive effects aren't weighed down by his weaknesses in that cat which naturally means his value increases.

Yeah I understand the maths, Chef.

But at the end of the day your guys are still competing in a 9 cat league. So their real value doesnt change simply because you choose to punt a category.

Ie. If everyone else is determining values in a 9 cat world you shouldnt go and take simmons a round or two earlier than he should go just because you decide to punt FT. If you dont let the punt guys fall to you you are killing all the val yhe you generate by punting that cat.

In H2H you're rarely competing in all cats in competitive leegs which is why the punt value shows relative to your build which guys help, not in a 9-cat vacuum.

Ideally you let them fall as to maximize value but when it comes to early round guys, they don't fall anyway.

Simmons ranked 51 last year in 9-cat so I def would take him early in such a build.

It's more stylistic than anything so you gotta go what works for you.