Say you start:
Laird, Sicily and Docherty
about 8-9 rounds in you trade in Caleb Daniel
Round 11:
Daniel, Laird, Sic, Doc (4 premiums)
Round 12 (trade in Houston):
Daniel, Laird, Sic, Houston, Doc (5 premiums)
Round 13:
Daniel, Laird, Sic, Houston (4 premiums)
Round 14: (trade in Jake Lloyd):
Lloyd, Houston, Doc (3 premiums)
A total of 16 premiums playing over these 4 weeks.
Say you start:
Sicily, Houston, Docherty
and about 8-9 rounds in you trade in Caleb Daniel
Round 11:
Daniel, Sic, Doc (3 premiums)
Round 12:
Daniel, Sic, Houston, Doc (4 premiums)
Round 13 (trade in Stewart):
Daniel, Stewart, Sic, Houston (4 premiums)
Round 14: (trade in Jake Lloyd):
Lloyd, Stewart, Houston, Doc (4 premiums)
A total of 15 premiums playing over these 4 weeks.
Verdict: Following this example you might end up with one extra player by not starting with Houston, but you will have more defenders playing during an easy bye (5 instead of 4 in round 12) than you will in the tougher bye (3 instead of 4 in round 14). The counter to this point is that you end up with Laird or another round 14 bye player who is better than Stewart or likely any other round 12 bye player. I think starting an extra round 13 bye player instead of Houston isn't feasible due to the likelihood of causing a donut given how many players have that bye (which would ruin the point of not starting him).
Anyone have a counter example to this?
@Bomber18 As far as I can tell this is only worth 1 extra premium score.