#SFB11 Draft – BTS Division 

Having been unsuccessful in getting into the Scott Fish Bowl for a few years now, I finally received my official invite for the SFB11. For those that are unaware, The Scott Fish Bowl, created by Scott Fish, is the largest pro-am tournament in the fantasy football industry. The tournament brings together many fantasy football analysts, celebrities, athletes, and hundreds of fans. Scott strives for community, networking, and the most important thing..raising money for charity. Over the years, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been raised for #fantasycares, which helps bring gifts to children in need during the holidays. In a perfect world, Scott’s goal is to convince every league possible, to donate one entry fee to charity. The amount of work that Scott Fish has done for not just the fantasy industry, but also charities is unprecedented, and you can tell by the numerous awards Scott has received, just how much the industry appreciates the cause. For more information on Scott and the Fish Bowl, visit https://scottfishbowl.com/

Before I get into my draft, it is important to understand the scoring of SFB11. The SFB is also known for some unusual roster construction and/ or scoring formats. When you take a look at the scoring below, you will notice the extra half-point that the tight end position receives for a reception as well as a first down. You will also notice the fractional points for first downs for RB’s and WR’s, and the heavy penalties for interceptions. Sacks and incompletions also will be penalized for QB’s, but they also receive a half-point for a completion. Kickers scoring is pretty standard, but we won’t be talking much about that since Kickers are optional. That’s right. Optional . You can start up to 4 kickers (in your flex) or you can start zero. You should know by now which way I lean on that topic. Prior to when scoring and setup is released, one who is invited into the tournament is able to set a draft spot and division preference. I set my preference for the 12th pick, which I was given, and it turned out to be a good decision considering Scott employed the 3rd round reversal for the draft this year (meaning- the #1 pick doesn’t pick first in the 3rd round. It goes back to the 12th spot). The draft is a slow draft (8 hours to pick), but hopefully you’re in a division that doesn’t take all that time. One other very important bit of information you should know..The flex spots. Four flex spots and one of them can be used by another QB if you wish (superflex). The other three flex spots can be used how you wish between running backs, wide receivers, tight ends and as previously mentioned, kickers. So based on the roster construction and scoring, you can see the importance of the quarterback and tight end positions in this format. 

Here is my thought process for my draft picks…Don’t worry, I won’t be letting you inside my head for the second half of the draft, but I will share my selections and reasoning. 

Rounds 1 & 2 

My “plan” was to take a quarterback and a tight end at the 12/13 turn. Darren Waller, my #2 ranked TE, was a player that I was targeting with one of those first two picks. If Waller was there, I was taking him. He was, and I did. Waller was my selection with the first pick in the 2nd round, but it was the 1st round where I immediately changed directions. I mentioned I wanted a QB, and there were quite a few that I would’ve been happy with. Tom Brady, Russell Wilson and Justin Herbert were all very much in consideration. If Dak Prescott was available, I probably would’ve pulled the trigger, but he was gone with the 5th overall pick. After the 7th overall pick, I realized that one of Dalvin Cook, Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry, Ezekiel Elliot and Alvin Kamara, was going to be there for me at #12. I wasn’t expecting that. I really thought that one or more of those guys would’ve been drafted in the top 7, leaving me with either Prescott or Jackson, but that wasn’t the case. Since it is a slow draft, I had plenty of time to think about what I wanted to do, and I was leaning towards Herbert, Wilson or Brady for the majority of it. I made the decision ahead of time that if Dalvin Cook, my #1 running back this season was available, I would definitely shift focus away from the quarterbacks. I’m on the clock with Cook, Kamara, Henry, and Elliot as the previous 4 picks. I was not anticipating Saquon Barkley to be there at 12, so when he was, I couldn’t pass him up for a quarterback. Even though he’s coming back from a severe injury, he is still my #3 ranked running back, and the value of drafting him as the sixth running back off the board, was just too valuable for me to pass up. 

  1. Saquon Barkley 
  2. Darren Waller 

Round 3  

What happened above is exactly why it is important to have a draft plan, but even more important to be able to adjust at any time. Having missed on a

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

quarterback in the first two rounds, I wanted a quarterback here in the 3rd . After my selection of Waller with the first pick in round two, the next 5 picks were not quarterbacks. Being that this is a third round reversal draft and I would have the first pick in the 3rd round, I was confident that one of the quarterbacks I was considering in round 2, would be there for me. I would be thrilled if either Rodgers, Wilson, Herbert, Brady or Tannehill is there for me. Welp, they went consecutively, in that order, in the back end of the round. Here I am, starting round three looking at Stafford, Hurts, Burrow, or Lawrence. None of which I felt were worthy of a pick in that spot. I knew this was going to be a gamble to wait until the 4th or 5th for my number 1 quarterback in a superflex league, when some teams already had two themselves. This wasn’t a decision I was too torn about. I wasn’t going to draft one of those remaining quarterbacks in this spot, just because I “needed” one. Through the first two rounds, no wide receiver was drafted, so Tyreek Hill, Adams, Hopkins etc were all still there. However, one of the strategies I was pretty determined to stick with, was to wait on a receiver for as long as possible.  There aren’t many running backs that should have the backfield to themselves, but Najee Harris is most likely one of them. He was the clear pick for me. 

  1. Najee Harris 

Rounds 4 & 5 

After picking first in the 3rd round, it was a long wait to pick again in round 4. I was set on Trevor Lawrence but he was drafted three picks before I was on the clock. Then, I noticed that Michael Thomas is still available, and even though I wanted to wait on wide receiver, the backend of the 4th round is just too good of value to pass him up there. I didn’t have to worry because he was drafted right after Lawrence. I figured it was time to zig(or zag) again and go after Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who was the best running back still available. Chad Parsons of Under The Helmet Dynasty and Football Guys, was picking before me, and he already had Elliot and Aaron. No way he would go with a third running back when he still didn’t have a quarterback or tight end, right?. Wrong. He did. Going with a wide receiver such as CeeDee Lamb, Terry McLaurin, Chris Godwin or Robert Woods might’ve been the pick to make here when I look back at the end of the season, but I was still trying to hold off on the position, and so I did. Mark Andrews was my pick in the 4th, and I felt good about having my #4 tight end along with Waller in this particular scoring format. However, this is the pick I am mostly questioning. Perhaps I should’ve gone with Kyle Pitts, since my very next pick was Matt Ryan. Or, maybe I just should’ve drafted Derek Carr in the 5th since I already had Waller. Only time will tell on that, but there is no question that this 4-5 turn is the place in my draft that I am questioning. As I just mentioned, Matt Ryan was my pick at the turn. Looking ahead to the 5th and realizing that the two teams picking right after me here, also needed their QB1, I couldn’t wait around any longer. I went with Ryan, and was really hoping that Justin Fields or Ben Roethlisberger would make it back to me in the sixth. 

  1. Mark Andrews
  2. Matt Ryan 

Rounds 6 & 7 

Getty Images

I targeted round 6 as the place to double up on QB, and as previously mentioned, Fields or Roethlisberger were my targets. As we all know, what we want to do doesn’t always work out. Those two teams picking after me in round 5, also took their first quarterback (Cousins, Carr), and apparently also wanted to double up in round 6 with their QB2, and so they did with Fields and Roethlisberger respectively. Once again, I changed directions and drafted my first wide receiver, Kenny Golladay. At this point doubling up on wide receiver seemed like a good idea, with players like Claypool, Thielen, Sutton, Chase, Diontea Johnson etc all still available. However, with running backs drying up a lot faster than receivers, I couldn’t let Kareem Hunt get past me. Not in this format. 

  1. Kenny Golladay 
  2. Kareem Hunt 

Let’s speed things up a bit….

Rounds 8 & 9

Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media

There was only one quarterback I wanted at this turn, and it was Carson Wentz. Sniped by Chad Parsons yet again. That makes 3 times in the first 8 rounds that Parsons takes the player I want with the pick before me. Deebo Samuel was my pick and only the 2nd receiver on my team. 

Round 9 is where I panicked, and probably reached. At this point, I’m the only one without my second quarterback, and some teams already had three of them. Sure Deshaun Watson was tempting, but I couldn’t take that risk with only Matt Ryan on my squad. Both Saints quarterbacks were still available, but again, too much risk based on my current team. Oh right, I said we were going to speed things up here. Zach Wilson was my pick. I’m higher on him than most and I’m also a Jets fan, so there was some homer in me here. Was it a reach? Probably by a round or two, but he was the one I wanted, and in this league especially, if someone catches your eye, you better take them because they aren’t making their way back to you. 

  1. Deebo Samuel 
  2. Zach Wilson 

OK…No more walking through my thought process. Here are my picks and why. 

Round 10

David Johnson. Running backs are going to dry up and Johnson should be utilized heavily in the passing game for the Texans. 

Considered: Drake, Fournette, Conner & Zach Moss

Round 11

Teddy Bridgewater. Last one to get a third quarterback on their team. He’s serviceable, but let’s hope he actually gets the start and they don’t trade for Aaron Rodgers. Daniel Jones was my target, but was selected mid-way through the round. 

Round 12

Marvin Jones. Corey Davis was the target, but sniped for the 4th time by Mr. Parsons. I’m actually very happy with the Marvin Jones selection, as he could be the reliable pass catching option for the rookie quarterback. Jones always seems to be a bit undervalued. 

Round 13 

Elijah Moore. Moore was someone that I was targeting in this draft, and I felt comfortable taking him in round 13. There has been nothing negative about him coming out of Jets camp, and I like the chemistry he and Wilson have already demonstrated. Jaylen Waddle was also considered but with Wilson on my roster, Moore made more sense for me. Upside pick here. 

Round 14 

Blake Jarwin. Wasn’t crazy about any of the other options at this spot, so why not grab my third tight end. Like last season, I’m higher on Jarwin than most, as I have him ranked as my TE12, so grabbing him as the TE21 in this format was too valuable to pass up. 

At this point in the draft, you’re just hoping for the best. A lot of kickers went off the board in the last seven rounds, but not by me. 

Round 15 

T.Y. Hilton– Despite getting older, I’m just hoping he can get back to some form of fantasy relevance with Carson Wentz. 

Round 16

Kenneth Gainwell. Not thrilled with the pick because of the crowded backfield, but I really liked Gainwell coming out of college and I’m hoping he can carve out a role on this team. Mac Jones was my target here, but he was drafted by Parsons with the pick before I was on the clock. Snipe #5. 

Round 17 

Nelson Agholor– Figured I would take a shot with pseudo number 1 in New England. He seemed to start getting it together with the Raiders last season, and the Patriots signed him quickly as free agency began. Other receivers that were there and considered: Tre’Quan Smith, Breshad Perriman, Tyrell Williams, Christian Kirk . 

Round 18 

Malcolm Brown- Wanted to use a couple late round picks on guys that could potentially have value, especially if there is an injury. Myles Gaskin is presumably the number one in Miami, but do we know if he can back up his 2020 performance, and/or stay on the field? Brown is a seasoned veteran that can do it all and could be an impactful player at the goal-line and in the passing game. 

Round 19

Samaje Perine. Not super excited about this pick, but I took Mixon’s injury history into account here. Perhaps Chris Evans, Pooka Williams, or Trayveon Williams will be the guy or form a committee if Mixon were to miss time, but with Bernard no longer there, and Perine having two strong performances to end last season, I took my chances that he will be the “next man up”. 

Round 20

Dawson Knox. Figured I would use this pick on a team’s starting tight end, rather than a number 3 or 4 on a running back/wide receiver depth chart. 

Round 21 

Tim Patrick. I’m a big fan of Patrick even though the Broncos already have Sutton, Jeudy and Fant ahead of him in the pecking order. The Broncos designated a second round tender on him this past season, so we know what they think of him as well. He can be a difference maker if there was an injury to one of the top pass-catching options in Denver. 

Round 22

Mr. Irrelevant

Ian Thomas. The last pick in the draft, why not? Dan Arnold was the primary tight end target from the Panthers in this tournament, but I was willing to take the chance that Thomas, now in the second year of the new system, can get it together and give Sam Darnold a target in the middle of the field. Thomas is also in a contract year, which can’t hurt. 

With my first Scott Fish Bowl draft in the books, I look forward to seeing how the season unfolds. The draft is only the first phase, so there is a lot of work to be done during the season, in a league in which you can not make trades. 

Good luck and enjoy to everyone in the #SFB11!

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