RADIO
The seventh annual Scott Fish Bowl (a.k.a. SFB7) drafts have been completed. This is a unique format with rules that are unlike most leagues out there. I outlined the details and my attempt at a mock draft earlier this summer, which you can check out here.
Now that the rosters are set, it's time to look at the final results. Fellow RotoBaller and Rotoviz writer Charlie Kleinheksel was also a participant, so this will be a good opportunity for a side-by-side comparison of strategies. Just as we do in our Player vs. Player series, we'll each advocate for our own side while breaking down the good and bad of our opponent's side.
While the two of us are in different divisions, we are both in the "Villains" conference of the Disney-themed league and may ultimately wind up competing for overall winner status. For Part One of the SFB7 recap, check out Charlie's article.
Editor's Note: Our incredible team of writers won two writing awards and received 12 award nominations by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. A big congrats to our very own Byron Lindeque (Golf) and Jordan McAbee (NASCAR) for both winning Writer Of The Year awards! Be sure to follow RotoBaller's analysis and advice all year long, and win more. Win More With RotoBaller!
SFB7 Results - Pierre
First things first: this is a QB-driven league. The fact that it's a superflex that allows you to start two quarterbacks is reason enough to invest early in quality signal callers, but the scoring rules almost demand that you prioritize the position. In the Fish Bowl, touchdown passes are worth six points, whereas rushing and receiving touchdowns are just five. Interceptions are also penalized by a two-point loss. While there are plenty of QBs that can score high fantasy point totals these days, regardless of talent and win-loss record, you will clearly have an advantage by targeting elite passers. Tight ends also get a scoring advantage in this system, but you have to be careful not to overvalue them since there are few that exceed value relative to the others in their tier.
Round 1, Pick 8
My Pick: Mike Evans. I made Evans my first pick for a very clear reason that only matters in this particular format. Evans led all receivers by far in first downs gained with 81. The next closest players were T.Y. Hilton, Odell Beckham, Antonio Brown and Julio Jones with 66, 65, 64, and 64 respectively. His reception and touchdown totals also match up with those other first-round worthy WR. DeSean Jackson isn't a chain-mover, he was brought in to be a deep threat, and rookie O.J. Howard isn't going to instantaneously eat into Evans' red zone targets. Therefore, I have no concerns about Evans losing value this season. That said, to see that Charlie was able to acquire the exact same player a full round later in his draft was very surprising to me, but I couldn't guarantee he would be around for me in round two.
Round 2, Pick 5
My Pick: Drew Brees. I was able to grab the #2 QB on my board in Brees without having to burn a first-round pick on him. While Brees isn't always the most efficient and will stray into the teens for interceptions, he is a lock for 30+ TD and could very well lead the league in passing yards again. I secured a top-five QB in a league where it's more important than ever.
Round 3, Pick 8
My Pick: Derek Carr. I followed up here with Carr, a top-10 consensus QB, as my second starter. In my mind, this is almost a coup. Carr is only getting better and what he lacks in yardage totals, he makes up for by not turning the ball over. This alleviated any concern I had over winding up with a questionable starter at QB each week.
Round 4, Pick 5
My Pick: Lamar Miller. A safe, unexciting pick for my first running back. I do believe he will be better without Brock Osweiler behind center, but his numbers should be comparable to last year since D'onta Foreman may cut into his workload a bit. I'm OK with the floor on this pick.
Round 5, Pick 8
My Pick: Mike Gillislee. I fully acknowledge this might be a reach, but he presented far more upside than any of the RB left at that point. Gillislee won't break me if he fails, but he could bring great dividends if he claims around 15-18 carries a game and double-digit touchdowns. Balancing the high floor in the previous round with a higher ceiling on this one was my call.
Round 6, Pick 5
My Pick: Allen Robinson. He isn't everyone's favorite bounce back candidate this year, but he is still a physical specimen and his play didn't suffer from his own fault or injury. He was and still will be a top-20 first down receiver, along with the possibility to return to double-digit TD.
Round 7, Pick 8
My Pick: Martellus Bennett. The tight ends flew off the board early in this draft, as Charlie can attest to. Even with the 2.5 PP1D boost, I don't see taking Greg Olsen or Jimmy Graham in the third round as the best strategy. Someone like Gronk, if actually healthy, could wind up as the league MVP. I won't be the one to take on that risk, however, nor did I bite on TE early. He was a top-10 point-getter at his position last year as a part-time starter, so there aren't many scenarios outside of a serious injury in which I can see him not surpassing last year's value.
Round 8, Pick 5
My Pick: Frank Gore. I book-ended my starting RB with another ex-Cane who is a boring pick, but a good value. He's going to get his share of carries and first downs.
Round 9, Pick 8
My Pick: Samaje Perine. The opposite end of the spectrum from Gore, this is a flier worth taking at this point. I'm not targeting him at all in PPR leagues, but he could do good things here if he takes work away from Fat Rob.
Round 10, Pick 5
My Pick: Tyreek Hill. A-Rob aside, I also didn't want to be the guy to draft Tyreek Hill in a league that doesn't reward return yards and de-emphasizes scoring and big plays. It's all about value, though. Hill is going to be the main target on his team and shouldn't be lower than a WR2 in fantasy leagues, yet I was able to get him in the 10th round.
Round 11, Pick 8
My Pick: Quincy Enunwa. Quincy Enunwa is a sleeper, as you may already have read, and should complement my WR corps nicely.
Round 12, Pick 5
My Pick: Jared Goff. Forget his unremarkable rookie year. Here is a high-upside reserve who will do just fine on bye weeks and could be a pleasant surprise if he picks up Sean McVay's offense quickly.
Round 13, Pick 8
My Pick: Jared Cook. I don't expect a breakout season from Jared Cook this year (or ever), but he presented far more upside than all other tight ends in his tier. Am I thrilled to have him as my TE2 in a league that rewards the position more than any other? Not so much.
Round 14, Pick 5
My Pick: DeAndre Washington. While I like him as a sleeper this year, in retrospect I should have gone with Jalen Richard instead since this is a non-PPR league.
Round 15, Pick 8
My Pick: It's hard to know how much Curtis Samuel will be involved in the pass game this year, but he's purely a bye-week filler, as is fellow rookie Taywan Taylor, who I selected a few rounds later.
Round 16, Pick 5
My Pick: George Kittle. Here was my biggest reach. I didn't want to be left behind on backup tight ends like I was for the starters, so I opted for upside. Kittle has gotten rave reviews in training camp, but he is a rookie TE on a bad team in an offense that doesn't emphasize the position. Mulligan? I was much happier with my choice of A.J. Derby in the 19th round. He may not be draft-worthy in most leagues, but he's a great sleeper for MFL10s and dynasty (and the Fish Bowl).
I rounded out my running back group with rookie Jeremy McNichols, who has a good chance to steal the starting job in Tampa, and Ryan Mathews, who may jump into a prominent role with a team like Baltimore or Buffalo once he is cleared to play.
Overall, I was thrilled with my quarterback situation and very confident about my receivers. My running backs won't win any games on their own, nor will they lose many. Tight end is a boom-bust proposition right now, as Bennett has a ton of promise but some red flags too.
SFB7 Results - Charlie
My compadre was lucky enough to score Le'Veon Bell since he had the second overall pick, so he waited on RB the rest of the way. Waiting until the 12th round for your RB2 though? It's not so much the quality of his running backs that I question, but the fit. In a non-PPR league, players like Duke Johnson, Chris Thompson, Charles Sims, and Branden Oliver carry far less appeal. If Duke Johnson does get a bigger workload this year, he could reach RB2 value, but there are too many low ceilings here for my taste.
Bortles and Tannehill in your starting lineup each week doesn’t seem like a winning strategy, but they could turn out to be good values. They have battled the last couple of years to be King of Garbage Time, with Bortles gaining the upper hand in the favor of fantasy owners. I’m not sure the numbers will be there this year, as both teams promise to run the ball much more, but they also won’t drag this team down. If Tannehill is out for the year, that's going to require some savvy waiver wire work to find a suitable replacement.
It's no surprise that my cohort chose a similar strategy in passing on the top two tiers of TE in order to emphasize value as well. Charlie made Jason Witten his first TE in round six and Charles Clay his backup. He may have lucked into a great pick with Ben Watson, considering that news of Crockett Gillmore's injury occurred a couple weeks later. Similar strategies to be sure, but I sense way too much age and injury risk in his group, with two of his top three TE over 35 years old. This is a competitive squad that will ride on the back of bellcow Bell and stud wideout Evans.
