Early Scott Fish Bowl 2020 Draft Reactions

Every July, one of the biggest events for the entire fantasy community is the annual Scott Fish Bowl draft. This year is the tenth year of the “pro-am” tournament designed to help raise money for Fantasy Cares, and this year, to help the Equal Justice Initiative as well. Discussion about the individual SFBX drafts are no doubt flooding your Twitter timelines, and the gang at PFNDynasty staff is no different. A few of us wanted to share our Scott Fish Bowl 2020 draft reactions here as well, to try to help explain why we did what we did as our own drafts unfolded as a way to help you in your upcoming redraft league drafts as well.

Early Scott Fish Bowl 2020 draft reactions

SFBX Rules

First things first, we should clarify some of the fun things about this league. Our own Ben Rolfe did a great job laying out the scoring in his projections article, so I won’t rehash all of that, but this tournament is made up of 1440 total teams, the majority of which are managed by fantasy analysts and “experts” from across the industry. That means there are 120 12-team leagues, all drafting at the same time. This is why it’s being talked about so much lately.

Given the scoring twists, this year, accurate passers are given a boost, as are high-end tight ends along with consistent running backs and wide receivers, at least in my opinion. While it is a SuperFlex league, meaning you can start two QBs most weeks, there is an argument for starting a lower level wide receiver over a lower level QB on those QB bye weeks, making them slightly less meaningful overall. Since this league is so large, there’s no trading either, which means other than your draft, all you have is $100 in FAAB to acquire players throughout the season.

Lastly, the SFBX itself is not a best-ball league, which means you do need to start a lineup every week, and it is hosted on MyFantasyLeague.com, a site that comes with a steep learning curve of its own. For more details on the rules, check out scottfishbowl.com and be sure to sign up for next year while you’re there!

So, with all of that out of the way, here are some of our analysts playing in the big dance and what they think of their drafts so far, starting with myself:

Andrew Hall

I specifically chose the 1.02 in SFBX so that I could get a top tier guy without being on the actual turn on the way back. I did not expect to get Christian McCaffrey at 1.02, though. That actually started a trend in my draft: taking guys that fall to me at great values. Adams at 2.11 seemed like a no brainer, as did Keenan Allen at 6.11 and Jarvis Landry at 9.02. My TEs could use some help, but I think Jonnu Smith could be this year’s Mark Andrews and propel my team to victory. I’m still adding to my bench, but I love how balanced my team is thus far.

Josh Houtz

Now that my Scott Fish Bowl draft is complete, I can breathe a sigh of relief. Obviously, there were a few picks I wish would’ve done differently, but overall, I think I have the same chance as anyone. My receivers are an intriguing group of misfits that have high boom or bust potential. And although RBs thinned out quickly, I’m happy with Miles Sanders, David Montgomery, Le’Veon Bell, and Jordan Howard. The real key will come down to the Lamar Jackson/Mark Andrews connection, and whether or not Daniel Jones or Dwayne Haskins can ascend in 2020. Now, let’s just hope there’s football!

Corey Ashburn

I feel weird about this team. I have a bunch of guys that I own zero shares of in dynasty because I don’t like them long-term, specifically Tom Brady, Gardner Minshew, Raheem Mostert, and Brandin Cooks. I was sniped multiple times throughout the draft, but overall, I like my team and feel it has a good chance to compete with the top teams in the league.

The RB depth is solid, and I like my TEs and QBs a lot. I don’t have a favorite pick, but picking Mostert literally hours before he requested a trade really irritated me. I also wish I would have gone with another WR over Minshew since my WR room isn’t great.

Tommy Garrett

I am happy so far with how my Scott Fish Bowl 2020 draft has gone. Being lucky enough to be one of the 11.7% to see Christian McCaffrey fall to 1.02 was a great way to start it off. I went for balance and wanted some running backs early. I selected McCaffrey, Nick Chubb, and James Conner in the first four rounds. My goal with the SFBX was to build a team with the first part of my corps to be high floor, consistent players, and shoot for upside later on.

I will say I have several players on this team that I don’t have many shares of anywhere else. Maybe trusting a new group of players is what I need for 2020. As with everyone, the draft hasn’t gone perfectly. I was sniped a time or two, which made me change my whole game plan for those two picks, but that’s the nature of the beast. Maybe by the time we see football on the field, this draft might be over. Fingers crossed, at least.

Phillip Caldwell

The Power Wheels division draft is complete, and looking back at my team, I see a squad that has the upside to dominate any opponent, while simultaneously carrying enough risk to crash and burn almost immediately. I took on a strategy of drafting players I viewed as having the highest upside and disregarded ADP (like taking Todd Gurley in the first), “floors,” or injury risk.

No other draft I do all season will come close to looking like this team, but that doesn’t mean I am not very excited and hopeful for how this team turned out. All season long, I am going to be excited to see the potential of this team take shape!

Ben Rolfe

My plan was to try and differentiate myself while balancing safety and security. A big part of the gamble to take Travis Kelce at the four spot was that Drew Brees would make it back to me in the second round. That start for me was preferable to starting with a Lamar Jackson/Mark Andrews QB/TE combination and should give me a great floor week-to-week. After that, it was a case of looking for security in my base options so that I have reliable options on a week-to-week basis. That strong base allowed me to search for potential upside options in James White, Tarik Cohen, Anthony Miller, and Boston Scott.

My favorite pick of the Scott Fish Bowl 2020 draft was getting Jamison Crowder in the 11th round. Crowder has the potential to be a top-20 option in this format purely based on targets, so getting him as WR39, and after I had already built up strong options at the other three positions, is a real bonus. 

Who do you think has the best roster so far? If you’re in the league as well, which of our analysts’ teams most resemble your own? Whether you’re in the actual SFBX or one of the satellites, we want to see your roster! Hit us up on Twitter if you’re looking for late-round advice or if you just want us to evaluate your team. We’re here to help you win it all!

Continue to visit the Pro Football Network for NFL news and in-depth analysis like the #PFNOSM data and be sure to keep coming back to our Dynasty Fantasy Football section for more fantasy football coverage.

Andrew Hall is a writer for PFN covering the NFL and Fantasy Football. You can follow him on Twitter: @AndrewHallFF.