You might be looking through your Twitter timeline and seeing “#SFB13,” which is not a new television show. They are referring to the 13th annual Scott Fish Bowl (SFB).
The SFB has become the premiere and most coveted invite in the fantasy football community, as thousands sign up every year to try and earn a spot.
This allows fantasy football experts and fans to compete for the ultimate prize and claim who’s the best, and it’s for a good cause.
While voluntary, participants are encouraged to donate to the charity known as Fantasy Cares, which donates all proceeds to Toys For Tots.
If you missed out on signing up for this year’s event, you are likely out of luck, but sign-ups for next year have already begun on ScottFishBowl.com.
If you received the invitation personally sent by Scott Fish, and want to know what’s next and an overview before you begin your draft, let’s get you started.
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Scott Fish Bowl Overview 2023 (Rules, Scoring and Draft Strategy)
Basic Rules
This is a 3,300-team tournament comprised of 275 leagues with 12 teams each. Also, know that there are two platforms where the different leagues take place, Sleeper and MyFantasyLeague.com (MFL). Check your league, and it will tell which platform you’re using.
If you think, “Wow! That’s a lot, I had no doubt I was getting in.” Consider yourself lucky. Thousands of people miss out on the tournament every year (I didn’t get in my first year signing up).
It’s a 22-round slow draft (8-hour time limit).
Your potential starters include 1-2 QB, 2-6 RB, 3 -7 WR, 1-5 TE and 0-4 K (11 Total).
For Sleeper leagues, there will be 3 flex, and a kicker will be required instead of 4 flex. It will be adjusted if they allow a kicker flex before the drafts.
- Bench: 11 players
- No trading allowed
- Waivers: $100 blind bidding
- No stat corrections in the playoffs
- A weekly game against the median
Scoring
As Scott put it when he released the scoring for this year, he wanted to “keep it all positive.” This means no negative points for fumbles or interceptions. As you’ll also see, there are extra points for first downs, and one position is very important.
Here is the scoring system for the Scott Fish Bowl 13:
Passing:
- 6 points for a passing TD
- 0.1 points per completion
- 0.1 point per 1st down
- 1 point for every 25 yards passing (.04/per)
- 2 points per 2-point conversion
Rushing:
- 6 points for each rushing TD
- 1 point for 10 yards rushing (.1/per)
- 2 points for 2-point conversions
- 1 point per 1st down
- .25 points per carry
Receiving:
- 6 points per receiving TD
- 1 point for 10 yards receiving (.1/per)
- 2 points for 2-point conversions
- 1 point per 1st down
- 1 point per reception
TE:
- Extra 1 point per first down
- Extra 1 point per reception
Kicking:
- 3.3 points for a made extra point
- Decimal scoring bonus for field goals (37 yarder = 3.7 points, 24 yarder = 2.4 points)
Special Teams:
- 6 points for any return TD
- 6 points if your player recovers a ball in the endzone for a TD (fumble recovery TD on Sleeper)
Draft Strategy
If you want to look at this through the scope of what type of league it is, think of it as a PPR 2QB, Superflex, TE premium.
I’ve done similar mock drafts that could help your draft strategy. Check them out here and here.
The strategy to get the best team would be to grab either one of the top quarterbacks, Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes. Also, consider Travis Kelce because he could be a game-changer with this scoring system.
If you miss out on any of these quarterbacks, you’ll want to find one who is highly mobile with a passing upside. Lamar Jackson will be considered a top choice, but Daniel Jones should be high on your list. Jones, along with Jalen Hurts and Josh Allen, were the only three quarterbacks last year with at least 3,000 passing yards, 700 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns.
If you missed Kelce, T.J. Hockenson, Evan Engram, and Mark Andrews were the only tight ends to have at least 90 targets, 70 catches, and averaged over 10 yards per reception last year.
Grabbing a highly used running back would be another way to go, like Christian McCaffrey or Austin Ekeler, but if this was the scoring system last year, Josh Jacobs was the top running back and had 28 more first down than the second-best.
As you move along, you’ll want to target some wide receivers, but they will have less priority than the offensive positions. On average, they will score about three points less per game than running backs. Finding a heavily targeted receiver with large yards per receptions numbers is the key.
Justin Jefferson should be first the first receiver taken, followed by Ja’Marr Chase, Stefon Diggs and Cooper Kupp. You want your top receiver to be a great route runner who stretches the field and potentially finishes with 100 catches.
As you move further through the draft, be on the lookout for players, especially running backs and tight ends, who have the potential to make an impact.
For running backs, some potential sleepers could be Rachaad White, Khalil Herbert, Alexander Mattison or Zach Charbonnet.
There are potential late-round tight ends who have a large upside, including Dalton Schultz, Darren Waller and Pat Freiermuth. There was a very good rookie class this year with Dalton Kincaid, Michael Mayer and Sam LaPorta, who could provide value later in your draft.
Lastly, you will need a second quarterback. With no negative scoring, grabbing someone who throws picks wouldn’t hurt you. I would consider grabbing one of the highly drafted rookies like Bryce Young, Anthony Richardson or CJ Stroud, who are young guys who will get the opportunity early on and might make mistakes that won’t negatively impact your score.
I also want a quarterback with a bad supporting defense. Geno Smith, Kirk Cousins and Jared Goff are viable quarterbacks who played on bad defenses last year.
I’ve already done about 30 mock drafts picking in several positions. Here are a couple of results to guide you.
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