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Josh Gross
The Scott Fish Bowl 14 — or #SFB14 on Twitter — is getting closer, and the official scoring settings for the massive tournament just dropped.
This is the largest, most popular redraft fantasy football contest in the world. Fantasy analysts and fans are grouped up to duke it out over the course of the season, and all proceeds go to charity. Shout out to Scott Fish for all of the work he does to organize this every year. Donate to Fantasy Cares here.
At face value, you’re in a single 12-team league. But there are also many other 12-team leagues happening simultaneously, and when the fantasy playoffs arrive, all the best teams get merged together for an epic tournament.
Since this isn’t a normal 12-team redraft league and is instead a big tournament, we’ll see some out-of-the-box strategies. This piece will go over some of the more popular strategies you’re likely to see this year.
Key things to remember:
- SFB14 is a superflex league (you can start 2 QBs)
- Premium PPR scoring — RBs get 0.5 PPR, WRs get 1 PPR, TEs get 1.5 PPR
- 0.5 points per first down (rushing and receiving)
- 1.5 points per first down if you’re a WR
- 0.25 points per rushing attempt
- Drafting is “third-round reversal,” which means the player who picks first overall picks again at 2.12, but instead of picking at 3.01 like normal, they have to wait until 3.12 to make their third selection. Then the rest of the draft continues like a normal snake (they pick 4.01, 5.12, 6.01, etc.)
- Kickers get 0.1 point per field goal yard and 3.3 points per X
What’s new:
- 0.2 points per return yard on special teams
- 10 points per return TD
- Tiered PPR scoring by position is new this year (last year it was just half-PPR except for TEs)
- Passing gets 1 point for 50 yards, not 1 for 25
- No points per pass completion or first down
Scott Fish himself breaks it down here:
Let’s take a look at some of the key approaches for this year’s draft. Note: I’m writing this the day it came out. I reserve the right to update this as the drafts get closer.
Strategy 1: Start QB-QB
I will write this every year that SFB remains a superflex league: QBs will always go early. And it’s a strategy you should take seriously. You get 6 points per TD in this league, which makes QBs even more valuable already, and the rushing QBs also get the bonus 0.25 points per rush attempt.
Most teams will have at least 1 QB after the first two rounds are completed. But many people will start QB-QB, regardless of their draft slot.
If you’re drafting early, look for rushing QBs like Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson to fly off the boards. Players like Anthony Richardson and Jayden Daniels will probably go earlier, too. The “second rung” of QBs will already start coming off the board in Round 2 (players like Brock Purdy and Jared Goff).
The passing-centric QBs (like Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert) take more of a hit from the switch from 1 point for every 25 yards to every 50 yards, but the elite ones can make up for it thanks to 6 points per passing TD. If a QB just collects yards and struggles to score TDs, though, then they have a big risk of not being valuable in SFB14. If you’re looking for a reason not to start your draft QB-QB, look no further. The lack of passing completion points this year is definitely a big hit against QBs because every other position keeps their special bonuses like points per reception and first down or attempts.
Strategy 2: Zero RB
You’ll see a ton of Zero RB despite the fact running backs get the extra 0.25 points per rush attempt and 0.5 points per first down in this league. Drafters will be vying for the mantle of “most hardcore Zero RB drafter” in SFB14 thanks to the elite SFB app run by @Josh_ADHD.
Despite the 0.25 points per rush attempt, RBs do fall a full 0.5 points behind in PPR (against WRs) and a full 1 PPR point behind TEs on receptions.
Zero RB is also just such an ingrained draft strategy among so-called experts, that it often becomes a little silly how much RB aversion there is in draft rooms filled with people all thinking the same. (Don’t get me wrong — a well-executed Zero RB draft can make for a truly elite team, but when everyone in the draft is trying to pull it off, you lose the edge you were trying to go for in the first place.)
Strategy 3: Heavy RB
I’m not talking about starting your draft with two RBs in the first few rounds: I’m talking about leaving with at least 3 RBs in your first 4 rounds.
You can zig against the zag of Zero RB drafters by going RB heavy. Maybe you start your draft RB-RB-RB. Or maybe you go RB-QB-RB-RB.
If you land a workhorse RB, the 0.25 points per rush attempt are really going to stack up, as are the 0.5 points per first down. Old man Derrick Henry still led the league with 280 rushing attempts last year, and now he’s on the run-heaviest team in the NFL. Even cheaper players like Rachaad White and Najee Harris and Joe Mixon all ranked in the top six in rushing attempts last year.
Considering how many RBs you can legally start (7!) — it wouldn’t surprise me if we see some teams start their drafts with four or five RBs straight.
This is one of the many reasons why SFB is so fun. The strategies are aplenty.
Strategy 4: Bully TE
I wrote about this strategy last year, and I think we’ll see people try to pull it off again this year as TEs once again get the premium juice in scoring, with 1.5 PPR and a full 1.5 points per first down.
The way the scoring is currently set up, Travis Kelce would score 5 points every time he catches a 20-yard pass. This scoring set up makes every TE much more valuable. And the fantasy TE class finally feels “deep” (for real) that picking two or even three TEs to be in your weekly starting roster is a viable strategy. Imagine starting Kelce, Sam LaPorta and Trey McBride in a league with this scoring setup.
Strategy 5: Special Teamers?
Will people dare try to build teams around … special teamers? The twist of 0.2 points per return yard certainly puts some of these return specialists on the map.
Rashid Shaheed, Marvin Mims, Greg Dortch, Antonio Gibson, Tyjae Spears and Dameon Pierce all served time as kickoff and/or punt returners last year. Josh Downs and Christian Kirk got in on the action on some punt returns as well.
Shaheed scored 145 SFB14 points on return yards alone last year. That’s over 8.5 per game and equivalent to an RB rushing 14 times for 50 yards.
Of course, it’ll be hard to build an entire roster around the special teamers perk, as so many returners are returners only, but it’ll make for some players to go way earlier than you might expect.
Of course, there are many, many more strategies that we’ll see unfold over the SFB14 draft. Hero RB, team stacking, late-round QBs, single QB and more will all be strategies people attempt to pull off in the ultimate season-long fantasy football community contest Scott Fish has put together.
