RotoUnderworld SFB11 Mock Draft and Early Round Strategy

by Ray Marzarella · Draft Strategy

Scott Fish Bowl season is upon us and PlayerProfiler has Scott Fish Bowl Rankings and Projections to help you win your division. If you’re reading this, I’m going to safely assume you’ve at least heard of the event that marks the unofficial start to the fantasy football season. But just in case, why don’t I just drop the SFB11 league scoring settings right about here:

SFB11 Scoring Settings

And while we’re at it:

SFB11 Rules

With the start of #SFB11 right around the proverbial corner at the time of publication, there can never be too much Fish Bowl content of any sort. Whether it be the discovery and utilization of SFB-specific mock drafting tools,  the creation of mock draft ADP data, or articles discussing when and where to select our kickers (hint: not early), the community has banded together to provide copious amounts of SFB-based content. All designed to help the field of 1,920, roughly half of them first time players, gain an edge. The Underworld Enterprises crew has been hard at work figuring out how to take down the game’s biggest tournament. We’ve been among the many factions conducting mock drafts. We’ve bounced thoughts and ideas off of each other. And we’re letting the advanced stats and metrics illuminate the path to victory.

Today we bring you the early stages of an SFB11 mock draft. This exercise features many of your favorite Underworld personalities, friends, and authors. The first few picks are so crucial to get correct in order to properly set the tone for the rest of the draft and give yourself the best chance to conquer such a massive field.

RotoUnderworld SFB11 Mock Draft 

First, the draft board after the first five rounds or so. I doubt we’re finishing this thing before SFB11 starts, but we don’t need the whole draft board for these purposes. This piece is mainly about figuring out the best early round strategy that can set us up for sustained success the deeper we get into our respective drafts.

Today’s SOLDIERS OF THE UNDERWORLD REVOLUTION include ‘CHA BOY DOUBLE R, Jessie Dombrowski, THE ROOSTER, Corbin Young, THE YOUNGEST ANALYST IN THE GAME, The Podfather, Anand Nanduri, THE SALARY CAP-TAIN, LARK ON MY GO-KART, Ikey Azar, RAYGQUE, and THE MAD CHATTER (editors note: any and all nicknames pending).

SFB11 Mock Draft Board

Right off the bat, you’ll notice that everyone brought a generally unique strategy into this thought exercise. I know it’s July 4th and you all have things to do, so I won’t go over everybody’s individual strategy. I will say that taking down the entire SFB11 field will require an incredible masterstroke of luck. However, making the playoffs and putting yourself in position to make that championship-winning run is possible from any draft slot. Though it will be much harder to accomplish without drafting one of our SIX CORNERSTONE PLAYERS (editors note: teaser alert, and it’s not the first six players picked in this mock). 

The fact is that in a tournament with as many variables as the Scott Fish Bowl, it will be hard to pinpoint what will have constituted a good strategy until the season is over.

So much of it will depend on how each draft shakes out. And with a record number of conferences, divisions, and teams, adaptation and improvisation will be key to survival. With so many first time drafters bringing unknown variables into the equation, a run at the right position at the right time has the potential to derail the plans of even the most savvy drafters.

If this were a real SFB11 draft, who’s to say that Ray Garvin‘s QB-RB-RB-RB-RB start, the most unique in this field, wouldn’t be the ideal way to tackle it? Given the way this draft started despite the fact that he didn’t end up with one of our CORNERSTONE PLAYERS, it’s certainly not out of the question.

fantasy-football-dynasty-league-rankings

Do You Even QB, Bro?

Eight quarterbacks were selected in the first round of this exercise. All of whom have some Konami Code to their game. And all of whom we’ve identified as the difference-making QBs we need to target in most seasonal league formats. But not all should be considered first-round SFB11 values over certain skill position players given the structure of the rules. In fact, SFB11’s scoring settings boosts players like Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and Matthew Stafford. While the presence of a Kirk Cousins, an ideal QB2 in this format, in the early fourth round will be a boon to those drafting a signal caller with an early pick. He also makes a good QB1 consolation prize for those who miss out on an elite option.

Of the previously mentioned SIX CORNERSTONE PLAYERS, four are quarterbacks. Jessie Dombrowski and I took two of them, and we’ll give you Kyler Murray as a third. Don’t say we never did anything for you. Of course, you’ll have to have access to our rankings to find out who the fourth mystery QB is. But the fact remains that each of these quarterbacks land in the FIRST TIER of our SFB11 rankings given their combination of offense, ability, and upside in this format. And while it may be hard to take down the whole field without a cornerstone player, those who use our rankings will be incentivized to end up with three startable QBs among their first six picks to avoid being shut out.

Having two reliable quarterbacks, potentially even three, is key to survival in this marathon. But there comes a certain point in the first round where it’s ok to take a skill player given the general depth of the QB position.

fantasy-football-dynasty-league-rankings

I Should’ve Grabbed an Elite Tight End

We can expect Patrick Mahomes to be the 1.01 in the majority of SFB11 drafts. Having an elite quarterback in a SuperFlex format offers a level of stability that’s hard to match with later-round picks. Especially one who tends to call his own number close to the goal line and in short-yardage conversion situations. It was the impetus behind my selecting Josh Allen at 1.02 after Jessie took Mahomes.

Mock drafts can often become an exercise in what to expect your team to NOT look like. Especially when drafting with like-minded individuals who focus on the right sorts of details.

I certainly don’t expect to see Tyreek Hill fall to the end of the second round in many real SFB11 drafts, though I suppose it’s not impossible since it did happen here. That said, Hill’s late-second round availability in this exercise drives home a general point. Wide receiver is deep enough to be the position we can afford to wait the longest to solidify. Hill obviously becomes a value, and the right selection, at a certain point. But there project to be plenty of alpha receivers available in the mid-to-late third and early fourth to build around.

I felt good after taking Antonio Gibson and Austin Ekeler as my starting RBs, though I couldn’t help but feel this team was missing the presence of an elite tight end. The best available TE at 2.11 was Kyle Pitts, and taking him over Hill would be blasphemous. In the same vein, taking T.J. Hockenson over Gibson or Ekeler would be certifiably insane. Darren Waller didn’t make it past THE MAD CHATTER at 2.01, so there’s only one logical way this team could’ve been improved with the presence of an elite TE.

Hear Me Out – Travis Kelce Over All the QBs?

There’s always the chance that a fear-based run wipes out more of a position than expected in a given draft. This is why adaptation and improvisation are the words of the day. Though you’ll want to end up with one of our CORNERSTONE QBs if possible, it will be easier to overcome a run on elite QBs than it will to overcome a run of elite TEs, mainly due to the sheer volume of points being given up when passing on an elite option.

It’s why I SHOULD have picked Travis Kelce over Josh Allen at 1.02, and why Kelce is the choice over (possibly) all of the elite QBs.

If you study our rankings close enough, you’ll notice previously mentioned incentives to wait a bit on receiver while ending up with three QBs in the first six rounds (which is possible given the quality of depth at both positions), as well as an emphasis on THE CREAM OF THE CROP at tight end. That creatively linked article uncovers the DIRTY TRUTH about SFB11:

Having an elite TE, especially Kelce or Darren Waller, is more of a ceiling play that drafting an elite quarterback, and the team with the highest ceiling will inevitably win the Scott Fish Bowl.

Again, having an elite QB in SuperFlex offers a level of stability that’s hard to match with later-round picks. But it IS possible to match, or even exceed, that stability. It’s NOT possible to do it at tight end later. I don’t care how much upside Adam Trautman has. He isn’t helping anyone WIN the Scott Fish Bowl. Unless he becomes a top three option this year or blows up in the fantasy playoffs.

Make no mistake, our rankings do NOT recommend picking Kelce over Patrick Mahomes at 1.01. However, if a player like Christian McCaffrey (another CORNERSTONE PLAYER) or Kyle Pitts goes 1.01 (editors note: which one of you crazy BAMFS is gonna do it?), Mahomes over Kelce is NOT necessarily an autopick.

Kelce offers enough of a positional advantage to recommend taking him at 1.02 even if Mahomes is on the board. The Underworld has been known for its HOT TAKES, but this one is steeped in game theory and general logic. The later Kelce (the fifth of our free CORNERSTONE PLAYER giveaways) falls in drafts, the more of an advantage he gives to the team who snagged him. The same can be argued for Mahomes, but unless the Mahomes drafter also ends up with Waller or George Kittle, the Kelce drafter will have an easier time bridging the point gap at QB with good draft picks and sound rest-of-draft strategy. Which should include finding the sweet spot of potential RB bell cow fantasy points, and making sure you end up with at least one of Travis Etienne, Chris Carson, Mike Davis, or Myles Gaskin.

Fin

In 2010, I went against the grain in my main home league with friends, drafting Andre Johnson at 1.02 well before it was cool to draft WRs that early. While Johnson was injured for Week 16 and out of my lineup, the football gods rewarded my ballsiness with a league championship, my only one to this point. There will undoubtedly be those who draft Travis Kelce at 1.01 in SFB11. And while I was only half joking when I said it before, would anyone really be surprised to see Kyle Pitts go first overall in one of these drafts? THAT may not be the move to ensure the takedown of THE BIGGEST ITERATION OF FANTASY FOOTBALL’S BIGGEST TOURNAMENT. Still, the future SFB11 winner will need to have gone in with the right combination of best overarching strategy and good drafting juju (no, not that one).

At Underworld Enterprises, it’s not that we think you CAN’T win #SFB11 without Kelce, it’s that you need an elite TE more than you need an elite QB in the earliest rounds. In a perfect world, YOU can be one of the three (or two if someone double taps) drafters that end up with a Big Three tight end in the first two rounds. And provided you take the proverbial red pill and trust our process/rankings, the rest of your draft will fall into place once you secure that optimal start.