The Scott Fish Bowl is much more than just a fantasy football league. It is an event--thousands of teams managed by everyone from fantasy novices to high-stakes veterans to fantasy analysts and celebrities. There are live SFB drafts in cities all over the world (that's right, it's international). There will be (or so I hear) about 5,000 teams in 2025.

In the words of Fish himself, "The Scott Fish Bowl is the premier fantasy tournament in the fantasy football industry. It's about community, networking, and of course raising money for worthwhile causes." The tournament has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity through Fantasy Cares.

It has become an institution. A holiday of sorts--the New Year's Day of fantasy football. The unofficial start of draft season.

And this guy was around for the beginning.

Before this mega-event was the Scott Fish Bowl, it was the Fantasy Football Oasis Invitational--a league Fish created at Fantasy Football Oasis. Scott and I "co"- founded FFO (He did all the heavy lifting--I just showed up) back in 2007--not because either of us had the delusion that fantasy football could be a career, but just because we wanted somewhere we could create the content we wanted when we wanted. For Fish, it was devy. For me, it was IDP. 

One of us knew web design. The other had a knack for finding seedy advertisers. It was fantastic.

Now, Fish is a titan in the fantasy football industry--good luck finding someone who doesn't like and respect him. I. on the other hand, am, well, me--although I like to think I've done OK for myself. After almost 20 years of friendship, Scott is family to me. He did me a kindness years ago that I will never forget. I'm proud to know him. 

But Dear Vishnu do I suck in his little festival of fantasy football. I have made it as far as the semis (years ago). But more often than not, my teams have disappointed. Have tried different draft slots. Different strategies. But one thing stays the same. The suck.

Want to see a list of the players who will get hurt in 2025? Look at my SFB roster. I tweet them out as a warning to the fantasy community. I'm not kidding.

But by golly, I am an award-winning fantasy analyst! I should be able to offer some valuable tips to participants in SFB15 as they prepare for their drafts! I have conducted my requisite seven minutes of research into the scoring for 2025 and have reached a conclusion.

My friend done lost his damn mind. Talk about "Know your scoring." Wowza. 

That's right--we have gone right through the looking glass and into the land of "Everflex." Managers can only start two quarterbacks each week, but they don't have to start any. Want to start 9 wide receivers? Have at it. Feel like rolling out 9 running backs? Go nuts. It puts draft strategy into a blender. 

There are also some major changes relative to last year. In 2023, not only were kickers in the SFB, but the scoring was goosed to actually make them relevant. They are now dead. So are return yards, which were a hot topic at this time a year ago.

Moment of silence.

Moving on.

The reality is that this format is probably new to 99 percent of the people participating in it — it certainly is to me.

But there are a few tips that stand out.

Get Your Guys

There have undoubtedly already been untold numbers of SFB15 mock drafts. More than one person will be tracking drafts (both live and online) to compile ADP data. God Bless them, one and all for the work they are doing.

But I don't know how much it's really going to matter.

This analyst is amazed every year by the variance in drafts in my Deathmatch IDP league--and there are four. Here? There are over 400, and all the guardrails have been removed. You can literally draft anyone you want. It's chaos. Madness. Pop-Tarts ice cream sandwiches.

"Anyone you want" may well be the best draft strategy in SFB15. The simplest ever. Draft the player you believe will score the most points, regardless of the position they play--period.

Positional scarcity is as dead as kickers. Throw out what you know about every "normal" fantasy draft you have been in. We are in uncharted waters, my friends. Try a conventional draft plan, and you're probably sunk.

There had to be metal at some point, folks. And that's barely metal.

There is no perfect draft strategy--not even that most hallowed of strategies here at FBG, Value-Based Drafting (Joe Bryant will now be sending his robot monkey ninjas to crack my bucket--again. Those little tin suckers are mean, man). But if you have a solid set of projections for this scoring, VBD is as close to perfect as you can get for this format. Just one big position-less list of your guys.

Superflex Ain't So Super

When folks see "Superflex," quarterbacks usually start flying off draft boards like warm Krispy Kremes into gullets (No judgment--been there). And as Doug Orth of FF Today (Who is pure evil and must be destroyed. Just kidding (sorta)--another close friend) pointed out recently, there are two players who finished in the top-12 in this scoring in each of the past two years. Both were quarterbacks--Baltimore's Lamar Jackson and Buffalo's Josh Allen.

But even with the benefit of six-point touchdowns across the board, pocket passers are going to take a hit here. They don't get the boost for first downs that runners and receivers do. The 0.5 points per carry. The gonzo PPR or point for being targeted. That doesn't just narrow the gap between quarterback and other positions. It eliminates it--less than 20 of last year's top-100 players were signal-callers. Even the consistency advantage quarterbacks have in other formats is mitigated by those points for carries and targets.

Cincinnati's Joe Burrow (a top-five fantasy quarterback on more than a few lists in 2025) is projected by Sleeper to score exactly as many points as Cleveland Clowns running back Quinshon Judkins. Even if you don't buy that projection, it should be more than a little rattling.

And that's from a Clowns fan.

Notice something those two top-12 quarterbacks do have in common? They run the ball--rather a lot. That's where the edge is under center--quarterbacks with the potential to power up their passing numbers with rushing bonuses and form Voltron.

This isn't to say that you shouldn't target quarterbacks. Draft more than one. Start more than one, even. But in this scoring, it needs to be the right quarterbacks, or the edge SFB managers think they will be getting will be as illusory as the chances Voltron will be a good live-action movie.

Like Henry Cavill, a lot of quarterbacks were "De-Supered" in SFB15. And if you can't roster the right ones, fading the position for a while isn't the worst idea.

Volume Rules, But...

Atlanta's Bijan Robinson was the No. 1 player in this scoring a year ago, and he wasn't alone among running backs. Four of the top-six players overall were running backs--Robinson, Philadelphia's Saquon Barkley, Detroit's Jahmyr Gibbs, and Baltimore's Derrick Henry. Given that, high-volume ball-carriers would appear to be juicy targets, especially with the bumps for carries and first-downs, right?

Right?

I've written more than once here recently about the dangers of targeting running backs coming off seasons with a heavy workload. Barkley sailed past 370 touches last year, and counting the postseason he was well over 400. Robinson came up just short of "The Curse of 370."

I just enjoy typing that. So ominous.

There is no hard and fast rule that's 100 percent certain. And the odds of calamity aren't linear as touches increase. But if a running back had 20 touches a game (or close to it) last year, his odds of meeting (let alone surpassing) his 2024 numbers aren't as good as the chances he will backslide. Said backslide may be slight, but fewer points is, um, not ideal. And the higher the workload last year, the better the chances of fantasy frowny face.

SFB15 teams with running backs who touch the ball 340 times in 2025 are going to be incredibly valuable in 2025. But picking those backs won't be especially easy, and the potential bust rate at the top makes this backaholic nervous. Won't be touching Barkley in my draft slot.

With that said, SFB managers will need to hit on at least a couple running backs to make real hay--there were more running backs inside the top-50 overall scorers a year ago in this new format than at any other position.

All Hail the King?

Anyone who knows me (or has read just about anything I've written) knows this isn't easy--this analyst is an old-school, "Robust RB" drafter more often than not. Assembling a decent wide receiver corps in the middle rounds is old hat for me--even with more managers targeting the position early now.

But early on, with the truly elite guys, wide receiver feels to me like where it's at in this format--the right combination of ceiling and floor.

I'd say I'm sorry for that--but I'm not. 

Cincinnati's Ja'Marr Chase was targeted more than 10 times a game last year. New York's Malik Nabers was right behind him. There were 11 wideouts who saw at least 140 targets.

This is where the differences in scoring between providers will show up most, although don't expect them to be especially pronounced. Wide receivers at Sleeper will likely score more total points with the 2.5 PPR, while the point-per-target will make MFL wideouts steadier on a weekly basis. 

This scoring also favors high-target chain-movers over deep threats with low reception numbers. Last year, Jakobi Meyers of the Raiders and his 129 targets had more points than Miami's Tyreek Hill, Tampa's Mike Evans, and Puka Nacua of the Rams.

Just let that roll around in the ol' brain-bucket for a second.

It might mean sacrificing a little ceiling for floor (what world is this?). But we know running backs have higher bust rates. We know (or believe) in the "RB Dead Zone." Having a solid WR group is going to be critical in SFB15. Which only increases the chances this guy is doomed.

Sigh.

Oh yeah. Jacksonville's Travis Hunter. The IDP scoring for Hunter (and only Hunter, for all intents) is fairly robust (I should have known Fish was up to something when he asked me about it), but his value is going to hinge massively on something we just don't know--how many defensive snaps he will play. Hunter's potential here as a true two-way player is immense. However, someone will inevitably want to roll those dice earlier than they should.

Let 'em.

Go Big or Go Home

For a long time, tight ends have been a sought-after commodity in the Scott Fish Bowl--when he added TE-premium, it wasn't exactly prevalent. On Sleeper, tight ends will now be getting over half a touchdown every time they catch a pass. Both Brock Bowers of the Raiders and Arizona's Trey McBride were top-10 scorers overall in 2024.

But neither cracked the top-five, and the drop-off at the position is, um, steep.

The fall-off from McBride to the TE3 last year (Miami's Jonnu Smith) was 107 points. The drop-off from the fifth-ranked tight end (San Francisco's George Kittle) to TE6 (Washington's Zach Ertz) was another 101 points.

There is a chasm after McBride, and another after the top-five are off the board. Don't let that giant PPR number trick you into overpaying at Tier 2 or lower. If you absolutely, positively have to roster a high-end option at the position, pay retail for Bowers or McBride. But tight end appears to be the spot where the new scoring has adversely impacted the most.

The poor dears.

Have Fun!

This last part is inspired by a recent Twitterfuffle (double word score!) when the esteemed Mr. Fish mentioned removing Third-Round Reversal (3RR) from the SFB15 draft. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth from folks who selected their draft slot already--despite knowing that the rules weren't finalized.

I took it about like you'd expect. And I had picked my spot, too.

For the thousands of folks who gladly participate in SFB and donate to Fantasy Cares, there are also satellite leagues of managers just trying to get in. It's a phenomenon. A brouhaha. 

That's free. And for charity.

This isn't to say you shouldn't want to win. Or take it seriously--I get angry when I lose at UNO!

But have a blast at your live draft. Make a new friend in an online one. Enjoy the Scott Fish Bowl for what it is--because what it is is awesome.

Besides, given the number of teams, your odds of winning are remote.

Even if my participation makes them slightly better.

Gary Davenport is a two-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Football Writer of the Year. Follow Gary on X at @IDPGodfather.