The anticipation of competing in fantasy football’s largest and most coveted tournament ended at 11 a.m. ET on Monday as the ninth rendition of The Scott Fish Bowl kicked off. Twelve hundred gamers – fans and analysts alike – represent one of the 100 12-team divisions, and the theme this year is video games.
While the competition is front and center for the fantasy community, it’s important to remember that this is a charitable event raising money for Fantasy Cares. According to Fantasycares.net, SFB8 raised $44,500 in 2018, and the majority of that money is donated and used to buy toys for kids at Christmas. The man behind the mission is Scott Fish (@ScottFish24), who deserves at the very least a huge thank you from the fantasy community.
With so many gamers drafting simultaneously, there were some eye-opening picks on Day 1 and tons of strategy chat on Twitter. If you haven’t yet, try to find the group chat that’s specific to your draft position. These popular forums offer a wealth of information and a place to interact collaboratively.
Elite running backs dominated the first four picks, but savvy gamers looking for an edge got creative. Drafting from the turn, Fanium’s Nick Whalen (@_NickWhalen) made a bold move by drafting Zach Ertz at 1.12 and George Kittle at 2.01. Eric Moody (@EricNMoody) from FantasyData drafted four tight ends in a row: Ertz, Kittle, O.J. Howard and Hunter Henry. To the dismay of Matthew Berry (@MatthewBerryTMR), JJ Zachariason (@LateRoundQB) drafted Aaron Rodgers in the fourth round.
Below are some of the notable first-round picks from across the tournament generated using the RotoGrinders #SFB9 tool. Mad props to Josh Hornsby (@Josh_ADHD) for putting this together.
- Travis Kelce 1.01 (@spoony__)
- Aaron Rodgers 1.02 (@SuperFlexDude)
- Patrick Mahomes 1.02 (@Waltonspurlin)
- Odell Beckham Jr. 1.05 (@TheFantasyExec)
- Zach Ertz 1.05 (@FFdeJENerate)
- James Conner 1.06 (@NicRomeroFF)
- Damien Williams 1.07 (@dbuchar)
- Baker Mayfield 1.08 (@hjchami)
- Dalvin Cook 1.08 (@ClutchFantasy)
- George Kittle 1.08 (@millhousebc)
Draft speed varied greatly from division to division, with some divisions only making it to the second round while others cruised into the fifth round and beyond on Day 1. Most divisions managed to make it to at least the third round. In the Zelda division, we had a great pace and made it halfway through the fifth round (where I stole Josh Jacobs). Rumor has it that one competitor was almost removed from the tournament for being unresponsive on the clock. His excuse was that he was at a festival, and he was allowed to continue.
Defending champion Sam Lane (@FFStompy) of FFStatistics is banking on the health of Dalvin Cook and Devonta Freeman. He added Nick Chubb for a running back trifecta and rounded out his first four picks with Aaron Rodgers.
There are some Easter eggs hidden throughout #SFB9, and they will slowly but surely come to light. For example, if you want to draft Bo Jackson or Barry Sanders, it’s possible.
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