Tue Jul 21st 2026

My 2026 Scott Fish Bowl Draft

My Draft Strategy

• The only other players I considered with my first pick were Brock Bowers and Christian McCaffrey, and they were the next two players drafted after I selected St. Brown. Last season, Brown had the fourth-most receptions, the fourth-most yards, and tied for second in touchdown catches. As for the bonuses, Brown had 19 catches of 20 or more yards and had five 100-plus-yard games. He’s as consistent as it gets, and he stays healthy. Plus, the Lions have the easiest schedule in the NFL this season, and three of the league's five playoff games are at home, all in domes.

2.4 – Jonathan Taylor

• Taylor is the perfect anchor back for my strategy of drafting mostly pass catchers. He was leading the NFL in running back points before Daniel Jones was injured. Jones appears on track to be ready to start week one, and Taylor can pick right back up where he started last season. He led the league in rushing first downs last season, even after he slowed down without Jones. Plus, he was tied for first with the most 40-yard rushes with four. With Michael Pittman gone, I expect Taylor to be used more in the passing game this season, too. He already averaged 2.5 receptions per game last season.

3.9 – George Pickens

• Pickens was a dominant player last season, especially in leagues with these bonuses. He had more than 100 yards receiving five times, and he had 22 catches of 20 or more yards, which was the fourth highest in the league. The Cowboys’ offense will be even better with Pickens and Lamb healthy, and last season, with Lamb often battling injuries, they ranked third in passing yards, second in total yards, and third in points per game. I wanted players in high-scoring offenses, so I was glad to select Pickens, who had the third most receiving yards in the NFL last season. I only wish I could have gotten the Dak-Pickens stack, but Dak was selected the pick before I chose Pickens.

4.4 – Jared Goff

• For many, Goff feels like a reach this early, but not for me. One of my strategies in this draft was to get one or more player stacks so that if my players go off in the playoffs, I could advance. The Goff-St. Brown stack is just what I was looking for. I already mentioned the indoor games in the playoffs for Detroit, too. Last season, Detroit finished second in total offensive points scored and fifth in yards per game. Goff had the second most yards passing and sixth most 40-yard passing plays. St. Brown, Jamison Williams, and Jahmyr Gibbs are capable of 40-yard plays at any time. Goff is an excellent first quarterback to draft in these league settings, given my goal to stack players.

5.9 – Matthew Stafford

• Even as a pocket passer, Stafford would have destroyed the competition in a league with these settings since he threw 12 more touchdowns than the second-highest quarterback, had eight 40-yard pass plays, and threw for 300 or more yards four times in the regular season, including one 400-yard game. Managers were hesitant to draft Stafford perhaps because of his age, but I fully expect another ridiculously productive year in 2026 after the Rams finished first in total yards and offensive points last season. Goff and Stafford’s ADPs in SFB16 are 60.9 and 61.1. I selected them a bit earlier at picks 40 and 57 to hold to my top strategy in this draft – the most predictably productive and high-scoring offenses in the league. I do not doubt that Detroit and LA will finish in the top five again this year, and I have the two players their offense runs through on every play.

6.4 – Sam LaPorta

• With this pick, I added my first tight end and another stack for Goff. The Lions’ new offensive coordinator, Drew Petzing, coached the Cardinals’ offense last year during Trey McBride’s unbelievable season. I am betting on him to feed LaPorta this season, giving him the most productive year since his surprise rookie season. LaPorta has the athleticism to have a dominant games this season and even get some 20-yard reception bonuses. Defenses have all they can handle with Gibbs, St. Brown, and Williams to account for, which will free up LaPorta for many catches and big plays.

7.9 – Travis Kelce

• Even in a down year with Patrick Mahomes injured, Kelce was the fourth-most-targeted tight end and had the sixth most catches. Plus, he had the ninth most receptions of 20-plus yards and the third most first-down receptions. Even at his age, he was the third-highest-scoring tight end in the league last year and would have been second had Kyle Pitts not had his ridiculous 55-point game in week 14. He may be old, but he’ll score an incredible amount of points in a league with these tight-end premium settings. He’ll be an every-week starter on my roster.

8.4 – Tony Pollard

• Pollard was my biggest reach of the draft. His ADP is 118.3, but I drafted him 88th. I saw Pollard as the only running back left who was locked in as the starter and involved enough in the passing game to get the combine 100 yards of offense to trigger the bonuses. I’m confident that the Titans’ offense will improve under their new coaching staff, and I am confident that Pollard will keep the leading role. He already held off Tajae Spears, and I am not concerned about rookie Nick Singleton earning a role in the offense this year. Perhaps I could have waited on Pollard, but he was a player I wanted to take a chance on to have two starting running backs whose playing time will not be threatened this season.

9.9 – Tyler Shough

• As I wrote above, I always aim in a superflex league to draft three quarterbacks whose starting roles are certain for the entire season. I like the security it gives me at the important quarterback position. I was the second team to draft a third quarterback. With his new weapon, Jordyn Tyson, Shough will improve upon his impressive rookie season and make the Saints one of the highest-scoring teams in the league this season. The Saints ran the 10th-most plays last season, and they had the fastest pace of play.

10.4 – Dallas Goedert  

• I almost drafted Goedert in the eighth round instead of Pollard, so I was very pleased to select him in the 10th round with pick 112 since his ADP was 99.3. Goedert had the most productive year of his career last season in Philadelphia, even though the offense was a mess for much of the season. With AJ Brown gone, I expect him to receive the most targets of his career this season. I doubt he will score a league-leading 11 touchdowns as he did last season, but he will remain a red-zone target. The Eagles’ offense will improve greatly this season, and Goedert will benefit. With this pick, I decided I would be one of the teams that try to win with tight ends and the extra PPR they receive in this league. I believe I have three tight ends (LaPorta, Kelce, Goedert) who could be their teams’ second-most-targeted player.

11.9 – Jakobi Meyers

• As per usual with Meyers, he was disrespected by managers in this draft. He sat atop the suggested next-to-be-drafted queue for a long time. His ADP is 109.6, but I selected him with the 129th pick. Meyers will have few 100-yard receiving games, but he will be a steady startable player for me and has every chance to be Trevor Lawrence’s top target this season. He averaged 6.5 targets per game after the Jaguars traded for him last year. I’ll gladly take that amount of targets and the safe floor he provides at pick 129.

12.4 – J.K. Dobbins

• At this point in the draft, I wanted to select a few running backs who were in committees, but I was confident they would have significant roles. Dobbins fit the bill perfectly. He was used as the Broncos’ workhorse back in the running game at the start of last year before getting injured. I am sure they will use him the same way this season. If this is the year that Dobbins finally stays healthy, this pick will be a major steal in the draft. Even if he does get injured eventually, I will benefit from a hot start since average points scored is a significant advantage in the playoffs in SFB. A team’s regular season average points is added to their weekly score in the playoffs, so a hot start by Dobbins is still a benefit to my team.

13.9 – Khalil Shakir

• Like Meyers, Shakir sat atop the queue for quite a while. At this point in the draft, he was too much a value for me to pass over. His ADP is 131, but I drafted him with the 153rd pick. It’s not out of the question that Shakir could be the Bills’ leading receiver. D.J. Moore has lost a step, after all. He’s not likely to have blow-up games or hit the 100-yard mark for bonuses in this league, but he’s a solid depth piece that I know will score points for me on by weeks. I am also curious to see how the offense looks with Joe Brady as the head coach. I expect the offense to open up more and create more big plays in the passing game.

14.4 – Jordan Mason

• I drafted Mason here with the hopes that he can become the lead back for Minnesota this season, at least on rushing downs and goal-line situations. I know he’s a zero in the passing game, but he could score a lot of touchdowns with a far better quarterback leading the Vikings this season. Aaron Jones is old and often injured, so I am certain for stretches of the season, Mason will have a leading role and be in my starting lineup during those stretches.

15.9 – Tyrone Tracy

• I am the biggest Cam Skattebo fan and would hate to see him injured, but if his physical playing style leads to another injury, Tracy will become a startable player for me. Unlike Mason, he’s a great receiver, but so is Skattebo. Still, the Giants are likely to use Tracy a lot even when Skattebo is healthy. I drafted him fully expecting him to provide depth on my bench and become a starable player if an injury gives him the opportunity, and I got a bit of a deal on him since his ADP is 165 and I drafted him at 177.

16.4 – Tank Bigsby

• At this point, I placed all my bets on backup running backs who we all know can become difference makers if starters get injured. Bigsby will be very productive if Saquon Barkley gets injured. I believe he was the most valuable backup running back on the board above Dylan Sampson and Woody Marks, who were drafted one pick before me and two picks after me. I was hoping Tajae Spears would fall to me so that I could have the Titans backfield locked down, but he was drafted six picks before me.

17.9 – Isiah Pacheco

• I continued my backup running back run by adding another Detroit player to my team to stack with Goff. He’s the clear backup to Jahmyr Gibbs, while several of the backup running backs drafted in this round are not the clear backup. Their backfields are a little more muddy, like Keaton Mitchell with Kamani Vidal, Kaytron Allen with Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Rachaad White, and Jonah Coleman with Dobbins and R.J. Harvey. I was pleased to get a very clear handcuff to one of the highest-scoring offenses, instead.

18.4 – Braelon Allen

• I continued my backup-running-back plan by drafting Allen next. His situation is a little muddier than other backups', since their coach likes Isaiah Davis too. But it makes no sense to me that Davis’s ADP is nine spots ahead of Allen’s. Davis’s role is the same whether Breece Hall stays healthy or not, whereas if Hall gets injured, Allen will see a significant change to his role. I can’t believe Davis is getting drafted ahead of Allen in most drafts, but he is. He was not in my league, though.

19.9 – Jahan Dotson

• I’m still a believer in Dotson, even though this is his final chance to become fantasy relevant. I was looking to add a receiver in this round with upside and the opportunity to become a WR-2 for his team. Dotson fits the bill, even though Kyle Pitts is more likely to be the second-leading pass catcher on the team behind Drake London. I debated between Dotson, Tank Dell, and Xavier Legette, and chose Dotson because he has less competition for a starting role and is more likely to play in even two-wide receiver sets. Legette and Dell went five and six picks after my pick. It’s slim pickings at the end of a draft this deep, but I’m glad to give Dotson one more shot.

20.4 – Kaelon Black

• I chose Black over Jordan James, who went undrafted, because I believe he will win the backup role behind Christian McCaffrey. The 49ers always produce in the run game even when McCaffrey has been injured, so I wanted a share of their backfield and a possible every-week starter in a league like this if McCaffrey misses time. We have one round of waivers before the season starts, and since no one drafted James, I may add him to my roster off waivers to lock up the backup role in San Francisco. One of my players may get injured before waivers are run, or I’m sure I will have second thoughts about one of the late-round players I drafted. If so, I will target James too and hedge my bets.

Leave your comment using the form below

Name
Comment
Enter the code