One of the best things about fantasy football is that once you are up to speed on the pool of NFL players, you can apply your knowledge to any format. Every set of league rules and scoring is a puzzle, and we give you the tools to customize your approach to that puzzle in the most effective way possible. Creative people are coming up with new formats that make drafting and managing your teams even more fun and exciting. One of the best ones to try out is a Guillotine league.
What Is a Guillotine League?
- 18 teams
- 14-player rosters/14-round draft
- Start 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 2 RB/WR/TE
- PPR scoring with 4 pt pass TDs a 1 pt per 25 passing yards
- Blind bid waiver runs
Seems simple enough? Here's the twist. Every week, the lowest-scoring team is "chopped", and their players get thrown into the player pool to be acquired via blind bids from a 1,000-unit budget. This creates a much more intense week-to-week experience than a typical league because every week has the adrenaline rush of mortality that usually only comes in the fantasy playoffs. The implications are multiple:
Monday Night Sweats: Going into the Monday night game, multiple teams are glued to the results as there are usually at least 2-3 teams that could mathematically end up being the team chopped for that week, pending the results.
Lineup Setting Agony: Now, lineup setting each week takes on increased importance. It isn't so easy to start a player who is a game-time decision or could be limited or could suffer an aggravation of an existing injury because it could mean curtains for your team. Each week, your decisions could determine whether you live or die.
Waiver Wire Four-Dimensional Chess: Players who never hit the waiver wire will hit the waiver wire in guillotine leagues. Sometimes, they are injured studs who can help you last until the end but offer no immediate help. Sometimes, they are underperforming studs who could be a trap play that dooms you to the same fate as the team that just got chopped with them on the roster. Whether to spend big early on an elite player who can give you a larger margin of error while the field is large versus sitting on your waiver wire dollars to give an extra advantage if you can make it to the final five is something you'll be weighing every week.
The bottom line is that you will care greatly about everything you do in this league, whether it's your waiver wire bids, your lineup setting, or watching the results
Guillotine League Strategy
If You're Not Last, You're First: Unlike typical leagues where you are trying to build the best, highest-scoring team, your focus here is to build a roster that will help ensure that you are not last. This should change your approach to player rankings and team builds.
Consistency Matters: Boom/bust plays that are more valuable in best-ball leagues can doom your guillotine team with poorly timed floor weeks. Slot receivers and possession receivers who are a stable part of the game plan every week are more likely to save your bacon by giving you consistent PPR points, although big play receivers can save you by giving you a ceiling week when other players let you down.
Durability Matters: Best ball leagues have given us a format that is much more forgiving when players suffer injuries because your best totals automatically score. Your entire bench is available to cover any starting-level picks that have to leave a game early or miss a game. In guillotine leagues, a player who more frequently misses time can be a death knell for your team. Additionally, a player who is uncertain to begin the season or may start slow coming off of a major injury/surgery should take a hit in your draft rankings.
Slim Pickens: With 18 teams in a draft, everyone's lineup and roster will be thin. Assuming you draft your eight starters in the first eight rounds, that means you will be starting the equivalent of an 11th/12th round pick. If you choose to take a depth pick with one of your first eight selections, then you will be starting the equivalent of a 13th/14th round pick. Your bench will include players that go undrafted in typical leagues, which means you should expect to churn at least a spot or two on your bench every week.
Early Schedule Matters: Since you'll be starting players that you normally wouldn't in Week 1 of a typical league, using the schedule to break ties for your last starter spot or two can make the difference between avoiding the guillotine and getting chopped. Detroit vs. Kansas City to open the season could be a shootout. The Steelers have a tough draw against the 49ers. Washington (vs Arizona), Denver (vs Las Vegas), and Seattle (vs Los Angeles Rams) could get off to hot starts.
Drafting a Team That Will Avoid the Chopping Block
The good news is that if you avoid in-game injuries and catastrophically low-floor games, you'll probably survive the first few weeks. Being the worst team out of 18 (of 17 or 16 or 15…) teams is actually difficult, so luck alone gives you a 90+% chance to live to see another week through September and October. There are still a few steps that can increase your chances to survive and build a team that can go the distance.
Aim to Flex High-Floor PPR Wide Receivers
With two flex spots and 18 teams, no one is going to like their second flex, and some teams won't even like their first flex. Taking a third running back before other teams take a second will leave your team at a big disadvantage elsewhere. A second tight end will obviously be an unsuitable flex, so that leaves wide receiver. Focus on wide receivers who are outside of the top 30-35 because of a role-based low weekly ceiling - slot receivers and the like. Some receivers fall outside of the top 30-35 because of uncertainty about role or boom/bust weekly scoring profiles. You'll want to avoid them. Ideal WR3/WR4 candidates to fill your two flex spots include Brandin Cooks (WR42), Skyy Moore (WR44), Romeo Doubs (WR51), Tyler Boyd (WR52), Zay Jones (WR56), Jakobi Meyers (WR58), Van Jefferson (WR62), K.J. Osborn (WR65), and Adam Thielen (WR68).
Tight End Is More Likely to Sink You Than Keep You Afloat
Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews are the clear #1 targets on their teams and worth a first-round pick in guillotine leagues. Darren Waller is probably the #1 target on his team, and outside of injury risk, he's worth the pick, often going off of the board at TE5 or later. After the top five, only Dallas Goedert and Evan Engram promise a high enough weekly floor to justify a pick in the 4th/5th round. Unlike other positions, you might not see a significant upgrade come along at tight end on the waiver wire, and it's possible that the tight end you do get a shot at is only there because their floor game was the reason their previous team was chopped. Be open to Kelce/Andrews in the first, Waller in the third, Goedert in the fourth, or Engram in the fifth. Or punt the position, build in advantages elsewhere, and hope for a good tight end to hit the waiver wire through no fault of their own. Juwan Johnson, Jake Ferguson, and Hayden Hurst are suitable cheap tight ends who should at least not be the reason you're chopped in Week 1. Target them if you're among the last to take a tight end.
Your RB2 Will Probably Be an RB3
In a typical draft, your second running back is most likely going to be ranked in the 13-24 range. In a guillotine draft, your second running back is most likely going to be ranked in the 19-36 range. You have to take a hit at one or more other positions to have two reliable options at running back, and running back is the position most likely to torpedo your team with an in-game injury. Just accept that your RB2 will be a potential shaky spot in your Week 1 lineup, and expect to get opportunities to upgrade as long as you aren't one of the first few teams to get chopped. Running backs with solid roles to begin the season that you can take as your #2 who won't require an investment in the first 4 rounds include David Montgomery, Isaih Pacheco, Samaje Perine, Brian Robinson, Antonio Gibson, Khalil Herbert, Zach Charbonnet, Jaylen Warren, and Ezekiel Elliott.
Get Ready to Dig Deep
Your late-round picks should only include a quarterback or tight end if you are unsure about the player you took to start Week 1. Remember, every week, another team's players will be thrown back into the pool, so you'll have more opportunities to upgrade those positions. Narrow your focus to RB/WR in the late rounds, which will be players that you don't consider in typical league drafts since 252 players are going to be drafted. Cheap backup running backs who could be playable with an injury to a starter include Tyler Allgeier, Ty Chandler, Evan Hull, Chris Evans, Joshua Kelley, Roschon Johnson, and Keaontay Ingram. Kenneth Gainwell, Tyjae Spears, Tank Bigsby, Kendre Miller, Deuce Vaughn, Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson Jr. Kyren Williams, Raheem Blackshear, and Justice Hill could have larger-than-expected roles to open the season. Deep sleeper wide receivers are less likely to hit, but consider D.J. Chark, Rashid Shaheed, Richie James, Mecole Hardman, Tutu Atwell, Josh Downs, Mack Hollins, Marvin Jones, and Braxton Berrios.
Good luck whether this is your first time in a guillotine league or you're here to improve your game after watching your head roll in previous guillotine league experiences!