This article is part of our Fresh Off The RotoWire series.
With the growing number of fantasy football game variations, it's important to keep in mind that not all cheat sheets are created equal. That's why it's key to know your league rules and come to sources like RotoWire for custom rankings and strategy articles. Every little edge that you can gain adds up, and finding value in your 12-team PPR redraft league with your buddies is different than finding value in a high stakes league, where you're competing against thousands of others for a huge grand prize.
Building a winning team in a contest like guillotine leagues is its own unique challenge. I'll focus on seven key tips and give some examples of players to target and avoid in this format based on average draft position in NFFC leagues.
What is a Guillotine League?
In a guillotine league, rather than facing an opponent in a head-to-head matchup, you compete against every team in your league each week with the simple goal of scoring more points than at least one of the other teams. The lowest-scoring team each week is eliminated, and their players go on waivers with the remaining teams getting the opportunity to scoop them up. Each week another team is eliminated until the last surviving team is crowned champion.
Depending on which fantasy website you use, your league will start with 17 or 18 teams with no divisions and no schedule. Some variations will have you start a team defense and kicker, while others have removed those positions from the contest. Always be sure to check league rules and settings to ensure that you are as prepared as possible.
Guillotine League Strategy: 7 Tips to Give You a Winning Edge
1. Monitor injury reports and suspensions.
This is an obvious one, but it's particularly important in a guillotine league, where the depth of quality players is an issue the first few weeks of the season, and one bad week could end your season.
- Draft Antonio Gibson and Jamaal Williams over Alvin Kamara
- Draft Zay Flowers and Jakobi Meyers over Jameson Williams
2. Make "safe" draft picks.
You don't need the highest scoring team; you just need to make sure you don't have the lowest scoring team. You don't need to swing for the fences. Focus on players who will get consistent touches. You want to have as much stability in your lineup as possible, so take guys with high floors.
- Draft Aaron Jones and Joe Mixon over Jahmyr Gibbs
- Draft Amari Cooper over Deebo Samuel
3. Try to grab a top-5 TE.
Give yourself an edge at a scarce position. As other teams get eliminated, you'll have plenty of opportunities to grab their star RBs and WRs off waivers.
- Draft Mark Andrews over DK Metcalf and Josh Jacobs
- Draft Darren Waller over D'Andre Swift and Michael Pittman
4. Avoid pairing and stacking players who have early bye weeks.
An Austin Ekeler/Justin Herbert/Keenan Allen stack may seem like a great idea, but it will backfire when you've got them all on bye in week 5. Unless you are going to be very aggressive with waiver bids in the first month of the season, you probably will not be able to build enough depth to make up for multiple star players sitting in Weeks 5 and 6. Every Chargers, Browns, Seahawks, Buccaneers, Packers and Steelers player takes a dip in value because of an early bye.
- Draft Travis Etienne over Najee Harris
- Draft Jahan Dotson over George Pickens
5. Pick players with favorable schedules early in the season.
I refer to the Strength of Schedule tool to find advantages. It helps me find the best matchups using rankings that are adjusted for quality of opponent, and I can custom sort by any time period. Ffor this exercise, I looked at the first three or four weeks.
- Draft Jared Goff over Dak Prescott and Kirk Cousins
- Draft Derrick Henry over Nick Chubb
- Draft Drake London over DJ Moore
6. Build a balanced roster.
While Zero RB or Hero RB can be good strategies in normal redraft leagues, it's better to take a balanced approach to roster construction in a guillotine league. Build the best starting lineup possible in the early rounds. Survive, and then you can build depth as the season goes on.
7. Be aggressive on the waiver wire after a team is eliminated and a top player at a position becomes available.
These are the players that can help carry your team to a championship, and if you don't acquire them you may never get the opportunity again. Guys like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Christian McCaffrey, Ekeler, Justin Jefferson, Ja'Marr Chase, Tyreek Hill, Cooper Kupp, Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews fall into this category.
