I’m trying a Guillotine league for the first time, and it’s looking like it will be a different experience. With 18 teams, the draft is more challenging – things dry up pretty quickly – and the decision-making on the waiver wire will be tricky.
I was introduced to the concept by Paul Charchian (who’s been in the industry since the early ‘90s) of GuillotineLeagues.com. The basic concept calls for the lowest-scoring team each week to be eliminated, until eventually there are two teams remaining that vie for the championship in the final week of the season. (If you have the lowest score in one of the weeks in September, that game occurs months after your season is over.)
The wrinkle comes on the waiver wire. Each time a team is eliminated, all of its players become free agents, available on the waiver wire. So by the time Week 6 rolls around, there will be about 10 players who were originally picked in the first or second round who have been allocated to new teams. Therefore you have to constantly improve your team to avoid dipping down to where you’ve got one of the lesser teams that finishes with a low score.
To tap into that consistent flow of waiver wire talent, each team is allocated $1,000 in spending money. I haven’t yet figured out how to spend it. It would be a huge advantage to be the money leader in November and December, allowing you to grab the great players falling off the other teams. On the other hand, if you get cashed out in September and October, all of that payroll simply goes unused.
For my first foray into this arena, we put together a Fantasy Index league. I’ve got one of the teams, with the other 17 operated by volunteers who were listening to the podcast. Each of the franchises donated $20 to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and that’s very much appreciated.
The results of the draft appear at the bottom of this article. I ran a cross-check of my stat projections against the expected starting lineup for each team, and by that measure, Joe Cartan of the Jacobins franchise appears to have the strongest team. He started by picking two running backs (Ekeler, Conner), then went with three wide receivers (Mike Williams, Thielen, Renfrow) before grabbing Dak Prescott at pick 105 (one pick before I was going to take him). Joe went cheap at tight end, picking up Hayden Hurst in the 11th round.
By my metrics, Christopher Bowen finished with the worst team. That doesn’t mean his team won’t be good, of course (as these things tend to play out, it probably means that he’ll win the whole thing, with Cartan’s team and my own franchise being among the first to go). The team grade is just an indication that his opinions are different than mine on some of his key players. He used three of his first four picks on running backs (Kamara, Breece Hall, Stevenson) and Kyler Murray. His next five picks were all used on pass catchers: Elijah Moore, Jakobi Meyers, Mike Gesicki, Nico Collins and Christian Watson.
Guillotine Rankings | |
---|---|
Owner | Strength |
Joseph C | 100.0% |
Ian Allan | 99.8% |
Gary L | 97.9% |
Shaun H | 97.9% |
Kendall H | 96.5% |
Greg H | 96.2% |
Todd B | 96.0% |
Scott A | 94.9% |
Ben M | 94.6% |
Joe H | 94.3% |
Afi A | 93.8% |
Derel S | 92.0% |
Anthony D | 91.9% |
Bill G | 91.8% |
Jeffrey P | 91.6% |
Victor K | 91.3% |
Tyson T | 90.7% |
Christopher B | 89.3% |
For my own draft, I started with Cooper Kupp at No. 3 overall. I followed shortly after with Allen Robinson early in third. In this format, I don’t think you want to pair quarterbacks and receivers (if Josh Allen throws 4 TDs, you won’t need Stefon Diggs that week). But I thought there was some sense in a Kupp-Robinson combo. If Kupp has a down game, I would think Robinson would have to be busier in that week.
At the end of the second, with almost all of the running backs gone, I figured I’d better take Travis Etienne. Then I moved to more wide receivers, figuring I’ll be using them in the two flex spots each week (PPR format): Allen Lazard and Brandon Aiyuk. Derek Carr and Matt Ryan are my quarterbacks, Brian Robinson will start at running back for me, at least initially. I missed out on the tight ends, so I have three crappy dart throws at the position: Noah Fant, Albert Okwuegbunam and Irv Smith.
I missed out on a bunch of my favorites that I figured I might get. No Dameon Pierce, Nyheim Hines, Cole Kmet, Joshua Kelley, Romeo Doubs, Isaiah Likely or Isaiah McKenzie or Mike Davis. The other owners in this league, in general, seem like guys who are paying attention and making good picks.
GUILLOTINE DRAFT RESULTS | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pk | Rd | Owner | Pos | Tm | Player |
1 | 1 | Afi A | RB | IND | Jonathan Taylor |
2 | 1 | Bill G | RB | CAR | Christian McCaffrey |
3 | 1 | Ian A | WR | LAR | Cooper Kupp |
4 | 1 | Joseph C | RB | LAC | Austin Ekeler |
5 | 1 | Greg H | WR | MIN | Justin Jefferson |
6 | 1 | Ben M | WR | CIN | JaMarr Chase |
7 | 1 | Derel S | RB | MIN | Dalvin Cook |
8 | 1 | Todd B | RB | TEN | Derrick Henry |
9 | 1 | Joe H | WR | DAL | CeeDee Lamb |
10 | 1 | Tyson T | RB | PIT | Najee Harris |
11 | 1 | Kendall H | RB | CIN | Joe Mixon |
12 | 1 | Anthony D | RB | DET | D'Andre Swift |
13 | 1 | Chris B | RB | NYG | Saquon Barkley |
14 | 1 | Shaun H | RB | GB | Aaron Jones |
15 | 1 | Victor K | TE | KC | Travis Kelce |
16 | 1 | Gary L | RB | DEN | Javonte Williams |
17 | 1 | Jeffrey P | WR | LV | Davante Adams |
18 | 1 | Scott A | WR | BUF | Stefon Diggs |
19 | 2 | Scott A | QB | LAC | Justin Herbert |
20 | 2 | Jeffrey P | TE | BAL | Mark Andrews |
21 | 2 | Gary L | WR | IND | Michael Pittman |
22 | 2 | Victor K | QB | BUF | Josh Allen |
23 | 2 | Shaun H | WR | LAC | Keenan Allen |
24 | 2 | Chris B | RB | NO | Alvin Kamara |
25 | 2 | Anthony D | RB | TB | Leonard Fournette |
26 | 2 | Kendall H | WR | SF | Deebo Samuel |
27 | 2 | Tyson T | QB | KC | Patrick Mahomes |
28 | 2 | Joe H | WR | CIN | Tee Higgins |
29 | 2 | Todd B | WR | TB | Mike Evans |
30 | 2 | Derel S | WR | MIA | Tyreek Hill |
31 | 2 | Ben M | RB | CLE | Nick Chubb |
32 | 2 | Greg H | RB | DAL | Ezekiel Elliott |
33 | 2 | Joseph C | RB | ARI | James Conner |
34 | 2 | Ian A | RB | JAC | Travis Etienne |
35 | 2 | Bill G | TE | ATL | Kyle Pitts |
36 | 2 | Afi A | WR | CAR | DJ Moore |
37 | 3 | Afi A | WR | PHI | A.J. Brown |
38 | 3 | Bill G | RB | GB | AJ Dillon |
39 | 3 | Ian A | WR | LAR | Allen Robinson |
40 | 3 | Joseph C | WR | LAC | Mike Williams |
41 | 3 | Greg H | WR | DEN | Courtland Sutton |
42 | 3 | Ben M | RB | LAR | Cam Akers |
43 | 3 | Derel S | QB | BAL | Lamar Jackson |
44 | 3 | Todd B | WR | MIA | Jaylen Waddle |
45 | 3 | Joe H | RB | CHI | David Montgomery |
46 | 3 | Tyson T | RB | BAL | J.K. Dobbins |
47 | 3 | Kendall H | RB | LV | Josh Jacobs |
48 | 3 | Anthony D | WR | DEN | Jerry Jeudy |
49 | 3 | Chris B | RB | NYJ | Breece Hall |
50 | 3 | Shaun H | WR | HOU | Brandin Cooks |
51 | 3 | Victor K | WR | SEA | DK Metcalf |
52 | 3 | Gary L | WR | PIT | Diontae Johnson |
53 | 3 | Jeffrey P | RB | DAL | Tony Pollard |
54 | 3 | Scott A | RB | HOU | Dameon Pierce |
55 | 4 | Scott A | TE | DET | T.J. Hockenson |
56 | 4 | Jeffrey P | RB | KC | Clyde Edwards-Helaire |
57 | 4 | Gary L | QB | CIN | Joe Burrow |
58 | 4 | Victor K | WR | WAS | Terry McLaurin |
59 | 4 | Shaun H | WR | DET | Amon-Ra St. Brown |
60 | 4 | Chris B | QB | ARI | Kyler Murray |
61 | 4 | Anthony D | TE | DAL | Dalton Schultz |
62 | 4 | Kendall H | WR | CHI | Darnell Mooney |
63 | 4 | Tyson T | WR | BUF | Gabriel Davis |
64 | 4 | Joe H | QB | PHI | Jalen Hurts |
65 | 4 | Todd B | TE | SF | George Kittle |
66 | 4 | Derel S | WR | BAL | Rashod Bateman |
67 | 4 | Ben M | QB | DEN | Russell Wilson |
68 | 4 | Greg H | TE | LV | Darren Waller |
69 | 4 | Joseph C | WR | MIN | Adam Thielen |
70 | 4 | Ian A | WR | GB | Allen Lazard |
71 | 4 | Bill G | RB | MIA | Chase Edmonds |
72 | 4 | Afi A | RB | ATL | Cordarrelle Patterson |
73 | 5 | Afi A | WR | TB | Chris Godwin |
74 | 5 | Bill G | RB | SF | Elijah Mitchell |
75 | 5 | Ian A | WR | SF | Brandon Aiyuk |
76 | 5 | Joseph C | WR | LV | Hunter Renfrow |
77 | 5 | Greg H | QB | TB | Tom Brady |
78 | 5 | Ben M | WR | ARI | Marquise Brown |
79 | 5 | Derel S | RB | CLE | Kareem Hunt |
80 | 5 | Todd B | QB | GB | Aaron Rodgers |
81 | 5 | Joe H | WR | KC | JuJu Smith-Schuster |
82 | 5 | Tyson T | WR | NO | Michael Thomas |
83 | 5 | Kendall H | TE | PHI | Dallas Goedert |
84 | 5 | Anthony D | WR | JAC | Christian Kirk |
85 | 5 | Chris B | RB | NE | Rhamondre Stevenson |
86 | 5 | Shaun H | WR | CLE | Amari Cooper |
87 | 5 | Victor K | RB | SEA | Rashaad Penny |
88 | 5 | Gary L | RB | NE | Damien Harris |
89 | 5 | Jeffrey P | QB | MIN | Kirk Cousins |
90 | 5 | Scott A | WR | ATL | Drake London |
91 | 6 | Scott A | RB | BUF | Devin Singletary |
92 | 6 | Jeffrey P | RB | PHI | Miles Sanders |
93 | 6 | Gary L | WR | PHI | DeVonta Smith |
94 | 6 | Victor K | WR | NYG | Kadarius Toney |
95 | 6 | Shaun H | QB | LAR | Matthew Stafford |
96 | 6 | Chris B | WR | NYJ | Elijah Moore |
97 | 6 | Anthony D | WR | NO | Chris Olave |
98 | 6 | Kendall H | QB | SF | Trey Lance |
99 | 6 | Tyson T | TE | BUF | Dawson Knox |
100 | 6 | Joe H | WR | SEA | Tyler Lockett |
101 | 6 | Todd B | RB | DEN | Melvin Gordon |
102 | 6 | Derel S | RB | WAS | Antonio Gibson |
103 | 6 | Ben M | RB | BUF | James Cook |
104 | 6 | Greg H | RB | IND | Nyheim Hines |
105 | 6 | Joseph C | QB | DAL | Dak Prescott |
106 | 6 | Ian A | QB | LV | Derek Carr |
107 | 6 | Bill G | RB | SEA | Kenneth Walker |
108 | 6 | Afi A | RB | NYJ | Michael Carter |
109 | 7 | Afi A | RB | MIN | Alexander Mattison |
110 | 7 | Bill G | WR | PIT | Chase Claypool |
111 | 7 | Ian A | RB | WAS | Brian Robinson |
112 | 7 | Joseph C | WR | TEN | Robert Woods |
113 | 7 | Greg H | RB | PHI | Kenneth Gainwell |
114 | 7 | Ben M | TE | PIT | Pat Freiermuth |
115 | 7 | Derel S | TE | ARI | Zach Ertz |
116 | 7 | Todd B | WR | GB | Romeo Doubs |
117 | 7 | Joe H | RB | WAS | J.D. McKissic |
118 | 7 | Tyson T | WR | TEN | Treylon Burks |
119 | 7 | Kendall H | WR | ARI | Rondale Moore |
120 | 7 | Anthony D | WR | NE | DeVante Parker |
121 | 7 | Chris B | WR | NE | Jakobi Meyers |
122 | 7 | Shaun H | TE | CHI | Cole Kmet |
123 | 7 | Victor K | WR | TB | Russell Gage |
124 | 7 | Gary L | WR | ARI | DeAndre Hopkins |
125 | 7 | Jeffrey P | WR | KC | Skyy Moore |
126 | 7 | Scott A | WR | PIT | George Pickens |
127 | 8 | Scott A | RB | LV | Ameer Abdullah |
128 | 8 | Jeffrey P | WR | DAL | Jalen Tolbert |
129 | 8 | Gary L | TE | NE | Hunter Henry |
130 | 8 | Victor K | RB | LV | Zamir White |
131 | 8 | Shaun H | RB | KC | Jerick McKinnon |
132 | 8 | Chris B | TE | MIA | Mike Gesicki |
133 | 8 | Anthony D | QB | MIA | Tua Tagovailoa |
134 | 8 | Kendall H | WR | KC | Marquez Valdes-Scantling |
135 | 8 | Tyson T | RB | ATL | Tyler Allgeier |
136 | 8 | Joe H | TE | JAC | Evan Engram |
137 | 8 | Todd B | WR | CIN | Tyler Boyd |
138 | 8 | Derel S | RB | LAR | Darrell Henderson |
139 | 8 | Ben M | WR | NYJ | Garrett Wilson |
140 | 8 | Greg H | RB | JAC | James Robinson |
141 | 8 | Joseph C | RB | NO | Mark Ingram |
142 | 8 | Ian A | TE | MIN | Irv Smith |
143 | 8 | Bill G | WR | WAS | Jahan Dotson |
144 | 8 | Afi A | RB | DET | Jamaal Williams |
145 | 9 | Afi A | TE | LAR | Tyler Higbee |
146 | 9 | Bill G | WR | BUF | Isaiah McKenzie |
147 | 9 | Ian A | QB | IND | Matt Ryan |
148 | 9 | Joseph C | WR | NYG | Kenny Golladay |
149 | 9 | Greg H | WR | DET | DJ Chark |
150 | 9 | Ben M | RB | TB | Rachaad White |
151 | 9 | Derel S | WR | TB | Julio Jones |
152 | 9 | Todd B | WR | DAL | Michael Gallup |
153 | 9 | Joe H | RB | BAL | Mike Davis |
154 | 9 | Tyson T | WR | LAC | Joshua Palmer |
155 | 9 | Kendall H | RB | KC | Isiah Pacheco |
156 | 9 | Anthony D | RB | HOU | Marlon Mack |
157 | 9 | Chris B | WR | HOU | Nico Collins |
158 | 9 | Shaun H | RB | NE | Ty Montgomery |
159 | 9 | Victor K | RB | CHI | Khalil Herbert |
160 | 9 | Gary L | TE | BAL | Isaiah Likely |
161 | 9 | Jeffrey P | QB | JAC | Trevor Lawrence |
162 | 9 | Scott A | RB | CAR | D'Onta Foreman |
163 | 10 | Scott A | WR | NE | Nelson Agholor |
164 | 10 | Jeffrey P | TE | LAC | Gerald Everett |
165 | 10 | Gary L | QB | NE | Mac Jones |
166 | 10 | Victor K | WR | DEN | KJ Hamler |
167 | 10 | Shaun H | WR | KC | Mecole Hardman |
168 | 10 | Chris B | WR | GB | Christian Watson |
169 | 10 | Anthony D | WR | LAR | Van Jefferson |
170 | 10 | Kendall H | TE | TEN | Austin Hooper |
171 | 10 | Tyson T | WR | IND | Alec Pierce |
172 | 10 | Joe H | QB | CHI | Justin Fields |
173 | 10 | Todd B | RB | BUF | Zack Moss |
174 | 10 | Derel S | WR | JAC | Marvin Jones |
175 | 10 | Ben M | WR | NO | Jarvis Landry |
176 | 10 | Greg H | TE | CLE | David Njoku |
177 | 10 | Joseph C | QB | TEN | Ryan Tannehill |
178 | 10 | Ian A | TE | SEA | Noah Fant |
179 | 10 | Bill G | QB | NYG | Daniel Jones |
180 | 10 | Afi A | WR | DET | Jameson Williams |
181 | 11 | Afi A | QB | NO | Jameis Winston |
182 | 11 | Bill G | WR | NYG | Wan'Dale Robinson |
183 | 11 | Ian A | TE | DEN | Albert Okwuegbunam |
184 | 11 | Joseph C | TE | CIN | Hayden Hurst |
185 | 11 | Greg H | QB | DET | Jared Goff |
186 | 11 | Ben M | WR | MIN | K.J. Osborn |
187 | 11 | Derel S | RB | ARI | Eno Benjamin |
188 | 11 | Todd B | TE | GB | Robert Tonyan |
189 | 11 | Joe H | WR | NE | Kendrick Bourne |
190 | 11 | Tyson T | RB | SF | Jeff Wilson |
191 | 11 | Kendall H | QB | HOU | Davis Mills |
192 | 11 | Anthony D | RB | MIA | Raheem Mostert |
193 | 11 | Chris B | RB | LAC | Isaiah Spiller |
194 | 11 | Shaun H | WR | CAR | Robbie Anderson |
195 | 11 | Victor K | RB | CLE | D'Ernest Johnson |
196 | 11 | Gary L | RB | SF | Trey Sermon |
197 | 11 | Jeffrey P | RB | TEN | Hassan Haskins |
198 | 11 | Scott A | QB | CAR | Baker Mayfield |
199 | 12 | Scott A | TE | TB | Kyle Rudolph |
200 | 12 | Jeffrey P | WR | IND | Parris Campbell |
201 | 12 | Gary L | WR | NYJ | Corey Davis |
202 | 12 | Victor K | RB | ARI | Darrel Williams |
203 | 12 | Shaun H | TE | TB | Cameron Brate |
204 | 12 | Chris B | WR | CLE | David Bell |
205 | 12 | Anthony D | WR | GB | Randall Cobb |
206 | 12 | Kendall H | TE | NO | Taysom Hill |
207 | 12 | Tyson T | RB | PIT | Jaylen Warren |
208 | 12 | Joe H | RB | CIN | Samaje Perine |
209 | 12 | Todd B | WR | BUF | Jamison Crowder |
210 | 12 | Derel S | RB | LAC | Joshua Kelley |
211 | 12 | Ben M | QB | WAS | Carson Wentz |
212 | 12 | Greg H | WR | TEN | Nick Westbrook-Ikhine |
213 | 12 | Joseph C | WR | BAL | Devin Duvernay |
214 | 12 | Ian A | RB | MIA | Sony Michel |
215 | 12 | Bill G | QB | ATL | Marcus Mariota |
216 | 12 | Afi A | RB | PHI | Boston Scott |
217 | 13 | Afi A | WR | JAC | Laviska Shenault |
218 | 13 | Bill G | RB | SF | Tyrion Davis-Price |
219 | 13 | Ian A | WR | GB | Sammy Watkins |
220 | 13 | Joseph C | RB | BAL | Gus Edwards |
221 | 13 | Greg H | WR | JAC | Zay Jones |
222 | 13 | Ben M | TE | DEN | Greg Dulcich |
223 | 13 | Derel S | RB | CIN | Chris Evans |
224 | 13 | Todd B | RB | ATL | Damien Williams |
225 | 13 | Joe H | RB | NYG | Matt Breida |
226 | 13 | Tyson T | WR | BAL | James Proche |
227 | 13 | Kendall H | WR | WAS | Curtis Samuel |
228 | 13 | Anthony D | WR | FA | Will Fuller |
229 | 13 | Chris B | RB | TB | Ke'Shawn Vaughn |
230 | 13 | Shaun H | WR | MIA | Cedrick Wilson |
231 | 13 | Victor K | QB | NYJ | Zach Wilson |
232 | 13 | Gary L | RB | KC | Ronald Jones |
233 | 13 | Jeffrey P | RB | TEN | Dontrell Hilliard |
234 | 13 | Scott A | RB | SEA | Travis Homer |
235 | 14 | Scott A | WR | FA | Odell Beckham |
236 | 14 | Jeffrey P | WR | DAL | Dennis Houston |
237 | 14 | Gary L | TE | WAS | Logan Thomas |
238 | 14 | Victor K | WR | ARI | A.J. Green |
239 | 14 | Shaun H | RB | PIT | Anthony McFarland |
240 | 14 | Chris B | WR | CHI | Velus Jones |
241 | 14 | Anthony D | WR | TEN | Kyle Philips |
242 | 14 | Kendall H | RB | HOU | Rex Burkhead |
243 | 14 | Tyson T | QB | PIT | Mitch Trubisky |
244 | 14 | Joe H | WR | CLE | Donovan Peoples-Jones |
245 | 14 | Todd B | RB | MIA | Myles Gaskin |
246 | 14 | Derel S | WR | NYG | Sterling Shepard |
247 | 14 | Ben M | WR | SF | Danny Gray |
248 | 14 | Greg H | TE | HOU | Brevin Jordan |
249 | 14 | Joseph C | WR | CHI | Byron Pringle |
250 | 14 | Ian A | RB | JAC | Snoop Conner |
251 | 14 | Bill G | WR | NYJ | Braxton Berrios |
252 | 14 | Afi A | RB | IND | Phillip Lindsay |