We're Not Done Drafting: Try NFL Playoff Guilloteenies and CHOPionships
In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Bud Light, the NFL Playoffs are here, and we have Guilloteenies and CHOPionships for fantasy managers.
In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Bud Light:
I remember when I first started playing fantasy football, how bummed I was when the season ended.
Waiting eight months to draft again felt like an eternity.
But thankfully those days are long gone.
Thanks to the Guillotine Leagues, we have a fresh buffet of drafting options to devour before kickoff on Saturday.
There are two main formats available. The first is the CHOPionship, which has top prizes ranging all the way to $2,000.
The second is the five-team Guilloteenie. I did my first draft like this yesterday with four other members of the Fantasy Life team (you can watch the draft here) and it really got the strategic juices flowing.
In this format, you simply don’t want to finish last each week so it’s more of a survival game than a ceiling game. And because there is no bench, you mostly want to avoid the teams on bye (although Ian was willing to take the zero in hopes of sneaking Jahmyr Gibbs into the next round—a risky, but viable move).
My strategy focused on locking up as many guaranteed RB touches as I could in the early rounds. I took Derrick Henry (1.02), Bucky Irving (2.04), and Joe Mixon (4.02) to anchor the team.
Ladd McConkey (3.02) was my first WR selection and gives me a high floor with very little bust risk. Courtland Sutton (6.04) was my other WR selection (he has an 8.7 UR score over the last two weeks).
You can definitely punt QB in this format because there are five strong options, but I took the plunge on Jayden Daniels (5.02) as the fourth QB off the board. That Bucs/Commanders game has the highest total on the slate.
Outside of Mark Andrews, TE is pretty weak so I punted that position until my second-to-last pick and took Dalton Kincaid (7.02).
I wrapped up my draft by doubling up on Bucs RBs with Rachaad White (8.04). In other formats, I’d never consider this, but locking up both backs boosts the floor of my lineup and allows me to avoid the bust risk of the fringier WRs available in the last round.
For a full drafting guide, check out Nando’s post from yesterday.
GUILLOTINE LEAGUES CONTEST LOBBY
What else is in today’s newsletter?
- 2025 Mock Draft: We have a trade!
- Paul Charchian stops by with the keys to Guilloteenies.
- Watercooler: A live draft with the Fantasy Life crew.
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Could The Giants Trade Up From No. 3?
By Thor Nystrom
The (most important part) of the 2025 NFL Draft order is set. The Tennessee Titans own the No. 1 pick, the Patriots fumbled the tank, and we're inching closer to the peak of 2025 NFL Mock Draft season.
Below is my first official first-round 2025 NFL Mock Draft with the regular season behind us. For full NFL Draft coverage, be sure to stay on top of our NFL Draft Hub.
First Round 2025 NFL Mock Draft—Picks 1-18
1. Tennessee Titans (3-14)—Shedeur Sanders | QB | Colorado
On Sunday, the Titans completed a six-loss rally to the very top of the draft board by losing to Houston. In Mock 1.0, published a month ago, Tennessee sat in the 1.06 slot. This left them boxed out of Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward (I gave the Titans Texas OT Kelvin Banks Jr.).
It gets much easier to parse Tennessee’s thinking now that they sit atop the board. The benching of Will Levis was a flashing neon sign that the Titans had already decided to invest big in the quarterback position this offseason.
Shedeur Sanders is the class’ best quarterback. With Sanders in tow, the Titans would presumably prioritize a pass catcher to flesh out the receiving corps on Day 2.
2. New York Giants (3-14)—Cam Ward | QB | Miami
*TRADE: Giants acquire the No. 2 overall pick from Browns for No. 3, No. 34 (Round 2), and No. 104 (Round 4) picks
The above trade, a value fit on the trade charts, would not only guarantee the Giants that the Browns wouldn’t take Ward, but it would box out the Jets and Raiders beneath them. Ward would solve the Giants’ post-Daniel Jones quarterback questions.
Ward’s game took a big leap forward in 2024. His aDOT and YPA both improved by around two yards. He’s also become noticeably more comfortable in the pocket—sometimes even to the point of appearing nonchalant. Ward slashed his pressure-to-sack ratio from 24.9 to 16.4 this season.
3. Cleveland Browns (3-14)—Travis Hunter | WR/CB | Colorado
*TRADE: Browns acquire No. 3, No. 34 (Round 2), and No. 104 (Round 4) picks from Giants for No. 2 pick.
Currently sitting in the No. 2 slot in a two-QB draft, the Browns have a ton of leverage. Browns HC Kevin Stefanski’s return informs our thinking, as it makes it more plausible that Cleveland could be the landing spot for to-be-released Falcons QB Kirk Cousins on a one-year, minimum-salaried contract post-June 1 (ala the Steelers’ signing of Russell Wilson last year).
Solving the short-term quarterback dilemma on the cheap and using draft equity on immediate help may be the more attractive option for a coaching staff and administration that’ll enter next year on the hot seat.
In this scenario, Cleveland only moves one spot down the board with the Giants while picking up draft ammunition. This trade would give Cleveland three top-34 picks, and seven inside the top 105.
Though Cleveland has bigger needs, Travis Hunter would be a no-brainer pick. The draft’s best overall player, Hunter profiles as a CB1 who’ll moonlight part-time as an electric go-to WR for however many offensive snaps he can additionally handle.
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The Guilloteenie Cheatsheet: Dual-Threat QBs or Late-Round Strategy?
By Paul Charchian
As Pete mentioned, Playoff Guilloteenies are one of two playoff games at GuillotineLeagues.com. You can learn more about our other way to play, the CHOPionship, by clicking here.
Playoff Guilloteenies: How they work
Key rules to know:
You'll conduct a live draft with up to four other teams.
No bench. All players score points in every week they're alive.
Eight roster spots, 1 QB, 2 RBs, 2 WRs, 1 TE, and 2 flex (no QB flex)
Like a regular-season Guillotine League, each week your league's lowest-scoring team will be chopped at the end of each round.
That team's roster will become available on the waiver wire.
You'll have $1,000 in FAAB with which to bid on chopped players after each round.
Get the full ruleset here.
Join a Guilloteenie league here!
Basic Strategy
Obviously, you'll want to choose players from teams that will play the most playoff games. Players who only play one playoff game can't accumulate many points for you—even great players.
Your top priority is to identify Super Bowl-bound teams because those teams will play at least three times. Ideally, you want to find a non-No. 1 seed that will advance to the Super Bowl, because those teams will play four times.
Advanced Guilloteenie Strategy
Unique to this format, you're going to be able to augment your roster after every round with chopped players from eliminated teams. That should put roughly three, four, or five, starter-level free agents into the pool after each round.
That's not a lot of guys, so you can't be assured that you'll land them in free agency. But remember, these are very small leagues, with little competition to get those players.
Because you can improve your roster after each round, you can spread out your players across more NFL teams. In this format, it's a far more viable strategy to pick players from teams that might lose. Maybe you love Puka Nacua, but you're worried the Rams will lose to Minnesota. You can still draft Nacua, grab his points in the Wild Card round, and if the Rams lose, replace Nacua on the waiver wire next week.
Because you can grab any Lions and Chiefs who get chopped in the Wild Card Round, orient your draft to emphasize the teams playing in the Wild Card Round.
I recommend massively deprioritizing the two No. 1-seeded teams, the Chiefs and Lions. Even Jahmyr Gibbs. Remember, there's no bench and you'll get zero points from Chiefs and Lions in the Wild Card Round. And that could get you chopped next Tuesday morning.
Because you can improve your roster later, prioritize drafting players with strong Round 1 opportunities.
MORE ADVANCED STRATEGY AND A MOCK DRAFT
RELATED CONTENT:
- Dwain McFarland highlights his tiers for NFL playoff fantasy football contests and who to target in Guillotine contests.
- For those wanting to play in the CHOPionship, Charch has another Cheatsheet.
AROUND THE WATERCOOLER
The latest fantasy nuggets, silliness, and NFL gossip from our merry band of football nerds:
🪓 A Guilloteenie Live Draft featuring our Fantasy Life experts.
👀 Postseason fantasy rankings and a CHOPionship strategy session. Let’s go!
🧀 Blow for the Packers. Not ideal heading into the playoffs.
🧯 The Seahawks pulled a Patriots. He only lasted one year.
🌶️ The guy everyone wants to hire. He’s going to be popular.
🚑️ Will Zay Flowers be ready for the Steelers? Here’s an update.
🤣 The 5 Stages of the Fantasy season ending, by Jake Trowbridge. Is that what flowers smell like?
🏈 Presenting the Fantasy Life Postseason Shootout.
Welcome back! First off, the answer to the only player with more than Mike Evans’ 11 straight 1,000-yard seasons was the GOAT himself, Jerry Rice. The Hall of Famer had 14 straight seasons hitting that high-water mark.
Now, onto today’s question …
Ja’Marr Chase led the league in virtually every receiving category this season, including receiving yards per game (100.5). While that’s a solid mark, it’s far from the NFL record. That belongs to this player, who averaged 122.8 yards across 16 games.
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