Oh, you thought drafting season was over?! As if! It's time to get ready for Guilloteenies and how you should be approaching drafts. Just to make sure we're all on the same page, Guilloteenies is much like regular-season Guillotine Leagues™️, but only throughout the playoffs. Every week the lowest-scoring team is chopped until only one supreme champion remains. Entire rosters from the chopped team goes to the waiver wire where you can then bid on the players. It's four weeks of pure chaos and absolute fun—here's how I approached my first draft.

I chose to do a single chop format and I want Adam Ronis to know if he's reading this right now he is totally going down. Lineups consist of 1 QB; 2 RB; 2 WR; 1 TE; and 2 FLEX!

Guillotine Leagues™️: Guilloteenie Draft Review

General Strategy Pre-Draft

Damn, I missed being in a draft room. Before the draft started I wanted to have a general idea of each playoff matchup and which teams I really believed could get through the first Wild Card Weekend. It's really a survive and advance mentality that I like to have—what teams are facing bad defenses and which players are complete positional advantages.

The player I knew I would take a risk on was Jaxon Smith-Njigba if the price was right. It's difficult to take any players with a first-round bye in the playoffs because it means you're guaranteed a zero in the boxscore because there are no bench spots.

I also wanted to set my team up for success past the first chop. This idea is good in theory but sometimes (depending on how the draft goes) has to be abandoned. Essentially, I didn't want to load my team up with a majority of players from the same team. Stacking is not as important here as other draft formats. I think Matt LaMarca said it best in his article, if your entire roster loses in the first round, you’re going to be facing an uphill battle. Just something to keep in the back of your mind. Now let's get to the draft!

Premium

Go FantasyLife+

Your league is unique. Your advice should be too. Get personalized tools, rankings, and projections tailored to your fantasy football league settings.

Learn More

Round 1

Team 1: Puka Nacua

My Team (KV): Christian McCaffrey

Team 3: Josh Allen

Team 4: Saquon Barkley

Team 5: Davante Adams

I got the second-overall pick in the draft and it felt pretty obvious the direction I was going to go. If Nacua were there (I know, a longshot) he would be the pick, but more than likely it was going to be McCaffrey and that's another great option. I don't think the 49ers advance past the Eagles, but I do think they'll need CMC to have a fighting chance.

Round 2

Team 5: Trevor Lawrence

Team 4: Nico Collins

Team 3: George Kittle

KV: James Cook

Team 1: Travis Etienne

Ask me how getting sniped in January feels? NOT GREAT, BOB. It's George Kittle or bust for me at the tight end position. Because he is such an advantage I want him on my teams and if I don't get him I'm going to punt the tight end position to later rounds. I have two of the strongest running backs you can get in the draft and I'm happy with that. McCaffrey worries me long term, but I do believe the Bills can get far and that they will also need their stud running back to do so.

Round 3

Team 1: Kyren Williams

KV: A.J. Brown

Team 3: TreVeyon Henderson

Team 4: Drake Maye

Team 5: Josh Jacobs

Round 4

Team 5: Brenton Strange

Team 4: Brian Thomas Jr.

Team 3: Jauan Jennings

KV: Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Team 1: Stefon Diggs

This is where it happened. I was suckered in and I will not be apologizing. Drafting JSN is a huge risk, but I was willing to take it after getting McCaffrey and Cook, along with Brown. I think he's an aggressive pick that can work out after I make it through the first round.

Round 5

Team 1: D'Andre Swift

KV: Jakobi Meyers

Team 3: Omarion Hampton

Team 4: DeVonta Smith

Team 5: Christian Watson

This was one of my least favorite picks in the draft, but it grew on me afterward. Jacksonville is a home underdog to the Buffalo Bills, and it's really been Parker Washington who has been on a hot streak with quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Some positives here are that they have home-field advantage and the third-highest implied team total on the slate.

Round 6

Team 5: Woody Marks

Team 4: Rico Dowdle

Team 3: Parker Washington

KV: Jalen Hurts

Team 1: Colston Loveland

My biggest takeaway from the draft: if you don't get Josh Allen just wait on quarterback. Much like the discussion about tight end George Kittle, Allen has a big positional advantage among all other quarterbacks. Remember, there's no bench, so in single-chop formats there are only going to be five quarterbacks taken. I was happy to get Hurts, hoping that he turns it on in the playoffs. I think it may have been a mistake, though, to not take Matthew Stafford here. In our Guillotine rankings, Staffiord is QB7, but I think with Davante Adams returning and a good matchup against the Panthers that he could come out cooking. Time will tell.

Round 7

Team 1: Matthew Stafford

KV: Luther Burden

Team 3: Kenneth Gainwell

Team 4: Oronde Gadsden

Team 5: Ricky Pearsall

Round 8

Team 5: Blake Corum

Team 4: Ladd McConkey

Team 3: Rome Odunze

KV: Dallas Goedert

Team 1: Rhamondre Stevenson

Kendall's Final Guilloteenie Team

QB: Jalen Hurts

RB: Christian McCaffrey

RB: James Cook

WR: A.J. Brown

WR: Jaxon Smith-Njigba

TE: Dallas Goedert

FLEX: Jakobi Meyers

FLEX: Luther Burden

This feels like a team that can survive and advance. Even with Smith-Njigba sitting Week 1, I am hoping to get points elsewhere that will keep me alive through the first round of the playoffs. My biggest takeaways are to really wait on tight end and quarterback positions if you don't land the big name at each position. You can find advantages while other drafters are focused on guys like Trevor Lawrence. Have fun and just focus on the good teams. There are always going to be a handful of players that overperform and walk away with scores we didn't see coming, but it's not the time to galaxy brain things. Sit back and enjoy the fun Guilloteenies bring!

Premium

Get $25 Guillotine League Credits When You Join FL+

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc tinciedunt, ex sit amet cursus gravida, dui mauris vulputate felis.

Claim Offer