Kendall Valenzuela, Chris Allen, and Geoff Ulrich team up to share lessons learned from their first season playing Guillotine LeaguesTM.

Guillotine Leagues have become even bigger this year, after it became a part of the Matthew Berry's Fantasy Life umbrella. More fantasy managers prioritized "avoiding the chopping block” and then engaging in an all-out FAAB war for star players who did get chopped.

So many people played Guillotine Leagues for the first time, and got hooked. We know that because we've seen how many people joined to play Guilloteenies and CHOPionships during the 2025 NFL Playoffs. We can't wait to see how many more people play this great game this upcoming season.

To help in that regard, Kendall Valenzuela, Chris Allen, and Geoff Ulrich teamed up to share their thoughts on what worked well—and what didn't—from their respective first seasons playing Guillotine Leagues. You may want to bookmark this page and revisit it when Guillotine League drafts come back during the summer to add a new level of “sweat” during the 2025 season. To say that being on the chopping block and surviving is similar to a fantasy playoff victory may be an understatement. Let's see what Kendall, Chris, and Geoff have to share.

1. What is the single biggest thing you learned as a Guillotine rookie?

Kendall: I think the biggest thing I learned as a Guillotine rookie is why the hell wasn't I in on this earlier?! Aside from feeling like I missed out on Guillotine Leagues for too long—the biggest thing I learned was that you need to really take your time with waiver wire bids. I know that's with every league you're in, but when it's Week 12 and you're able to bid on Justin Jefferson and Saquon Barkley, things can get a little crazy. Planning out how you spend your $1,000 FAAB and learning how your leaguemates like to bid is so crucial.

It's not only taking your time sorting out your bids, but also making sure you go back after the original waiver run to get some players who might have been overlooked. There were numerous times during the Saturday waiver run that I was able to pick up players who after news broke or an injury popped up during practice that really helped my teams last longer. 

Chris: For me, learning how to prioritize the present instead of looking deep into the season was a new twist on this game we play every season.

In standard leagues, one of the key aspects to the draft is finding late-round value. Whether it's the rookie you covet over the veterans hanging around in the double-digit rounds, or breakout candidate you believe in, there's a contingency element to our rosters. We stash backups in the hopes things break right. But that's not as important in this format.

Just finding players with strong or certain workloads to get you through the first few weeks can be enough. The rollercoaster that is the regular season will jerk the rest of your leaguemates around each curve. But you don't have to get on the ride until things start to unfold. Building a solid core to start and taking your shots later through free agency is something I'll keep in mind for next year.

Geoff: I’d say the biggest thing I learned in my rookie season was how important it is to understand the free agency bidding process and where to spend your FAAB. 

Early season, you need to take some chances and preserve. The season is so long and volatile that you can clean your FAAB out in a hurry if you chase every big name who comes available. Plus, you need to trust your draft to a degree. If you drafted so poorly that you can’t survive the first few weeks, spending all your FAAB likely isn’t going to save you anyway. Remember, you’re just avoiding being last, so even a mediocre-ish draft is likely to keep you alive for the first couple of weeks. 

However, as the season progresses, you need to shift strategies. Teams get stacked with good players fast and when you get down to 4-5 teams if you don’t have enough studs you’ll find yourself at the bottom of the heap in a hurry. 

In short, preserve FAAB early, but don’t wait too long to make moves. If a legitimate league winner becomes available midseason, go for him. You may have to take some risks at other positions down the line because of it but it will give your lineup the kind of upside needed to survive the later rounds. 

2. If you had to go back and draft again, what would you do differently?

Kendall: I waited on tight end in some of my Guillotine drafts and honestly it hurt. You have to remember when doing these drafts that you simply need to survive and advance, but I found myself always needing to address one position during waiver runs and always coming dangerously close to the chopping block early because of how bad my tight ends were. 18-man drafts are all fun and games until everyone realizes that there are not even close to 18 good fantasy tight ends available.

Chris: I wasn't as aggressive on the waiver wire in hindsight. In the first few weeks of the season, you think you have time. Or, more teams will get the axe and similar players will be available. But the more you wait, the more opportunities your opponents will have to build a strong roster. Their strengths will get stronger. Landing a significant add off the wire versus patching a starting spot with a one or two-week solution might have kept me in contention for a few extra weeks. Being cognizant of my FAAB spending habits (and my leaguemates) will be something I'll reconsider for next year.

Geoff: Not draft Tank Dell in all my leagues 😢

Seriously, though, I think this format lends itself to going heavier WR early on and getting those stud receivers who are in clearly defined primary target roles (Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, A.J. Brown, etc). These players are great for Guillotine Leagues, as they aren’t at risk of losing workload like a main-carry RB whose team drafted a stud rookie (i.e. Breece Hall/Braelon Allen, Rachaad White/Bucky Irving). 

I’m not advocating for Zero RB, but my stronger teams had more highly drafted WRs on them this season, and I had less turnover at those positions on those teams—which allowed me to focus on RBs on the waiver more. 

3. Is there any move you’re particularly proud of?

Kendall: Listen, in one of my leagues I missed out on bids for three (woof) different starting quarterbacks and had to roll with Justin Fields in Week 4 against the Colts … and he scored a whopping 31.98 fantasy points, so BLESS UP! All this to say, every move that actually did go through I was honestly proud of because the waiver wire is a brutal place. I can't remember how many times I missed out on a bid by just $5! But being able to pick up huge names later in the season is just a thrill, and that's why we can't quit Guillotine.

Chris: I try different strategies in every league, as the draft slot and format can push me in a certain direction. However, in this format, I made sure to pivot around one position. What I mean is, I'd stock up on high and mid-round values to stockpile talent so I could deprioritize spending in that area during the season. Now, snagging guys like Tee Higgins and Christian Kirk didn't work out so well for me. But having a stable of RBs or two quality QBs allowed me to swing for the fences in FAAB at other positions to ensure I was safe for another week or two of action.

Geoff: Drafting Tank Dell and Evan Engram in almost all my leagues and still making it deep in several!

My TE work on the waiver wire was a work of art at points this season, with big shoutouts to guys like Cade Otton and Mike Gesicki for carrying the loads at various points. 

4. How far did you get in your leagues?

Kendall: Ummm, we really don't need to go there … OK? Just kidding, the farthest I got this season was a Week 15 matchup, which was totally thrilling, but now I'm hooked and I need to win next season! As Ian Hartitz says, I'm watching the tape and getting better.

Chris: So, quick backstory. In my first Guillotine League a few years ago, I dropped all my FAAB on Lamar Jackson after Week 1. I was out by Week 3. That is why I only view my 2025 Guillotine experience as a massive improvement. Was I knocked out nearly a month before the playoffs? Maybe. But when you go from three weeks to nine or 10 weeks, that's a 300% improvement! I see this as nothing but a win here.

Geoff: Top six in multiple leagues but unfortunately I had the same group of players in those lineups and they all flamed out at the same time. A bit of bad luck, sure, but my own strategy of saving FAAB kind of backfired against me. 

I should have spent more aggressively sooner. Going into the final 5 or 6 I was at a clear disadvantage to the teams that had spent earlier and I couldn’t overcome the deficit. 

5. Will you prep any differently for your 2025 drafts?

Kendall: I don't think I will prepare differently, but I'll make sure to list out early players I may want to avoid or situations to be mindful of that will help me get past Week 1. We are always going to have contract holdouts that could affect how we draft—same with some later offseason injuries—yes, we are looking at you, Christian McCaffrey. 

Chris: The only thing I might do differently is check beat reports more often on ambiguous situations. For instance, I mostly faded Josh Jacobs heading into the season. Yes, the Packers "said" with their wallet they wanted him as their RB1. But his hamstring injury over the offseason and age, had me favoring MarShawn Lloyd and the passing game. Whew, that didn't work out. Regardless, confirming (or challenging) my priors where there's some uncertainty would serve me well in any draft but in cases like this, I'll make sure which way the winds are blowing before heading into the draft lobby.

Geoff: I’ll probably look to take more shots with elite WRs and potentially go with an elite QB or TE early on in more drafts for 2025-26. No offense to RBs, but unless you can get a Jahmyr Gibbs or Saquon Barkley I will likely be fine waiting on that position because of the risks that come with big names at that position (losing touches to backups, injury, etc.). 

My take on Guillotine as a whole is that you need to eliminate as much tail risk as possible, especially with your top picks. Just keep it simple with as many “sure things” as possible. There will be plenty of opportunities to add more boom or bust options later.  

Just as an example, I took Breece Hall higher up in a league when I could have drafted Justin Jefferson and that move seems way off now in retrospect. Hall had as much upside as any back entering the season, but was attached to a 40-year-old QB and also had a really good backup in Braelon Allen who stole touches. He’s also just a bigger injury risk than Jefferson as a whole. It’s no shock the guy who took Jefferson in that league (Dwain) ended up winning. 

That’s just one example, and Hall’s upside entering the year was as good as anyone’s, but his overall risk factor was also higher than most around his ADP. I’ll be looking to avoid players like that over more sure things like Jefferson next season.