So, let's roll together everything we've learned into a "perfect" guillotine league draft. I'm going to draft a full guillotine roster, choosing players from the middle of each round, using the ADP data available at Fantasy Life.

I'm targeting players who share as many of these traits as possible, each of which is detailed earlier in this guide:

  • Proven reliability, low variance
  • High weekly floor
  • Late bye weeks
  • Easy starting schedule
  • Healthy
  • Less competition for playing time and scoring opportunities
  • Not touchdown dependent
  • Veterans

All right, let's roll up our collective sleeves and see what my roster looks like.

Round 1: Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR - Lions

Why I like him in Guillotine Leagues: Top-five in targets and receptions, giving him a tremendously high floor. St. Brown finished with double-digit fantasy points in a staggering 16 of 17 games. His only downside is a Week 5 bye.

Round 2: Mike Evans, WR - Buccaneers

Why I like him in Guillotine Leagues: Evans is the Cal Ripken of wideouts. The Ironman has played in 161 of 170 possible games. Last year, Evans hit double-digit fantasy points in 15 of 17 games.

Round 3: Travis Kelce, TE - Chiefs

Why I like him in Guillotine Leagues: This season offers a deeper pool of tight ends than in recent years, but it's not 18 players deep. Kelce probably has one more good year left in him. Last season, Kelce was rock solid until deep into December, scoring double-digit fantasy points in 11 of his first 12 games.

Round 4: James Cook, RB - Bills

Why I like him in Guillotine Leagues: I considered Chris Godwin and Rachaad White with this pick, but you don't want to stack players from the same team, and I already have Mike Evans. Instead, I'm going with James Cook who brings me consistency, if not upside. With the Buffalo's dearth of receivers, I expect a higher workload for Cook, both as a runner and receiver. Even with Josh Allen stealing the easy touchdowns, Cook finished with just four dud games last year, thanks to his much-expanded role.

Round 5: Zamir White, RB - Raiders

Why I like him in Guillotine Leagues: At this stage of the draft, I'm targeting a likely workhorse running back whose volume gives him a safe floor. In four starts last year, White got 17, 22, 20 and 25 carries! He's not much of a receiving threat, but 100 picks into the draft, everyone has some warts.

Round 6: Jakobi Meyers, WR - Raiders

Why I like him in Guillotine Leagues: There's a pretty big dropoff in reliability as we hit round six. Meyers isn't a high-end producer, but he's consistent. He played in 16 of 17 games and scored double-digit fantasy points in 12 of the 16 games. I don't love having two starters from the same team, but at least I don't have to worry about the Raiders' bye until Week 10.

Round 7: Austin Ekeler, RB - Commanders

Why I like him in Guillotine Leagues: Runners who can catch, like Ekeler, are terrific assets in guillotine. If Ekeler chips in a modest four catches for 40 yards each week, you've got eight fantasy points right there. Add in another 40 rushing yards and a possible touchdown and you live to see another week.

Round 8: Matthew Stafford, QB - Rams

Why I like him in Guillotine Leagues: This is a perfect example of why I almost always slough quarterbacks in guillotine drafts. Stafford played 16 of 17 games and topped double-digit fantasy points in every single start. With Puka Nacua entering his second season and Cooper Kupp entering the season healthy, there's little reason to believe a dropoff is coming.

Round 9: Rashod Bateman, WR - Ravens

Why I like him in Guillotine Leagues: If training camp hype translated directly into fantasy points, Bateman would be WR1. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh won't shut up about the guy's impressive practices. Bateman's past performances offer zero suggestion that he'll be a reliable fantasy player, but we're 160 picks into the draft and we're throwing some darts.

Round 10: J.K. Dobbins, RB - Chargers

Why I like him in Guillotine Leagues: It's a muddy backfield in Los Angeles, but Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman are going to run someone (or multiple people) into the ground. Two years removed from his ACL, maybe Dobbins emerges as that guy.

Round 11: Dameon Pierce, RB - Texans

Why I like him in Guillotine Leagues: There's a very real chance that Joe Mixon is completely cooked. Most of his advanced metrics showed a sharp decline last year and the Bengals didn't hesitate to unload him to Houston. Maybe Dameon Pierce will be the starter before long.

Round 12: Russell Wilson, QB - Steelers

Why I like him in Guillotine Leagues: Will Russell Wilson eventually lose his job to Justin Fields? Maybe, but in the guillotine league format, who cares? By that time I might be starting Josh Allen or Jalen Hurts. In Denver last year, Wilson wasn't explosive, but he was a very safe floor producer, with double-digit fantasy points in 14 of his 15 starts.

Round 13: Alexander Mattison, RB - Raiders

Why I like him in Guillotine Leagues: I'm securing the presumed (while watching Dylan Laube very closely) handcuff to my sixth-round pick, Zamir White, as boring as Mattison is.

Round 14: Jelani Woods, TE - Colts

Why I like him in Guillotine Leagues: I considered executing the rarely-seen tight-end handcuff with Noah Gray. But my love for Jelani Woods (10/10 RAS!) was too strong.

There you have it!  14 rounds of mostly safe, dependable players, with a dash of upside late in the draft.  In the next article, let's run the same exercise in reverse!

The Guide to Guillotine Leagues Fantasy Football