Guillotine League Week 2 Waiver Wire Options & FAAB Breakdown

Week 1 was quite the kickoff to the 2024 season with some crazy storylines all weekend long. Perhaps the most impactful - particularly to guillotine leagues- was Christian McCaffrey being scratched from the Monday Night game just an hour and a half prior to the 49ers matchup against the Jets.

That left guillotine managers scrambling to find a replacement which is certainly tough enough on a Monday Night, but in an 18-team format, it was a near-impossible feat. This weekly article will go through the top chopped players each week in guillotine leagues, focusing on the waiver wire and FAAB strategies. Hint- CMC is up there.

Before I get into Week 2, here’s some pertinent information on guillotine leagues.

How it works:

• Set up and draft your team just like traditional fantasy football
• Each week the lowest-scoring team gets eliminated
• All of the players from the eliminated team become free agents
• A weekly FAAB bidding war starts among the remaining teams
• Survive the chop and be crowned champion

Because it's a survivor-style format, you can start leagues any week of the season for as long as you want!

Get in now!

Some big names got chopped in Week 1, but resist the temptation to blow a huge chunk of your bank this early in the season, unless you were on the brink of being chopped with a terrible team. Most guillotine leagues have a $1,000 budget so spend accordingly. Let your league mates back up the truck while you grab some bargain players this week.

Here are the top 10 players chopped across all positions and the percentage of leagues where they were axed.

Quarterbacks

There were eight QBs among the top 50 players chopped in Week 1.

QB is not a position I like to pay for this early in the season. If Jordan Love was your only QB, you’re going to have to acquire one for the next handful of weeks and will have to pay somewhere in the 10-20% range of your budget for a good one.

Some really good QBs likely hit the waiver wire so if you have a Loveless team and are in need, Jalen Hurts, Kyler Murray, Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott, and Joe Burrow are all players to bid on if they are there in your league. Somewhere around 15-20% percent will likely be needed since there will inevitably be someone overspending for an unneeded upgrade. If you trust your league mates as sharper players, allocate just 8-10% for a top QB.

Some of the bargain QBs to consider if you’re just looking for an upgrade or to stash a bench QB are Trevor Lawrence, Caleb Williams, and Kirk Cousins who should be bid at less than 1%. You may get them or you may not, and that’s just fine.

Wide Receivers

Nineteen WRs were among the 50 most chopped players after the Week 1 games finished.

Marvin Harrison Jr. had a frustrating first outing but better days are ahead, plus he has a favorable upcoming stretch with the Rams, Lions, and Commanders, who were all 26th or worse in WR schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed (aFPA) last year. He’s a 6-8% FAAB guy if you need WR help.

Drake London was the second most chopped WR which isn’t too surprising given how brutal Kirk Cousins looked under center. We have to think he’ll get better in this new system as his foot continues to heal. Bid closer to 4% and that should secure him unless there’s a big Atlanta fan in the mix.

Chris Olave was game scripted out after only seeing two early targets but should resume his WR1 role for the Saints this week in Jerry World. If you think managers will be down on the 24-year-old go for 5% of your FAAB if interested, but he’s more likely a 6-7% player.

Brandon Aiyuk saw just five targets after his hold-in but should return to regular every-week-starter status moving forward. I’d bid closer to 8% for the SF WR.

Amon-Ra St. Brown landing on the most chopped WR list (12.8%) is not surprising after watching the game, but it is shocking based on who he is as a player. Let’s just pretend Week 1 and his 3-13-0 line never happened and open your wallets for 15-17% of the FAAB if he’s there for you.

Standard Waiver WRs

• Demarcus Robinson (22.2% available) - 4%
• Jalen McMillan (39.8% available) - 1%
• Jalen Nailor (44.4% available) - less than 1%
• Devaughn Vele (99% available) -less than 1%

Running Backs

Within the Top 10 most chopped players, 17 of them were RBs in Week 1.

We must start with the big dog, Christian McCaffrey. Someone in your league will likely blow at least $500 maybe more on him and please let it not be you. Jordan Mason’s production on Monday night may be enough to pump the brakes a bit. I’m not saying CMC will be Wally Pipped, but the 49ers may choose to split the work a bit more to keep McCaffrey fresher for their likely post-season run. A 20% bid is my max and even that is a tad uncomfy this early in the season.

Zamir White was chopped in 13.3% of leagues and his usage was a bit frustrating for those who drafted him across all platforms. Alexander Mattison’s nine touches to his 15 may hint at a more committee approach than originally anticipated for the Raiders backfield. I’m not loving White in this offense but if you’re into him, bid around 3% of your FAAB.

The Pittsburgh offense was as frustrating in Week 1 as we expected with Arthur Smith at the helm. Jaylen Warren had a total of four touches for 20 yards. Hopefully, things get better for both Warren and Najee Harris moving forward. Warren is a 5% bid RB this week if you need him.

Jonathan Taylor was chopped in 8.8% of leagues last week following a so-so RB30 performance in PPR scoring. He gets the Packers this week who yielded 132 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns to Saquon Barkley last Friday night. Taylor should return to fantasy RB1 status and is worth 12-15% and even closer to 20% if you’re hurting at RB already.

Standard Waiver RBs

• Alexander Mattison (31.8% available) - 4-5%
• Justice Hill (25.9% available) - 3-4%
• Tank Bigsby (25.7% available) - 4-5%
• Bucky Irving (21% available ) - 3%
• MarShawn Lloyd (22.3% available)- 1%

Tight Ends

There were six TEs among the 50 most chopped players from the first week of the 2024 NFL season.

Dalton Kincaid leads the group at 12.5% thanks to an outing that consisted of one catch for 11-yards. We have to assume things will get better, right? Right? After one week TE feels like a wasteland as usual instead of the deep field we expected coming in. If you’re hurting like most are, bid about 5% for Kincaid.

Mark Andrews was a massive let down but he is still recovering from injury and was playing against a Kansas City team that perenially locks him down. We can’t panic yet and if you punted the position as at least a handful of people per league did, it may take 10% to get him.

Travis Kelce posted just three receptions for 34 yards on four targets against the Ravens in Week 1. There are some soft opponents on the horizon for Kelce as six of their next nine opponents were ranked 25th or worse in TE aFPA in 2023. On tap are the Bengals who just allowed Austin Hooper and Hunter Henry to put up 8.9 PPR points, and we’re talking about Travis Kelce here, a guy Patrick Mahomes will find a way to get the ball. Someone will likely overpay for the KC TE but if you want him, still throw down a 10-12% bid in case they don’t.

Standard Waiver TEs

• Colby Parkinson (35.7% available) - 2%
• Juwan Johnson (34.9% available) - 1%
• Jordan Akins (99.9% available ) - less than 1%

For even more guillotine information from the man who invented the format Paul Charchian, check out the podcast Chop: The Guillotine League Podcast.