Guillotine League Week 5 Waiver Wire Options & FAAB Breakdown

If you’re reading this I assume you’ve made it to Week 5 which is no easy feat considering the litany of injuries all over the league. Or, perhaps you want to torture yourself by seeing what could have been had your team survived last week.

Either way, welcome to the Week 5 guillotine column, where I go through the top players from the teams that got axed each week, focusing on the waiver wire and FAAB strategies.

Bye weeks ramp up this week so you’ll be without the services of any Lions, Chargers Eagles, and Titans. It’s now time to evaluate your team and see where you stand. If you've been mostly at the top without any new catastrophic injuries, you can still be on the conservative side but if you’re barely hanging on, the purse strings should be opened a bit more.

Remember that bye weeks are temporary so do your best to solve issues in the most inexpensive way possible rather than blow your whole FAAB on the biggest name out there, unless you truly need them.

Before I get into Week 5, 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!

There were some pretty solid fantasy assets chopped this week across guillotine leagues with some nice bargain names to add as well if needed.

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

Quarterbacks

There were just five QBs among the top 50 players chopped in Week 4.

Josh Allen was the most chopped QB at a 17.6% rate after a brutal 7.3 fantasy point outing. He may still be figuring out his new WR room but also faced a brutal pass rush in the Ravens in Week 4. The Bills have two more consecutive road games on tap, one against the Jets, so it could be a tough stretch for Allen. Someone will likely pay too much for the seventh-year QB but the right bid is around 10%.

In what was supposed to be a banner week for Kyler Murray, he put up 10.0 fantasy points and got chopped at a 12.1% rate. He was held to just three rushing yards after averaging 53.7 over the first three weeks. Murray gets the 49ers this week which isn’t ideal but also isn't the worst matchup as they sit 17th in schedule-adjusted fantasy points per game to the enemy QBs. If you need a QB, he’s worth the add at around 5% of your FAAB.

Patrick Mahomes got axed in 10.8% of leagues last week and is without his WR1 for now and maybe for longer than that. But Mahomes finds a way to get things done and score the points he needs. The Chiefs get New Orleans who have been stout against opposing QBs thus far and then are on a bye in Week 6 so bid accordingly. A league mate will likely overpay so you probably won't get him for the 7-8% he’s worth.

Standard Waiver QBs

• Andy Dalton (60.1% available) less than 1%

Running Backs

Within the Top 50 most chopped players, 18 of them were RBs in Week 4.

Breece Hall was the choppiest of all chopped RBs, axed in 18.6% of leagues last week. I’d think twice before backing up the truck for him though, as he has a tough game in London this week against the Vikings, then has to come back across the pond to face Buffalo, then Pittsburgh. He’s still getting plenty of volume and is worth going after, but don't invest more than 12%.

There has been plenty of volume for De'Von Achane who is averaging 18.3 opportunities per tilt and he’s the RB12 in PPR points per game as a result. Raheem Mostert should be back at some point soon plus the Dolphins have a Week 6 bye. With that in mind, the sophomore is worth a 4-5% bid but will most likely go for more this week.

Last week was a tough one for James Cook who was held to just 5.8 PPR points by the Ravens defense. His next three contests aren’t the softest as he faces the Texans, Jets, and Titans who sit 9th, 8th, and 15th, respectively in schedule-adjusted fantasy points or aFPA to opposing RBs in 2024. Cook is still a viable option moving forward is is worth a FAAB bid of 12-15%.

Devin Singletary is currently the RB26 in PPR points on a per-game basis and is coming off a bad performance against a fairly porous Dallas run defense. His next three contests are fairly neutral and he’s just boring enough to possibly get at a discounted price. Throw 5-6% at Singletary and see if that’s enough.

Standard Waiver RBs

• Ty Chandler (35.0% available) 1%
• Tyler Allgeier (39.4% available) 1%
• Tank Bigsby (55.9% available) less than 1%
• Trey Sermon (78.7% available) 1-2%

Wide Receivers

Twenty-one WRs were among the 50 most chopped players after the Week 4 games finished, which is up from 18 last week.

As of this writing, there is still no official word on the status of Rashee Rice but it’s likely not positive. He’s definitely out for this week and could be sidelined for the rest of the season. He was the most chopped payer of all in Week 4 at 19.4%.

We’ve seen two straight dud performances from Zay Flowers courtesy of Derrick Henry’s dominance limiting the passing game for the Ravens. This week and next he faces two soft defenses in Washington and the Bengals, who rank 24th or lower in both WR and RB aFPA, so this pattern may continue. A bid of 2-3% seems appropriate.

DeVonta Smith was the third most chopped wideout but also comes with some risk. His return from concussion is still TBD and the Eagles are off this week, so bid accordingly. A league mate may decide he’s worth more but stick to 5% or lower.

Rome Odunze is a tough one to rely on in this format. His QB has been highly inconsistent, plus take into consideration the Bears are resting in Week 6. If you need the WR help and believe in this offense, throw a buck or two his way.

The rest of the chopped WRs all have their warts, from bad QB play to injuries. Hopefully, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle can get back on track with either an improved connection with Tyler Huntley as he gets acclimated or the return of Tua Tagovailoa in Week 8 if it happens. Amari Copper and Chris Godwin are in nice spots and guys to go after for about 5-7% of your remaining FAAB.

Standard Waiver WRs

• Xavier Legette (41.9% available) 3-4%
• Jalen Tolbert (46.4% available) 2-3%
• Josh Downs (49.1% available) 2-3%
• Trey Tucker (51.1%% available) less than 1%
• Dontayvion Wicks (62.2% available) 3-4%
• Jordan Whittington (81.8% available) 1%

Tight Ends

There were six TEs among the 50 most chopped players last week. I’m surprised it wasn’t more, to be honest.

Oh, Kyle Pitts. If you still believe that he’s the generational talent he was touted as a few years back then by all means throw a bid his way. But please, make it a very small one.

Trey McBride is making his way back from the concussion protocol and doesn’t have his bye until Week 11. With TE such a wasteland, he’s worth 3-4% of your FAAB.

Brock Bowers was chopped at a 10% rate and has been one of the most consistent TEs so far in 2024. He’s TE2 in total targets and TE3 in PPR points through the first four weeks If you’re in need as most managers are, he’s worth 4-5%.

Standard Waiver TEs

• Tucker Kraft (78.1% availability) 2%
• Cade Otton (67.1% availability) 1%

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