Most common players on eliminated teams from Week 2 in Yahoo Fantasy guillotine-style leagues — plus FAB waiver wire advice
Two weeks are in the books, which means two managers in your Yahoo Fantasy guillotine-style leagues presented by Liquid Death are no longer around. It’s a wicked game, isn’t it? Of course, it’s wickedly fun when you’re on the good side of things.
Every week I’ll examine the most common NFL players on those cut teams and try to figure out where the puck is headed. I will also offer some FAB advice ($1,000 cap is the Yahoo default), but please remember this area is highly context-sensitive and manager-specific.
Waiver strategy in guillotine-style leagues
If you’re new to this format, it’s critical to understand that waiver strategy is significantly different in the world of guillotine-style leagues.
You can often win a traditional fantasy league with modest help from the waiver wire, maybe a timely pickup or two. Sure, it’s great if you crush the market and land the right guys and the best managers will always aim to be smart on the wire, but if your drafted team stays healthy and runs pure, some years that might be enough.
Immediate needs vs. playing the long game
In guillotine-style leagues, the eventual winning manager will have assembled a MONSTER team at the end of the year, a juggernaut, a Pro Bowl-type of roster. And the way you build that beast is usually by having resources all season — by not blowing the majority of your FAB on a tantalizing early star. It’s pivotal that you understand that the waiver wire gets stronger and stronger most every week in guillotine-style leagues, because the eliminated manager is coming from a smaller and smaller league size every week.
Unless you have a draft touched by the fantasy angels, you are unlikely to win a guillotine-style league without a successful and careful waiver-wire strategy.
My guillotine-style strategy is centered on the concept that I like my squad early in the year and I am confident I can beat at least one team per week while the field of opponents is large. Therefore, while I will dip my toes into the FAB market in the first quarter of the season, my primary goal is to keep major reserves in play for later in the year, when bye weeks hit and injuries are more prevalent — and the pool of opponents is smaller (so advancing is harder, in theory). Again, I urge you to remember: the waiver wire in guillotine-style gets stronger as the year gets deeper, a key reason to be judicious with your resources.
Not everyone will share my strategy, of course. If you want to chase major improvements and use the bulk of your FAB to load up quickly, then shoot your shot. Play the strategy you’re comfortable with. Just understand that my recommendations are predicated on being careful early, and if you prefer something more aggressive, you’ll have to jump the numbers up. You know your room better than an outsider does.
Understanding FAB recommendations
Going forward I will offer weekly FAB recommendations in three buckets:
Proactive: This means you highly covet this player, perhaps might even *need* this player. I realize these bids might not win if someone in your league is lighting money on fire, but as described above, that's often a short-sighted mistake in this format.
Reactive: This means you desire the player but the cost has to make sense for your short- or long-term strategy.
Keep Them Honest: This is a bid that is not designed to win, but might surprisingly land a player if your opponents are distracted by other talent available or unexpectedly passive that week. I often compare notes with other experienced guillotine-style players and we’re surprised at how often the Keep Them Honest bids actually win (this is also a portable strategy for regular season-long leagues; you never know when strange market behavior will come about).
Also, understand that the FAB recommendations are with the assumption that you won’t be making offers for every available player.
10 most common players on eliminated teams
1. Derrick Henry, RB, Ravens (23% of eliminated teams)
Henry doesn’t have many off games, but he was bottled up by the underrated Cleveland defense in Week 2. He was only outside the top 25 in two different weeks last season.
FAB Recommendation:
$300 proactive
$150-200 reactive
$100 keep them honest
2. Justin Fields, QB, Jets (18%)
After a smashing Week 1, Fields was ineffective against Buffalo, then suffered a late-game concussion. In this format we need to be unemotional about injured players, which means Fields is not someone to proactively target this week, even with his rushing upside. He’s no sure-thing to play in Week 3.
FAB Recommendation:
$25 proactive (risky with his health status)
$10-15 reactive
$1-5 keep them honest
3. Drake London, WR, Falcons (16%)
London was peppered with targets in Week 1, then was mostly unneeded in a front-running win at Minnesota. That latter game script could repeat against Carolina this week, and Atlanta also has a Week 5 bye. But London still remains a solid foundational receiver.
FAB Recommendation:
$125-150 proactive
$80-100 reactive
$50 keep them honest
4. Joe Burrow, QB, Bengals (16%)
It’s always a sad day when the coolest guy in the NFL suffers a major injury. The Bengals have to regret not building a better offensive line to protect Burrow, and now he’s out for at least three months. Jake Browning isn’t a star, but he’s a credible backup, someone who might be worth a depth add given the talented skill players here.
FAB Recommendation for Browning:
$15 proactive
$7-10 reactive
$2-3 keep them honest
5. Ashton Jeanty, RB, Raiders (15%)
The rookie RB class is still stuck in the mud — no one in this group has cleared 100 rushing yards for the season. Jeanty can at least hang his hat on 30 carries so far, but it’s disappointing to see him at three receiving yards.
FAB Recommendation:
$120 proactive
$55-75 reactive
$30-40 keep them honest
6. Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Cardinals (14%)
The Cardinals have yet to fully unlock him — Harrison averages fewer than seven targets for his brief career, and Kyler Murray isn’t a kingmaker at quarterback. I'd take Harrison on my team, but I'm not going to throw elbows to make sure I win the FAB battle.
FAB recommendation:
$85 proactive
$45-55 reactive
$25 keep them honest
7. Brian Thomas Jr., WR, Jaguars (13%)
It was surprising to see him struggle with drops, though a wrist issue might be at work. We do love seeing 19 targets through two weeks, and I’m generally bullish on Thomas.
FAB recommendation:
$75-100 proactive
$45-55 reactive
$30 keep them honest
8. A.J. Brown, WR, Eagles (13%)
He’s a repeat name from last week, as the Eagles continue to run the ball into the ground. Perhaps a shootout is coming against the Rams this week or versus the Buccaneers next week, but this passing game might always have a capped upside. My Brown FAB recommendation last week was admittedly too high.
FAB Recommendation:
$75-85 proactive
$45-50 reactive
$20 keep them honest
9. Josh Allen, QB, Bills (13%)
The Jets didn’t fight back last week and that allowed Allen to essentially get the afternoon off. This happens from time-to-time — he did slip outside the top 20 among quarterbacks in three weeks last year, his glorious MVP season. He's still fantasy royalty in most weeks.
FAB recommendation:
$200-250 proactive
$130 reactive
$65 keep them honest
10. Aaron Jones Sr., RB, Vikings (13%)
Jordan Mason continues to run well and now Jones has a hamstring injury, perhaps keeping him out of Week 3. The Vikings will also be without QB J.J. McCarthy for multiple games.
FAB recommendation for Jones:
$20 proactive,
$10 reactive,
$1-2 keep them honest;
FAB recommendation if Mason is available:
$45 proactive
$20 reactive
$5-7 keep them honest