Sports

We've got 11 weeks are in the books, which means 11 managers in your Yahoo Fantasy Guillotine 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.

If you’re still reading our weekly Guillotine League missive, congratulations. You’re still alive. You made it to the middle of November.

Now is when the game gets really interesting.

I’ll run through the most commonly-cut players and some FAB advice, as usual, but the strategy becomes more and more context-dependent as we meander through the late stages of the season. And it’s critical that you audit the FAB budgets remaining for your competitors. It’s not unlike poker, where a good player is constantly reevaluating the chip dynamics of the table, who’s deep and who’s thin. Leverage is everything.

[Eliminated or looking for more fun? There's still time to join or create another Yahoo Fantasy Guillotine League]

The waiver wire will be especially rich every week onward, as the cut teams become stronger and stronger. It’s also more plausible to find useful players on the wire for nothing, players who would never be free agents in a casual league. Remember, your manager pool keeps shrinking in size.

You always audit every injury closely, but also pay keen attention to teams on bye. There are still eight NFL teams who have not hit their holiday yet. This has to be factored into your strategy.

Understanding FAB recommendations

Proactive: This means you highly covet this player, perhaps might even need this player. I realize these offers might not win if someone in your league is going all in, but as described above, that can be short-sighted in this format with how much talent is available each week.

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 an offer 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 League 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).

Finally, understand that the FAB recommendations are with the assumption that you won’t be making offers for every available player.

Week 11's top-10 players on eliminated teams

Again, the FAB buckets are an extremely loose guide. Play the hand you’re dealt, and consider what’s around you. You know your league dynamics better than an outsider ever could.

1. Josh Jacobs 32%

Injuries are a killer for any fantasy dream, and especially this late in the Guillotine League season when your opponents have superstar teams, too. With Jacobs uncertain to play for a while, we need to be tempered with our offers.

FAB Recommendation:

• $70 proactive

• $30 reactive

• $15 keep them honest

2. Justin Herbert 28%

The Jacksonville matchup was a good one on paper, but the crumbling Los Angeles offensive line couldn’t protect Herbert. It’s been a messy year at quarterback league-wide, hasn’t it?

FAB Recommendation:

• $40 proactive

• $18-20 reactive

• $5 keep them honest

3. Ashton Jeanty 27%

As fantasy managers gradually build superteams in Guillotine Leagues, players like Jeanty are no longer automatic starts. At least his receiving work has ticked up since the Las Vegas bye.

FAB Recommendation:

• $45 proactive

• $20 reactive

• $10 keep them honest

4. Amon-Ra St. Brown 27%

Forever a consistent asset, the Sun God was eclipsed by a nasty Philly defense and an ugly performance from Jared Goff. Take heart, Detroit fans, the team stays indoors for the next six weeks.

FAB Recommendation:

• $90 proactive

• $45 reactive

• $25 keep them honest

5. Jonathan Taylor 26%

The bye week is a fact of life for everyone. Taylor’s schedule gets harder over the next six weeks, but he’s proven he can post crooked numbers against anyone.

FAB Recommendation:

• $250 proactive

• $210 reactive

• $150 keep them honest

6. Lamar Jackson 25%

Cleveland’s defense is not to be messed with. But you’ll love the next four weeks on Baltimore’s schedule: Jets, Bengals, Steelers, Bengals again. Yahtzee.

FAB Recommendation:

• $80 proactive

• $40 reactive

• $20 keep them honest

7. Ja'Marr Chase 25%

He had his worst game in two months against a gettable Pittsburgh secondary, and now he’s looking at a possible one-game suspension (under appeal). I’m still going to place a proactive bid on him, if it’s available to me.

FAB Recommendation:

• $235 proactive

• $200 reactive

• $140 keep them honest

8. Ladd McConkey 21%

The Chargers don’t force the ball to any isolated target, and the offensive line injuries shipwrecked the entire offense at Jacksonville. McConkey is still in the weekly conservation for traditional leagues, but this late in the Guillotine League season, you need stronger starters.

FAB Recommendation:

• $30 proactive

• $10-12 reactive

• $2-4 keep them honest

9. Emeka Egbuka 21%

He’s been so reliable this year, it’s impressive to list 5-40-0 (on nine targets) as a bad game. Still, Egbuka has just one spike in five weeks and Tampa Bay’s usage tree is about to widen, with Bucky Irving and Chris Godwin closing in on returns.

FAB Recommendation:

• $50 proactive

• $20-22 reactive

• $5-8 keep them honest

10. Saquon Barkley 21%

Regression has hit Barkley hard in 2025, and he has just one finish inside the top 20 over his past five games. Dallas and Chicago look like fun matchups the next two weeks, but Barkley’s monstrous 2024 season feels like it was five years ago.

FAB Recommendation:

• $155 proactive

• $115 reactive

• $65 keep them honest

The fantasy football trade deadline is about to hit in Yahoo standard leagues. So it’s time for a review course in how to make a trade.

You’re always evaluating your team and your short-term and long-term needs, but now is a critical time to audit your entire league. Who’s fighting for a playoff spot? Who’s crushed by a Week 12 bye or recent injuries? Where are your opponents deep? Where are they shallow?

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There are probably three main reasons anyone makes a trade in fantasy football.

1. Desperation

Nothing intricate here. Find the teams in your league who aren’t in the playoffs at the moment, or the managers who were hit hardest by Week 11 injuries and news. They are your motivated trading partners. Also look at all those Week 12 and Week 14 bye teams (there are eight in total), and figure out which teams in your league will be hurt the most. You can look ahead at matchups and projected scores on the Yahoo platform, and you need that information before you get to the negotiating table.

2. Roster Shape

Remember trading baseball cards as a kid? You had two Derek Jeter cards, so you moved one for a Miguel Cabrera, stuff like that. Fantasy football works the same way. If you’re the receiver-loaded team who needs backfield help, find the manager who’s overloaded in the backfield but pinched at wide receiver. See if you can make that painless trade where both teams deal from strength.

3. A change

Retail therapy is a thing in modern society — sometimes the urge to buy something new on the Internet is overwhelming, looking for a quick emotional bump. Fantasy sports can work the same way. Sometimes it’s just nice to have a new player, a new thing to believe in. Try to figure out if someone in your pool might be itching to shake things up.

When I’m working the trade market this week, I’ll also send out cursory feelers to my best friends in any league, the people I respect, the most reasonable of opponents. Even if you don’t match up initially for a trade, it’s worth it to connect. Enjoy the discourse. And maybe you’ll stumble onto a trade by accident. (The one disclaimer to this rule: be careful if this person is Fred Zinkie. He’s the nicest, most reasonable guy in the world, but he’ll win the trade 95% of the time. Do not mess with him.)

Some of my roster shape themes change at this time of year. Late October or early November is a perfect time to start thinking about backfield insurance; I was shocked to see Emanuel Wilson rostered in so few of Yahoo leagues last week, the clear backup to Josh Jacobs. In the summer and early season, I want you to play for a big inning. In the latter stages of a fantasy season, your roster strategy becomes more narrow.

This is also a time of year where I might carry a look-ahead second defense. Every NFL week brings variance and unexpected results, but we also have a much better idea of what offenses and defenses we can exploit. Steer into that now.

Other tips for effective trade negotiation:

1. Agree on something

Your trade partner isn’t your opponent, he’s your friend. Try to find some common ground as you’re sorting through possibilities. If they tell you someone is untouchable, reflect on that player. Work collaboratively. A positive tone is almost always the best approach.

2. Get them to reveal rankings and player thoughts

Ask them to rank their backfield, or ask them to arrange your WR room. It doesn’t matter if you agree with these ranks, but it shows how they value the players. And if there’s a specific player you desperately want to acquire or trade away, try not to mention that player first. Let the name come up organically.

3. Do your diligence

The better the player you are shopping, the more critical it is that your entire league knows he’s in play. Get the word out, you’re open for business.

4. Take one last look at the fantasy schedule

Are you trading with a team that can hurt you in the next few weeks? Or perhaps you’ll be strengthening a team that could help you if they beat a different opponent. Remember, the enemy of your enemy is your friend.