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Fantasy Football Guillotine Leagues: How to Play, Best Strategy, Prime Draft Picks

By Thomas Carelli Sports Illustrated

What is a Guillotine League? The name is interesting, and while it implies danger (that there is), the league format can be a lot of fun. How fun? Well, that depends on how you perform.

A Guillotine League is a format in which you play fantasy football with no head-to-head matchups. The name is exactly what the league is. The worst-scoring team each week will be "cut off" from the league. As the weeks go on, the league thins out with the last man standing reigning as king above all.

So, at the end of each Monday, you must have more points than the worst team. You can set your roster, make waiver wire additions, trades, and do waiver-wire this and that. The goal is simple: do not be the worst.

What is the Guillotine League Strategy?

Fantasy football is a game where participants often chase the glorious term we title, "upside." Managers go for risk versus reward and will take shots on players that can rise in the best-case scenarios.

The best "upside" examples in 2026? Cam Ward, Jonathan Brooks, Michael Wilson... They are all viable options. However, they also have considerable risk. While each of those players can stand tall come playoff time, they can also have fallen off the planet and net zero returns. That is absolutely not the strategy in a Guillotine League.

Points are of paramount importance. You must be okay with settling for a running back that will secure you, say, 10 points, but almost certainly gets you no less than, say, 7 points. We err on the side of safety rather than trying for the boom-or-bust gold star.

We are not trying to beat the best team in our league. We are beating the worst. How is that done? Avoid goose-egg "zeros." Avoid injury risk. Avoid depth chart risk. Avoid all those things. Take your wide receiver two or starting tight end on a mediocre team and accept average. When the league boils down to the end, then strategy can become more risk-averse. That is a conversation to be had among the best when that time comes, if it does.

Most leagues will want to have about 16 teams in total. As one team is axed at the end of each week, 16 teams allow the league to go 15 weeks deep in the 18-week NFL season. That even more so proves the safety strategy. In a deeper league, the worst team will be worse than those found in a 10-or 12-team league.

The play a Guillotine League, setup your league on GuillotineLeagues.com.

Here are some prime examples of "safe" fantasy football players picks in 2026.

QB, Bo Nix

Nix may lack a QB1-level ceiling. The Broncos are a mid-level offense striving for top-10 status but unlikely to reach top-5 status. Nix will deliver 200-230 yards in most games with 20-30 rushing yards. He is quality in a trustworthy Sean Payton offense.

RB, Javonte Williams

Williams is the untested Cowboys RB1. As long as he is healthy, Williams will play to a normal and consistent workload. The Cowboys are pass-heavy, limiting Williams' ceiling, but he has nothing that threatens his playing time.

WR, Michael Pittman Jr.

Who knows how good the Steelers offense might be? They have a new coaching staff, with Aaron Rodgers again. While that may imply risk, it does not imply any risk for Pittman Jr. The Steelers signed him to contest with DK Metcalf for the WR1 job. Pittman Jr. is untested in his role and will start in a route tree that commands moderate targets. Even if the Steelers don't play, Pittman Jr. will get his share.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/onsi/fantasy as Fantasy Football Guillotine Leagues: How to Play, Best Strategy, Prime Draft Picks.

Copyright ABG-SI LLC. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published June 19, 2026 at 12:23 PM.

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