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Most common players on eliminated teams from Week 1 in Yahoo Fantasy guillotine-style leagues — plus FAB waiver wire advice

Week 1 is in the books, which means one manager in your Yahoo Fantasy guillotine-style leagues presented by Liquid Death is 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.

[There's still time to join or create a Yahoo Fantasy guillotine-style football league]

Waiver strategy in guillotine leagues

My guillotine 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). And remember: The waiver wire in guillotine gets stronger as the year gets deeper, which is another 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, that’s a fair path, too. Play the shot 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.

Also, understand that the FAB recommendations are with the assumption that you won’t offer for every available player.

10 most common players on eliminated teams

Philadelphia Eagles

WR A.J. Brown, on 24% of eliminated teams

WR DeVonta Smith, 14%

It’s the fourth offensive coordinator in four years for the Eagles, the tax of being a good offense and a winning team; other organizations raid your coaching staff. Give new OC Kevin Patullo some time to get comfortable with the play sheet (it’s his fifth year in the building), and also appreciate how quirky the Thursday opener between Dallas and Philadelphia really was — the one-hour weather delay in the second half seemed to stagnate both offenses. Brown and Smith were tasked with little, but it’s a fluke.

FAB Recommendation: $120-150 for Brown, $80-100 for Smith.

QB Dak Prescott, Cowboys, on 23% of eliminated teams

I still see plenty of carnival potential with the 2025 Cowboys — I like the passing game, I don’t trust the running game (Javonte Williams was mostly touchdown deodorant last week) and I really don’t trust the defense. CeeDee Lamb left a lot of yards on the field last week. That’s not going to happen very often. George Pickens can be maddening at times with his inconsistent effort and focus, but he’s still a formidable talent.

FAB Recommendation: $50-70 if you don’t like your QB room, a little less if you do.

Cincinnati Bengals

QB Joe Burrow, on 17% of eliminated teams

WR Ja’Marr Chase, 20%

WR Tee Higgins, 16%

Somehow, the Bengals had just seven yards in the second half at Cleveland and still escaped with a win. Browns are gonna Brown, I guess. We’ve seen slow starts from Cincinnati before — a mediocre Patriots team upset them in Week 1 last year, and the Browns held Cincinnati to just three points in 2023. It’s okay if you don’t trust head coach Zac Taylor — I really don’t either. But I trust Burrow and his receivers to figure things out. (Never take the Bengals as a September survivor pick ever again.)

FAB recommendation: $300 for Chase, $100-120 for Higgins, $100-120 on Burrow if you’re QB needy, less if you are not.

QB Bo Nix, Broncos, on 18% of eliminated teams

Nix played poorly in the opener and tried to give the game away, but the Titans showed little interest in accepting the gift. To be fair, it’s possible the Tennessee defense might be better than initially credited. But after watching Nix play so well in the second half of 2024, it was frustrating to see him make so many poor decisions and loose throws on Sunday. Denver’s defense is first-rate, which means the Broncos will rarely play in pinball games.

FAB recommendation: $10-$30

WR Nico Collins, Texans, on 17% of eliminated teams

The 3-25-0 line was bad enough, but it was especially shocking to see Collins garner just five targets despite the Texans chasing the game for three hours. The good news is that Houston lost and will surely understand the need to fix what’s broken. And maybe the likely return of slot receiver Christian Kirk will help the Texans sustain offense against a beatable Tampa Bay defense on Monday night.

FAB recommendation: $150-200

RB Kenneth Walker III, Seahawks, on 13% of eliminated teams

No way to sugar coat this, Zach Charbonnet was better in the opener — and he also saw nine more snaps than Walker. Both backs are going to play, but you get the feeling the new offensive braintrust views this as a hot-hand situation at minimum, and perhaps an open job competition. The sizable ADP gap between Walker and Charbonnet all summer never made any sense.

FAB recommendation: $70-100 if you believe in Walker, less if you don’t.

RB Isiah Pacheco, Chiefs, on 13% of eliminated teams

We’d like to think Pacheco is fully healed from last year’s early-season fibula injury, but the Chiefs soft-pedaled him in the opener, giving him just eight opportunities and playing him on about half of the snaps. But Andy Reid is no fool — he recognizes Pacheco is four years younger than Kareem Hunt and surely offers a lot more upside. Try to be patient with this one.

FAB recommendation: $30-60, a little more if your RB room is a mess.

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