Guillotine League Waiver Wire: Week 2 Pickups & FAAB Strategy

You survived your guillotine league in Week 1. Now the real game begins. Managing your FAAB (free agent acquisition budget) effectively is critical to long-term success.

The biggest mistake you can make is overspending on a big name early in the season. After a terrible Week 1, Ja'Marr Chase is available in 19 percent of NFFC Eliminator leagues. If you are new to this format, your instincts might tell you to spend half your budget on this player who is unanimously considered a top five fantasy player. DON'T. A move like that will help you survive now, but if you want to actually win the league, you shouldn't spend more than 10 percent of your budget on a single player this early unless you're truly desperate. For example, if you have some combination of A.J. Brown, Zay Flowers and Ladd McConkey, it may be worth an extra investment in a player like Chase.

In the nearly 10 years I've played in guillotine leagues, I've never been eliminated before Week 7, and I've been the last man standing several times, including two of three leagues last season. These are the two main strategic foundations I've built that success on:

1. FAAB is more valuable later in the season, so save early. If there are 17 teams alive in your league and everyone has $1,000 in FAAB, then there's $17,000 total available to be spent on waiver wire pickups. Your $1,000 is only 5.9 percent of the total budget available. 
   If you can make it to Week 6 without spending any FAAB and everyone else remaining has spent 20 percent of theirs, then you'll have 9.4 percent of the total budget available, while everyone else only has 7.5 percent each. That gives you leverage. And if you can hold onto most of your resources even longer, you'll be able to outbid your opponents for any player you want when it matters most.
    
2. Odds are in your favor for the first several weeks of the season. If all teams were "equal," and you have 17 teams remaining, then you'd have a 5.88 percent chance of being eliminated this week. Next week, you'd have a 6.25 percent chance, and the following week a 6.67 percent chance. How much do you think adding one player like Ja'Marr Chase actually increases your odds? Maybe move from 94.12 percent chance of advancing to 95 percent? At the cost of spending half your budget, like someone else in your league probably will?

Hear me out. I'm not saying to just coast along and hope to survive each week without spending at all. The goal should be to improve your roster a little bit each week, and when the opportunity presents itself, get a high impact player at a good value. That means I will be bidding on the Week 1 underperformers like James Cook, George Pickens, Colston Loveland and Chase, but realistically, my bids probably won't be high enough. More likely, I'll end up adding players like Tony Pollard, Caleb Douglas and Dalton Schultz, who can probably be upgrades in the flex position at bargain bin prices.

Even if you finished second-to-last in Week 1, it's not time to panic and overspend. If you're not last, you're first in knockout leagues. While everyone else is on a spending spree with the big names, target the next tiers of players who could either consistently start for you for the next few weeks or those streamers who add depth to the team and will get starts based on favorable matchups or short-term opportunities caused by injuries.

Now that we've laid out the strategy, let's talk about the specific players who are available heading into Week 2 and how to approach bidding. We'll focus on players available in at least 8 percent of NFFC Eliminator Championship leagues after teams got chopped.

Quarterback

Popular Pickup: Drake Maye, Patriots
Available in 21% of NFFC Eliminator leagues

I wrote in my "Worst Pick in Every Round" article that I like Maye this season, but not at his third-round price. In fact, I thought that a fourth-, fifth- or sixth-round price would be too high, compared to where other good quarterbacks were being drafted. 

On social media, some have labeled Maye with the not so flattering nickname of "The Schedule," based on how he turned a favorable schedule into an elite fantasy season in 2025, while struggling against tougher opponents. The next three weeks, the Patriots will face three more challenging playoff contenders: Pittsburgh, Jacksonville and Buffalo. With A.J. Brown (ankle) out for at least four weeks, consider Maye a high-end backup addition with an eye on Week 5 when the schedule eases up. FAAB Recommendation: 1 percent of budget

Bargain Bin: Carson Wentz, Vikings
Available in 100% of NFFC Eliminator leagues

If you need a good fill-in for just one week, Carson Wentz is a great value option. When Kyler Murray went down, Wentz stepped in and put up 26.55 fantasy points, 12th most at the position. I'm forecasting ahead that Murray will miss Week 2, and Wentz will reap the benefits of a favorable matchup against a Chicago team that just gave up 41.05 fantasy points to Carolina's Bryce Young. FAAB Recommendation: less than 1 percent of budget

For more resources to help you survive the chop, check out our new Elimination Odds, Rankings, and FAAB ROI Tools.

Running Back

Popular Pickup: James Cook, Bills
Available in 20% of NFFC Eliminator leagues

Week 1 was a statement game for Josh Allen, after he had a disastrous performance against Houston last season. I'm not worried about Cook's lack of production. He played 40 snaps compared to just 15 for the two other Bills running backs combined. And when he did get the ball, he averaged 4.4 yards per carry against what is widely regarded as the top defense in the league. With a favorable late-season schedule, Cook is one of the players you buy now and keep all season, if you can get him at the right price. FAAB Recommendation: 9 percent of budget

Bargain Bin: Tony Pollard, Titans
Available in 13% of NFFC Eliminator leagues

I know, I know. We all hate the Titans for fantasy, but Pollard has been an automatic 1,000-yard rusher with two or three receptions per game for four consecutive seasons. His usage in Week 1 was confusing, considering he averaged 5.0 yards on his seven carries, and the Titans kept the game within two scores until late in the third quarter. Because of the tough matchup in Week 2, you can probably add and stash him on your bench at a huge discount. FAAB Recommendation: less than 1 percent of budget

For up-to-the-minute updates on injuries, news and everything going on around the NFL, head to RotoWire's NFL Fantasy Football News Today or follow @RotoWireNFL on X.

Wide Receiver

Popular Pickup: Ja'Marr Chase, Bengals
Available in 19% of NFFC Eliminator leagues

Like Cook, Chase was not prioritized in his offense in Week 1, leading to an early appearance on the waiver wire. Unless you're in a really sharp league, somebody is going to spend more than half their FAAB on him. It's not worth it. Put in a "keep 'em honest bid," knowing that it probably won't be enough. Odds are you'll see him back on the wire sometime this season, and you'll be better positioned to pounce. FAAB Recommendation: 10 percent of budget

Bargain Bin: Caleb Douglas, Dolphins
Available in 9% of NFFC Eliminator leagues

Heading into this season, I was targeting Miami and Las Vegas wide receivers late in drafts based on my "They Have to Throw it to Somebody Theory." Unfortunately, I was late to identify Douglas as the Miami receiver to target. With five catches for 94 yards on seven targets, Douglas gave both volume and efficiency in his NFL debut. He won't be going for "free" anymore, but we're still talking about the Dolphins. There will still be a "bad team" discount, and he's a player who you could slot into a flex spot immediately. FAAB Recommendation: 2 percent of budget

Tight End

Popular Pickup: Colston Loveland, Bears
Available in 12% of NFFC Eliminator leagues

Loveland was regularly drafted as the third tight end off the board, only to finish with 0.0 PPR points in Week 1 while the rest of his team put up video game numbers. Despite the goose egg, his upside in the Bears offense is even more obvious, as Chicago looks like a team that will be in a lot of shootouts. Like Cook and Chase, target Loveland at the right price. Unlike Cook and Chase, we might need some more time to know for sure if he's a weekly must-start, so budget accordingly. FAAB Recommendation: 5 percent of budget

Bargain Bin: Dalton Schultz, Texans
Available in 9% of NFFC Eliminator leagues

I highlighted Schultz in my "3 TEs to Target, 3 TEs to Avoid" article this preseason as a player who is perfect to grab late in drafts and start for the first month of the season. Once Jayden Higgins (knee) went down, Schultz's stock shot up for me in deep leagues like guillotine leagues. He had eight targets for the Texans in Week 1, trailing only Nico Collins, and I expect more of the same. He's a safe floor play that should be nearly free. FAAB Recommendation: less than 1 percent of budget

Use RotoWire's Start/Sit tool to help decide who should be in your lineup. Our projections system runs 25,000 simulations to see who wins the most head-to-head battles in Week 2 to help you make an informed choice.

Kickers and DST

If your league uses kickers and/or team defense, don't spend more than 1 percent on any player or team. As Week 1 showed, even Brandon Aubrey and the Texans defense can have bad days, and these positions are easily replaceable. Minimal analysis needed here. We should be looking in the bargain bin for both positions.

Bargain Bin: Chase McLaughlin, Buccaneers
Available in 16% of NFFC Eliminator leagues

McLaughlin offers the right combination for a fantasy kicker: powerful, accurate leg on a good, not great offense. He ranks 10th among the position in fantasy points after Week 1, and he gets to play at home or in a dome for the next five weeks. FAAB Recommendation: less than 1 percent of budget

Bargain Bin: Kansas City Chiefs
Available in 29% of NFFC Eliminator leagues

I identified the Chiefs as one of the late-round defenses to target this preseason, and they went on to dominate the Broncos on Monday night. Their high availability tells me that they went undrafted in a lot of leagues. Upcoming matchups against the Colts, Dolphins and Raiders make the Chiefs one of the most attractive options in all of fantasy football. FAAB Recommendation: less than 1 percent of budget