5 Burning Questions Answered: Nico Collins, Saving FAAB Money and More

Over the early part of this week, we got a lot of questions about Guilloteenie strategy. A LOT. On our SiriusXM show, in DMs, random people on the street. 

So we wanted to put our most popular together in case you were pondering the same things... 

I would strongly suggest also checking out Jake Nagy's FAAB bidding column for the Divisional Round. It goes more in-depth on strategy and detail. 

5 Burning Guillloteenie Strategy Questions

1. How much should I spend on elite players like Jaxon Smith-Njigba or Puka Nacua?

The short answer? There is no answer. 

For more nuance: A lot. Or a little. Look, the playoffs are weird and this isn't your typical postseason OR Guillotine League. It's a limited window with a pool of use-able players that gets essentially cut in half every week. And not to get wishy-washy here, but every league is going to be different — obviously double-chop leagues will have more teams scrambling for top-tier talent, but even the "regular" Guilloteenies with four teams left now could have a wide range of rosters — some Eagles-heavy teams with George Kittle and Nico Collins could find themselves decimated...and there may not be enough starters to fill a roster with six holes, especially with everyone throwing money at the remaining studs.

SO ALL THAT BEING SAID — go for it. You just need to get to next week. Fill out your roster with favorites and calculated risks. If you bid $701 on JSN and he gets bounced after this week but you advance? Worry about it then. 

If, however, you find yourself with a full-ish team that scored the most points and over 65% of your roster advanced, save your money. Still bid on the players you want, just in case prices are muted. But you might get Eagles-ed this week and will need to re-load against three teams and half the players again. 

Know your situation, act accordingly. 

2. Should I risk picking up Nico Collins?

Yes. The key here is the waiver schedule. You can pick up Collins on Wednesday and if things go completely south, you replace him on the Saturday waiver run. There are enough people avoiding him where his price will be very low, and while the risk is high, it's worth it. There are not a lot of great players left here, people. Treat Collins like the last player you need (aka your second FLEX, really) with the understanding that whoever you may eventually replace him with won't be a high-end gem on the wire. But hopefully enough to get you to the next round. 

3. How much money should I save for Guilloteenies? Can I just blow all my money this week and still win?

I refer you to Q1. But I would hold until next week. Guilloteenies are like snowflakes: they are cold, beautiful, and melt on your tongue. No wait. They are all very different. 

In the regular season every healthy player is still out there. As teams are chopped, remaining GL rosters just accrue more talent and eventually it's a battle royal of all-stars. Postseason Guilloteenies aren't like that — NFL teams are eliminated and players are erased. So as you move along with fewer teams, the available players also dwindle. And even the RB who got you to the next week with 22 points may have been handed an L in real life and needs to be replaced. 

So that all being said, next week you're looking at three teams going after four NFL rosters worth of assets. This week is four teams going after eight NFL teams. Next week is when you'll need your money. 

BRIEF INTERMISSION: You may not know this but we have a show dedicated to Guillotine Leagues. You will not get better advice anywhere. Here included. Seriously. If you really want to get crafty, check out CHOP: A Guillotines League Podcast, where Brian and Freedman discussed a lot of these topics. 

4. What does a minimum bid look like with only four teams left?

Every team is going to need some degree of reinforcing, so don't expect to get any non-QBs for $0 (but you can 100% get a QB for $0). I think a healthy bid for a time-share RB or 6-target WR would be about $120. To win that player. It depends on need and panic-mode, too. You could bid $47 and maybe everyone was just off him and you get him. Maybe everyone is spending because rosters are so decimated and he's $250. It's going to be nearly impossible to figure out bidding tendencies until it's too late. It's like giving a little kid a bunch of building blocks and trying to determine what words will come out of the randomness. Try your best to win the players you need and then just hope all their teams advance. 

5. What's the QB hierarchy look like after Wild Card Weekend?

I'm going to refer you to our rankings, compiled by the great Mr. Nagy. But I will say this — I think people are sleeping on Bo Nix against the Bills. He has some giant fantasy upside.