Reviewing a 2026 Guilloteenie Draft From The 1.01 Position
Matt Lamarca breaks down how he approached his most recent Guilloteenie draft on Guillotine Leagues™ from the 1.01 draft slot.
We are in the heart of playoff fantasy draft season. We have a host of different strategy articles for Guillotine Leagues™️ currently available on the site, including my guide on how to best tackle the Guilloteenie format.
I recently completed my first Guilloteenie draft, so let’s review one potential example you could put together. I was fortunate enough to draft from the No. 1 spot, so I started things out by going chalk:
Guilloteenie Draft Review From The 1.01
1.01—LAR WR Puka Nacua
It doesn’t matter what postseason fantasy content you’ve consumed recently; they’ve all likely recommended Nacua as the slam-dunk No. 1 overall pick. He checks every box that you’re looking for in the playoffs. He’s going to be active in the Wild Card Round, but his team is still one of the favorites to advance to the Super Bowl. They have the second-best Super Bowl odds overall, trailing only the Seahawks, and they’re massive favorites to advance out of the first round. They’re listed as 10.5-point road favorites vs. the Panthers, and their 28.5-point implied team total ranks first on the slate.
Then there’s the fact that Nacua is really freaking good at football. No receiver could touch him for fantasy purposes this season. He averaged 23.4 PPR points per game, which led all receivers by more than two points. Jaxon Smith-Njigba was the only other receiver within 3.8 fantasy points of him, and he’s not playing in the first round. Nacua compiled an elite workload while playing for one of the best passing attacks in the league, and he finished as a top-6 scorer at the position in 10 of his 16 outings.
There is simply no reason to shy away from Nacua if you’re lucky enough to land the No. 1 overall pick.
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2.05—NE RB TreVeyon Henderson
One of my biggest takeaways from this draft is how quickly the RB position dries up. In between my first two selections, five running backs came off the board: Christian McCaffrey, James Cook, Saquon Barkley, Kyren Williams and Travis Etienne. All of those guys feel at least a tier higher than Henderson, so this wasn’t a pick I was thrilled to make.
Still, he was the running back I felt most confident could give me multiple games of decent production that was still on the board. Remember, in this format, you don’t necessarily need to draft players who go on deep playoff runs. If you draft a player who loses in the Wild Card Round, you can look to replace them on the waiver wire before the Divisional Round.
That said, I still put a premium on drafting guys whom I think will be alive in the later rounds with my early picks. It puts less pressure on me to fill those spots on the waiver wire, and it gives me an edge over the competition. If all my early picks have survived into the Divisional Round while my opponent’s early-round selections were eliminated, it’s going to be much easier for me to survive Round 2.
Henderson is also no slouch. His workload isn’t ideal for a second-round selection, but he still put together some solid performances down the stretch. He had at least 17.3 PPR points in two of his past four contests, and he had double-digit fantasy points in seven of his final nine regular-season games.
There’s always a chance that the Patriots could lean a little heavier on their talented rookie in the postseason. I’m not necessarily counting on that, but it’s a tempting prospect for someone who has the potential to turn any touch into a long touchdown.
3.01—HOU WR Nico Collins
I really wanted to pair Henderson with a second running back, but I couldn’t pull the trigger on one of the remaining guys. Josh Jacobs looked like a shell of himself down the stretch, and his team is an underdog in Round 1. Omarion Hampton is also dealing with an injury, while D'Andre Swift felt like a reach.
Instead, I pivoted to Collins, who is one of the best receivers who will suit up in the Wild Card round. He didn’t end the year on a high note, but he did post a 25% target share and 37% air yards share for the year. Those aren’t quite alpha figures, but they’re pretty darn good.
Collins should be able to give me solid production in Round 1 vs. the Steelers, who have allowed the seventh-most PPR points per game to opposing receivers. The Texans are also moderate favorites (-2.5) to advance to next weekend, so I’ll hopefully get multiple games out of Collins. The Texans have won a playoff game in each of the past two seasons, and this is arguably the best team they’ve put together.
4.05—PIT RB Kenneth Gainwell
Gainwell rounds out my running back corps, and he is not someone I expect to have for multiple rounds. The Steelers will likely be a one-and-done in the postseason, and frankly, it’s a borderline miracle that they made it this far.
That said, Gainwell should be an undervalued fantasy producer for as long as he’s around. He has quietly been one of the Steelers’ most targeted pass catchers this season. His 16% target share for the year ranks fifth at the position, trailing only some of the best running backs in all of fantasy (Christian McCaffrey, Bijan Robinson, De'Von Achane and Jahmyr Gibbs). Gainwell has seen a 19% target share from Week 11 on, and he’s had at least 7 targets in four of his past five games.
Hopefully, Gainwell gets me enough production against the Texans to help me survive the first chop. As long as that happens, I will aggressively pursue guys like RJ Harvey, Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet on the waiver wire to potentially fill his role.
5.01—NEP WR Stefon Diggs
Since I already secured Henderson, I wanted to double down on my Patriots’ exposure. Stacking in the Guilloteenie format is a bit of a controversial topic. Going with multiple players in the same offense undoubtedly decreases your lineup’s floor. If the Patriots bust in Week 1 vs. the Chargers, it’s possible that my lineup is getting chopped.
Still, there is also value in hoarding good players on teams you think can make a deep run. If the Patriots make it to the Super Bowl (and my team stays alive), I will already have Henderson and Diggs on my roster. That means I won’t have to spend on those guys in free agency while also preventing my opponent from having the opportunity to get them. While stacking may lower your Wild Card floor, I think it raises your ceiling for winning the whole thing. That’s the whole point of playing, so that’s a tradeoff I don’t mind making.
Diggs has been a part-time player for most of the season, with the Patriots limiting his snaps after suffering an ACL injury in 2024. However, they are going to need him if they have hopes of contending for the Super Bowl. He’s their most talented pass catcher, and they haven’t been shy about leaning on him in certain games this season.
6.05—BUF TE Dalton Kincaid
Tight end might not be a true dumpster fire, but it’s pretty darn close. If you’re not going to grab George Kittle early, putting the position off for as long as possible makes a ton of sense. I don’t see a ton of difference between guys like Colston Loveland, Dallas Goedert and Dalton Kincaid, who I ultimately snagged with the last pick of the sixth round.
Kincaid dealt with injuries over the second half of the year, but don’t forget how good he was over the first half. He was third at the position in PPR points per game over the first five weeks before getting injured.
The path to the Super Bowl has never been as open for Josh Allen and the Bills as it is right now. There is no Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson nor Joe Burrow in their way. Instead, they’ll have to navigate a field of teams with relatively inexperienced quarterbacks. If this is the year that Allen gets the monkey off his back, he’s going to need Kincaid to carry his weight.
7.01—CAR WR Tetairoa McMillan
Like Gainwell, Tetairoa McMillan is another player that I’m only expecting to get one week out of. That said, he felt too talented to pass up at this point in the draft. Luther Burden, Rome Odunze and Ladd McConkey were the three receivers who came off the board immediately after, and McMillan feels like the best option of the bunch for the Wild Card round.
The Panthers are massive home underdogs, which should put them in a pass-heavy game script vs. the Rams. That could pay dividends. The Rams allowed the 10th-most fantasy points per game to opposing receivers, and McMillan is the team’s clear No. 1 pass catcher. He posted a 26% target share and 45% air yards share for the year, so he should hopefully help me advance to Round 2. As long as he can do that, I don’t mind replacing him next week.
8.05 – LAR QB Matthew Stafford
This last one was pretty simple. There were five QBs that I liked most heading into this draft: Allen, Trevor Lawrence, Drake Maye, Jalen Hurts and Matthew Stafford. Since I had the last pick, I was just going to scoop whichever one fell. Remember, there is no bench in this format, so there will only be five quarterbacks drafted. You don’t have to worry about being “blocked” by another drafter.
The fact that I got to pair Nacua with his quarterback just felt like the cherry on top. He was tied for third at the position in fantasy points per game this season, and almost all of his production comes from his right arm. Hopefully, he and Nacua can put together a big postseason together.
Guilloteenie Draft Takeaways
When In Doubt, Go RB
I was ultimately pretty happy with how this team turned out. That said, if there’s a glaring weakness, it’s running back. Henderson and Gainwell are definitely a below-average pairing.
If you’re not drafting first overall (and picking Nacua), going with a stud RB in the first round is the way to go. I would also strongly consider doubling down on the position in the second round. It’s a strategy I’m going to look to employ in the rest of my drafts. Receiver has far more depth, so building a backfield around two studs before hammering pass catchers is my preferred build at the moment.
The JSN Dilemma
I have to give credit to Brian Johnson for this strategy, but I cannot deny its brilliance. I’ve talked about how to approach injured guys like Hampton and Odunze in previous articles, mentioning that you can draft them and drop them if they end up not playing. What I failed to realize was that the same applies to Jaxon Smith-Njigba! If you do decide to roll the dice on him and end up in a big hole after Saturday’s games, you can simply send him to the waiver wire and pick up a replacement.
Is it ideal to draft a player and then immediately drop him? Of course not. But you don’t have to do it. If your lineup is in good shape after the first wave of games, you can eat the zero and have JSN ready to go in the Divisional Round. If things aren’t looking good, then you can pull the ripcord.
Think of it like a “break glass in case of emergency” situation. Realizing I have that option makes me much more likely to select Smith-Njigba in the draft.
Parker Washington Is Going to Cost You
Washington was one of “my guys” heading into this draft, and I fully believed he’d be my final flex selection at 6.05 or 7.01. Unfortunately, Matt Swing ended that dream when he took him at 5.03.
It seems as though Washington isn’t going to be nearly as free as I posited in my Guilloteenie preview. I’m still very in on him, but you’re going to have to use a real pick to make sure he ends up on your roster.
Knowing what I know now, it’s possible I would’ve taken him over Diggs at 5.01. I’m not entirely sure that I would’ve made that decision, but I would’ve at least thought about it. It’s something I’ll keep in mind for future drafts.
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