CHOP: The Guillotine League Podcast: Recent Episodes
Paul Charchian
CHOP is the original guillotine league podcast, hosted by Paul Charchian, the fantasy football HOFer who popularized guillotine leagues. It provides advice for drafting, waiver wire, roster composition, and analyzes the big NFL stories from a guillotine perspective.
Special guest Scott Fish joins Brian and Charch for the final Chop podcast of the 2023 season. In the final week of unrestricted bidding on chopped players, we identify the players who are worth an "all in" waiver bid.
Depending on your home life, it might always (or never) be handcuffing season. But in the world of guillotine leagues, it's become time to roster the backups to your star runners.
Yams are disgusting and totally inappropriate to serve to family and friends at any time, particularly on a national holiday. Meanwhile, your guillotine team has survived 11 chops! You've got the anti-yam fantasy team! Congrats! Almost all of the top-10 most-chopped players have major concerns that you'll want to hear before bidding.
We're far enough into the guillotine season that it's time to change your focus with your bidding. Charch and Brian help you determine if players should be part of your "end game" roster planning.
We didn't think we'd be talking about Travis Kelce and Isiah Pacheco in consecutive shows, but here we are. We help you untangle the complicated bidding strategies for Chiefs players as they head into a bye week.
It's not often you can bid on Chiefs, but after Kansas City's shocking dud against Denver, you've probably got one (or more!) on the waiver wire! Charch and Brian offer bidding advice for Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes and Isiah Pacheco along with dozens of others.
You've been diligently hoarding your FAAB and finally it's time to pry open your wallet...at least a little. Some of fantasy football's biggest names are among the most-cut players and they'll cost you half as much as earlier in the year. Get advice from Brian and Charch in the most star-laden week of bidding so far this year.
Charch and Brian help you navigate the first bye week. Do you fill your roster holes by trying to land big name studs? Or do you try for a cheap one-week backup? Guidance for both strategies awaits!
Is $50 the right price for Justin Jefferson, knowing he's going to miss a month of service? Brian and Charch help unfurl the complicated situation surrounding the league's best wide receiver.
Kate Bush will be proud when you press the bidding on Tyreek Hill. But how much should you bid if you want to make a play for one of the league's most reliable fantasy producers? Guest co-host Scott Fish helps break down strategies for dozens of players.
With three weeks of data, you should know if you need to spend money or not. For those ready to crack their wallets, we've got guillotine league bidding advice for all levels of players.
Between injury and ineptitude, it's been a disastrous year for running backs. Brian and Charch help you figure out which backs are worth spending valuable FAAB.
Three notable Bengals players were among the most chopped players in the first week of guillotine action. Charch and Brian give specific advice for those players along with dozens of others. Plus they help with broad bidding advice that applies to every guillotine manager, no matter the roster.
Your guillotine league draft is over, but that doesn't mean you've got to stick with those players. Charch identifies a dozen potentially-undrafted players you'll want to pick up before Sunday's games kick off. Plus, he addresses the unfortunate turn of events for Travis Kelce with TE alternatives for those who already drafted him.
Charch and Scott Fish talk through the trickiest questions from all 14 rounds of a guillotine draft.
Charch welcomes in Colt Williams from Fantasy Index to talk through his recent guillotine draft, identifying his strategies and rationale behind the players he selected.
With 18 teams, you're always hunting for value in your guillotine league draft. Should you roll the dice on some injured players like Breece Hall, JK Dobbins and Rashod Bateman? Plus, Charch and Brian identify the right time to draft the unsigned veteran running backs.
Super Chop is the high stakes version of a guillotine league. Learn all the ways it's different and the differing strategies from a traditional guillotine league. Plus, a first round draft that illuminates key strategy differences.
In the guillotine format, avoiding landmines is even more important than unearthing sleepers. Charch and Brian highlight players who are particularly poorly suited for your guillotine league roster.
This might be the first time anyone has use the words "guillotine" and "reach a round" together, but it's a lot more welcoming than you may think! Charch and Brian identify players worthy of reaching one round early to take in your guillotine draft, from Rounds 2 through 11.
Guillotine league drafts are unlike any other. Brian and Charch break down the first 18 picks of a guillotine league draft to offer guidance for this unique format.
YES! It's finally chopping time! Charch and Brian bring you everything you need to get the 2023 season underway including proven guillotine league draft strategies.
With rosters locking this week, it's our final episode of CHOP for this year. Brian and Charch offer final advice for emptying for FAAB wallet so you can dominate the final weeks of the season.
Charch has Covid and Brian's mouth is filled with Novocain. Sure, we wanted to stay in bed and sip some tea, but we're here to help guide you through a critical late-season waiver cycle. They're not the sexiest voices you'll hear today, but they'll be the most helpful.
It was a historically bad weekend for some of the best fantasy players. It's hard to remember any week when so many elite players produced absolutely nothing. Fortunately, you're still alive and now those same players are coming up on the waiver wire. Charch and Brian help you figure out how much to bid and which players are worth an "all in" bid.
Aside from talking about how we're NOT talking about Jonathan Taylor, we're not talking about Jonathan Taylor. For once. Instead you get bidding strategies for a wide range of players including a deep discussion about what to do with Cooper Kupp.
Some of the NFL's best running backs just hit your waiver wire. Is it too soon to push all your chips in? Charch and Brian help you sort out whether you should make a season-defining move.
After a disastrous week for Las Vegas, many of you will have a crack at Derek Carr, Davante Adams, and/or Josh Jacobs. Charch and Brian provide bidding guidance for the Raiders and all the other big name chopees. Plus, at the end, you'll hear a pretty wild idea for a sabotage drop.
Thanks to four bye-week teams and a plethora of injuries, most likely, a very good team in your league just got chopped. Paul Charchian helps guide you through the bidding strategies for some of the biggest names in fantasy football.
It's only Week 7, but it's already the toughest bye week of the entire season. With the Bills, Rams, Vikings, and Eagles on vacation, fantasy owners are tested in a whole new way. Brian and Charch provide strategies for successful bye week bidding, both for superstars and one-week helpers.
The introduction of bye weeks kicks off Act 2 of the guillotine league season. Fantasy managers will be tested in new ways as backups become starters. Charch and Brian provide bidding advice for the upcoming bye weeks. Should you "sabotage drop" some big name fantasy players? Plus they break down the bidding strategies for the ten most-chopped players from last week.
It's a running back-heavy edition of CHOP as Charch and Brian provide bidding strategies for the many big-name runners who got cut last week. Plus they offer specific bidding advice for all the backup runners who are getting pressed into service. And Charch puts his biggest bid of the year on Mark Andrews.
In back-to-back weeks Justin Jefferson has been among the most-chopped players in guillotine leagues. Brian and Charch give you specific bidding advice for Jefferson, along with dozens of other players. Plus, if you're struggling at running back, you'll get a helpful reminder about your plight.
Week 2 was a bloodbath for some of the league's biggest names, like Jonathan Taylor, Justin Jefferson, Dalvin Cook, and Kyle Pitts. Charch and Brian provide specific bidding advice for the 10 most chopped players, plus broad bidding advice that fits whatever situation you find yourself in.
It's the first waiver wire run of 2022...and maybe your first guillotine waiver wire ever! Charch and Brian help you establish the right strategy for your bids, no matter how your team performed last week. You'll find bidding strategies for superstar players coming off bad season opening performances, like Alvin Kamara, Zeke, Kyle Pitts, and Aaron Rodgers.
The most ignominious way to lose in fantasy football is a Week 1 beheading in your guillotine league. Charch provides insight about which kinds of players can lead to an unexpected decapitation. Plus, he highlights the bench players you should be considering over some of your weaker starters.
We're knee deep in guillotine league drafts! Charch and Brian answer your questions about a bevy of drafting questions, including options for the last pick of your draft. We break down our real life quarterback drafting strategies. And we urge you to bully your league at the tight end position.
Nobody is tracking guillotine league drafts closer than Charch and Brian Johnson. It's a perk of working at GuillotineLeagues.com. They've identified eight mistakes you'll want to avoid in your own drafts.
Charch and Brian identify eight landmine players to avoid in your guillotine league drafts. These are players who look safe but secretly have volatility that can end your season.
Above all else, guillotine leaguers need to draft safe, reliable players. Charch and Brian provide you with nine players who aren't widely considered to be safe, but should be for 2022. All nine of these players are being selected too late in fantasy drafts and you can take advantage.
It's already guillotine league drafting season! Charch and Brian are here to help with roster composition tips designed to give you the best chance of survival.
You already know guillotine drafts require different strategies from regular drafts. Even so, you'll probably be surprised to hear how differently the pros handle the first round of a guillotine league draft. Join Paul Charchian and Brian Johnson as they walk through the first 18 picks of a guillotine draft.
Introducing Zombie Mode! It's is a guillotine league but with a key difference. Instead of getting chopped, teams join a zombie horde, collaborating to take down the remaining human teams. Your goal is to be human by the end of Week 17, either by avoiding the zombie horde all year or by finding a cure, if you do become a zombie. Learn all about it!
It's drafting season! Two-time guillotine league champion JJ Zachariason (@lateroundQB) shares his winning draft strategies.
There's many ways to win a Guillotine League. We talk to a Super Chop champion, David Markert, about his strategies to be the last man standing out of a field of 144 players.
The final episode of CHOP for the 2021 season is a free wheeling shopping spree. With the waiver wire closing after this week, you'll spend every cent you've got left. But, how do you divvy up your remaining funds? Do you go "all in" on one player or do you spread your budget across several helpers? Brian and Charch help you navigate this unique week.
In a shocking week, some of fantasy football's biggest names came crashing to earth and are now available on the waiver wire. Charch and Brian help you concoct bidding strategies for the most-chopped players, including the Tampa Bay passing attack of Tom Brady, Mike Evans, and Chris Godwin. Plus, they give you guidance on some of the key backup running backs now thrust into the limelight, like Chuba Hubbard and Alexander Mattison.
It's a Covid-free episode of CHOP as Charch and Brian are reunited after a two week absence. With only three weeks before rosters lock, it's time to spend! They offer advice for those with plenty of remaining FAAB, and those who are FAAB poor.
Brian is flying solo for one more show, but he has you covered for bidding advice for the 10 most-chopped players (plus a bonus Twitter topic).
With Charch on the COVID reserve list, Brian is here to give you the blind bidding strategies needed for Week 10 waiver wire success in your guillotine league. Unsurprisingly, our top-10 list of most chopped players is chock full of Packers and Chiefs.
Charch and Brian provide bidding guidance on new Titans runner Adrian Peterson along with a dozen other superstar players who got cut this week.
You survived the byepocalypse! And now there's a plethora of talent on the waiver wire! Brian and Charch help you figure out how much to bid upon some of the week's biggest players, including Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, Justin Jefferson, Ezekiel Elliott, and Darren Waller.
It's a brutal six-team bye, but Paul Charchian and Brian Johnson have a wide variety of strategies for waiver wire success that will help you through this difficult week. You'll get specific dollar advice for superstar players like Mike Evans, Austin Ekeler, Nick Chubb, Alvin Kamara, Lamar Jackson and Davante Adams and many others. Plus, the introduction of a fantastic new feature at GuillotineLeagues.com that will help you with your bids.
Charch and Brian offer detailed bidding advice on 13 of the most-chopped players, including diverging opinions on Dalvin Cook. The bye weeks are here and you'll get advice for handling the many pitfalls that come when your best players don't play.
As feared and predicted, we're seeing Christian McCaffrey on the waiver wire again. He's one week healthier, so do you dare push all your chips in again? Plus, Charch and Brian share strong opinions about some of the other frequently chopped superstars like Dalvin Cook, Travis Kelce, CeeDee Lamb and Tom Brady. The guys help with "regular" waiver wire targets like Damien Williams, Samaje Perine, Trey Lance, and many others. Everything you need to help with your Week 5 blind bidding!
Is history repeating itself with Christian McCaffrey? Last year, CMC drained thousands of dollars of FAAB from everyone's budgets with little return. Charch and Brian give bidding recommendations for him plus Dalvin Cook, Nick Chubb, DeAndre Hopkins, and two Dallas receivers. They also talk through the advisability of bidding enough for two great tight ends.
Some huge names were chopped in Week 2, including three first rounders: Tyreek Hill, Alvin Kamara, and Jonathan Taylor. Charch and Brian offer specific advice for the most-chopped players and some of the secondary players who you'll want on your roster.
For many of you, this is your first-ever crack at a guillotine league waiver wire-- it's a mind-blowing experience when you can bid on players like Aaron Jones, Derrick Henry and Ezekiel Elliot. The CHOP podcast is here to offer specific bidding advice for all kinds of players, from the big name superstars to modest free agents who can round out your bench.
This episode of CHOP is devoted to the guillotine league waiver wire--after all the waiver wire is the magic of a guillotine league. We explain the strategies for optimizing the waiver wire, and even give some specific bidding advice for the month of September.
Charch flies solo today, answering questions you submitted via Twitter. We talk about the risk profile you should target, early FAAB advice, and whether you can slough the running back position.
In the final of four related editions of CHOP, Brian and Charch break down three surprisingly risky and three surprisingly safe quarterbacks, specifically for guillotine leagues.
In the third of four related editions of CHOP, Brian and Charch break down three surprisingly risky and three surprisingly safe quarterbacks, specifically for guillotine leagues.
In the second of four related editions of CHOP, Brian and Charch break down three surprisingly risky and three surprisingly safe running backs, specifically for guillotine leagues.
In the first of four related editions of CHOP, Brian and Charch break down three surprisingly risky and three surprisingly safe quarterbacks, specifically for guillotine leagues.
Charch explains why training camp injuries are especially devastating to guillotine league players and offers specific advice about which dinged-up players to avoid when you're drafting.
Most of us have never played in a league with more than 12 teams. But most guillotine leagues have 18 teams, which means most of us have no experience drafting from positions 16, 17 or 18. Charch and Jeff Maas provide guidance for maximizing your selections when picking at the end of the first round.
Via Twitter (@GLChop), we asked for winning strategies from guillotine league veterans--players like you. We've sorted through your answers for the best advice you've got.
If you love guillotine leagues, there are a massive amount of improvements at GuillotineLeagues.com, providing new ways to play and enhanced flexibility.
Charch and Brian break down the 10 most impactful free agent moves from a guillotine league perspective.
Welcome to a new season of CHOP! We start 2021 by looking back at the lessons learned from a full year of running thousands of guillotine leagues. Charch and Brian discuss the five key takeaways every guillotine league player needs to consider.
It's championship week in your guillotine league! Congratulations to everyone who has gotten this far. Now, you need to keep your head intact for one...more....week. The CHOP podcast is here to help! We've identified seven players who have tricky matchups that could put you on the chopping block.
Welcome to the semi-finals! If you're still alive in your guillotine league, you're probably one of three remaining teams, and that's a tremendous accomplishment. On this week's episode we highlight eight players with particularly tricky matchups. These are players upon whom you'll want to give extra thought before putting in your starting lineup.
Do you start Dalvin Cook against the best run defense in the NFL? With rosters locked in many guillotine leagues, we turn our attention to players who you normally, automatically start, but need to reconsider this week. At this stage of the season, your roster is replete with great players, so before you "set it and forget it", we'll give you reasons to consider your backups.
It's the final week of bidding in many guillotine leagues! Which strategies should you employ when emptying your wallet? Paul Charchian covers the right way to deploy your final funds, including identifying some dangerous players who can torpedo your championship run.
After a multifaceted failure last Sunday, many Atlanta players hit the waiver wire this week. How much should you bid on Falcons like Julio Jones, Todd Gurley, Hayden Hurst and Matt Ryan? And of course, beyond Atlanta, there are several other big name players that deserve your FAAB dollars. With only a couple weeks of bidding left, we'll help you figure out which players are worthy of "all in" bids.
For the first time all season, a combination of Seahawks players have found their way to the waiver wire. Normally bulletproof (bladeproof?), Russell Wilson, DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Chris Carson were all choppable this week. Charch and Brian offer advice about how to proceed with your waiver wire bidding for the Seahawks and many of the other commonly-chopped players.
For the first time, guillotine leaguers need to make hard decisions about whether to go "all in" on some of the big name players who hit the waiver wire this week. Can you survive with zero dollars left? Plus, Charch and Brian Johnson offer bidding guidance on the "regular" free agents worthy of a roster spot.
It's a great week to mine wide receivers from your guillotine league's waiver wire. In most leagues, a couple big name receivers just got chopped and we'll help you navigate your bidding. Guest Mat Harrison joins Charch and Brian in the great outdoors on a blissful 70-degree day in November in Minnesota.
No longer are you bidding in a vacuum. We've reached a point in the season when savvy fantasy managers start paying attention to the other remaining teams. Now, it's practical to start analyzing the needs and budgets of the other teams will significantly improve your chances of landing your bids (or at least not overpaying). And as always, Charch and Brian offer bidding guidance on some of the biggest free agent names.
Admit it, you were rooting for that awesome team to get chopped....and it happened! For many guillotine leagues, this is the first week where really good teams got cut. Charch and Brian Johnson will steer you to the right bidding strategies for those brand-name players on the waiver wire.
This week's waiver wire is filled with big name players and emerging stars like Chase Claypool. How aggressively should you be bidding at this stage of the season and specifically on Claypool? Plus Charch provides bidding strategies for the 10 players most likely to hit free agency in your guillotine league.
For the first time, we're starting to advocate a strategy of loosening your purse strings...for some of you. Find out if you're a candidate for some heavier bidding. Also, learn about the one position that you shouldn't be bidding upon.
The waiver wire is already a challenging display of strategy for guillotine league players. Add in the threat of cancelled games, and it becomes even more difficult. Charch and Brian help guide you to the right answers in this tricky week of bidding.
A dozen notable fantasy players went down with injuries last week, making this an incredibly important week on the waiver wire. Paul Charchian and Brian Johnson offer advice for every league, including specific dollar amount recommendations for key free agents.
It's your first week of bidding on free agents in a guillotine league... and OMG awesome players are available! This never happens in a regular fantasy league! Do you push in all your chips or save ammo for later in the year? Get advice from guillotine veterans Paul Charchian and Brian Johnson for making the right calls with your waiver wire bidding.
The guillotine league season is looming and suddenly there's massive drama surrounding some of the highest-ranked running backs. Can you trust Alvin Kamara, Dalvin Cook, and/or Leonard Fournette? Is Joe Mixon significantly safer now than he was last week?
In a standard league, drafting a bust is a minor inconvenience. In a guillotine league, every bust can end your season. Paul Charchian and Brian Johnson identify the eight guys who are uniquely dangerous in a guillotine format.
At this time of year, every fantasy football podcast is touting sleepers. But at CHOP, we give you guillotine-specific sleepers who you can find in the mid-to-late rounds of your draft.
From the moment you complete your guillotine league draft, you start getting nervous about Week 1 But should you change your draft strategy to help ensure you aren't the first team eliminated? Charch and Brian talk through some of the notable players with brutal Week 1 matchups.
The forensic team of Paul Charchian and Brian Johnson identify the causes of death of a guillotine league corpse--aside from the beheading, of course.
Dud games cost heads! For guillotine leagues, the most important draft plan is to prioritize safety and consistency. Paul Charchian and Brian Johnson provide a wide variety of ways to evaluate players who will meet expectations, week in and week out.
Only in a guillotine league will you NOT play to win. Instead, you're playing not to lose! Reorient your thinking with the help of hosts Paul Charchian and Brian Johnson.
The inaugural episode of CHOP describes how guillotine leagues work, why they’re different from other fantasy football formats, and why they’re so incredibly compelling, fresh, and strategic. Hosts: Paul Charchian and Brian Johnson.