Running Backs To Upgrade In Guillotine Leagues: David Montgomery, Jordan Mason, And More

Hey everyone, it's Charch again, the founder and foremost expert in Guillotine Leagues™, the newest, hottest way to play fantasy football. Guillotine League drafts are deep, strategic, and a little exotic for the uninitiated.

Like every fantasy league, winning a Guillotine League starts on draft day. You can definitely recover from a bad draft more easily in a Guillotine League—after all, you can simply spend your way to a better roster. But, a great draft means that you don't have to spend money early, giving you a major late-season advantage.

So, let's take a look at the different decisions I'd make at the running back position with five players whom I value higher in Guillotine League formats than in redraft formats.

RB Upgrades for Guillotine Leagues in 2025

Jordan Mason—Vikings

—42 spots over standard consensus
In April, I had the honor of co-hosting the official Vikings draft party and Aaron Jones was on stage with me.  I asked him about his role possibly changing with Jordan Mason's arrival. Jones said Mason is going to get the Vikings short-yardage duties. And it makes sense. Last year, from inside the 5-yard line, Jones had 13 carries with just 3 touchdowns and -2 yards. Yuck. Mason weighs nearly 20 pounds more than Jones, so the goal-line role fits his hard-pounding style. And, Mason is really good! He enters the season with a career average of 5.3 YPC. He won’t catch, which hurts him in any PPR format, including Guillotine, but we're taking him so late, we can't ask for everything. He brings 1-, 2-, and 3-rushing touchdown upside. Finally, there are a couple very plausible ways Mason can turn into the Vikings' starter:

1. He might be better than Jones.
2. Jones has a history of injury, which he avoided last year, but at age 31 in December, injuries could creep up on him again.

David Montgomery—Lions

–39 spots over standard consensus
In Guillotine, I generally won't take a team's No. 2 running back anywhere near this high. But David Montgomery is an easy exception. For Guillotine, backup runners need to have one of two traits: Receiving ability or touchdown prowess. You already know Montgomery is an elite touchdown producer. If I told you Montgomery would lead the NFL in rushing touchdowns this coming season, would you be surprised? No. 

Over the past two seasons, the Lions rank No. 1 in rushing attempts from inside the 5-yard line. That’s not going to change with the loss of Ben Johnson. Running at the stripe is built into Dan Campbell's DNA. In Monty's 15 games last year, including playoffs, he finished as RB19 or better 12 times. That's bankable consistency that Guillotine players love.

Chuba Hubbard—Panthers

– 13 spots over standard consensus
Against all odds, Chuba Hubbard exploded in his fourth season, topping 1,300 total yards and scoring 11 touchdowns last year. The Panthers rewarded him with a fat new four-year contract extension. Coaches lie all the time, but head coach Dave Canales was clearly lobbying for the extension. "It was about looking for the style, looking for the attitude, the toughness that fit the kind of football team that we want to be. As we went through those first games early on, and really just consistently through, Chuba has represented what I’m looking for as far as the run game goes. And as far as the mentality of the players we’re looking for. And so I just couldn’t be happier."

From Week 3 forward, Hubbard averaged a very healthy 17.9 PPR points per game. And he fell below RB15 only four times the rest of the season.  And his Utilization Rank over that timeframe was a whopping 8.9, second highest of any runner. 

He's a Guillotine League treasure, getting reliable use and meaningful production every single game. And the Panthers offense could be the most improved. 

Tyrone Tracy—Giants

—12 spots over standard consensus
There are few, if any, starting running backs being drafted lower than New York's Tyrone Tracy (ADP RB33 as of this writing). Tracy isn't a special talent—at least not yet. But, for Guillotine use, he's the kind of guy who keeps you alive until mid-October and maybe longer. 

The Giants offense should be better this season, thanks to two upgrades at the quarterback position. Last year, we endured Daniel Jones, Drew Lock, Tommy DeVito, and half a game from Tim Boyle. Malik Nabers threw one incomplete pass, and I'm convinced he was their best passer. Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston are tangible upgrades and the overall offense will be better in 2025. 

Now a sophomore, Tracy could be dramatically improved, particularly when you remember, he's a converted wide receiver who had only 146 career rushes in college and 192 last year. He spent last year learning the running back position on the job at the NFL level. Even with those disadvantages, he averaged a respectable 4.4 yards per carry in a backwards offense with a broken offensive line.

Tracy lacks bulk and Cam Skattebo will vulture all the short touchdowns. But, with his receiving chops, Tracy should see a jump in receptions from last year, when he (weirdly) averaged just 2.6 receptions and 19 receiving yards per game.

Is Tracy going to power you to a Guillotine championship? No. Will he help you stay alive into November? Quite possibly. 

Austin Ekeler—Commanders

—38 spots over standard consensus
I expected the Commanders to improve the running back depth chart in the offseason, but it didn't happen, leaving the moribund Brian Robinson as the starter and Austin Ekeler as the third-down back.

Everyone wants a part of the emerging Washington offense, and Ekeler's the best value of any Commander in the draft. Ekeler's PPR chops, chipping in roughly 6 PPR points per game, added to his rushing, is enough to make him a Guillotine starter for the first third of the year, and maybe longer.