Week 5 Guillotine Leagues™ Bidding Advice: How Much FAAB To Bid On Ja'Marr Chase & More

We're just about a quarter of the way through the season, so congratulations on surviving the fourth Guillotine Leagues™ chop of the 2026 season. After a week where a handful of elite players hit the chopping block, the Week 5 waiver wire brings us another crop of high-end assets to consider using your FAAB on.

Before I jump into the Week 5 Guillotine Leagues™ bidding advice regarding the most highly chopped players of the week (10%+), a handful of housekeeping items:

Bid recommendations will be pulled directly from our Guillotine Leagues™ Waiver Wire Tool. The tool offers the ability to gauge bids by type (aggressive, conservative, average, etc.), league size, and recommendations relative to your remaining FAAB.
The players included in this article will be among the 10 most chopped players from the previous week. This data is pulled directly from Guillotine Leagues™.
Not every bid recommendation will come from the same settings. For example, if (spoiler alert) Ja'Marr Chase is on the waiver wire (spoiler alert, he likely is this week!), I am more likely to bid aggressively on him than a mid-tier player further down the list, who I might place an 'average' bid on.
If you have not yet synced your Guillotine Leagues™ with our fantasy football league sync—do it. There is no better way to get fully personalized and actionable recommendations to help you survive the chop.
REMINDER: You can still create/enter new Guillotine Leagues™ ahead of Week 4 with single-chop leagues of up to 14 people. Join a league today!

Be sure to run through the full refresher on Guillotine Leagues™ waiver wire strategy and advice before placing your bids, too.

FAAB Bidding Advice For Week 5 In Guillotine Leagues™

Chopped Players Due To Injury

Ja'Marr Chase (WR, CIN, 20.49%): Chase is one of the end-game players you push your chips in for when he hits the GL waiver wire. The caveat here, though, is his concussion. With the league tightening up the protocol, it's become increasingly common for a player to miss the following game after the concussion. If you're in a position where you can afford splurging on a spend-up free agent while they potentially sit on your bench for 2 weeks (Bengals have a bye in Week 6) and Chase is available, he's a smash, but I would proceed with caution knowing you're likely not getting to use him until Week 7. Recommended Bid: 27-30% (Average)

Rashee Rice (WR, KC, 17.01%): Rice suffered a non-contact, open-field injury as he pulled up grabbing his hamstring while running out of bounds after a catch in Week 4. It sounds like the injury is minor, and he could be ready for Week 6, but this is still a situation where I want to approach carefully, seeing that Rice's production this year (19% target share, 12.7 PPR points per game from Weeks 1-3) despite running 85% of the routes has left a lot to be desired. With a potential zero on the horizon, I'd rather attack the Chiefs through their veteran TE (more on Kelce later) this week on the wire. Recommended Bid: Pass

Saquon Barkley (RB, PHI, 15.57%): Barkley is listed as week-to-week with a hamstring injury, and while it isn't believed to be long-term, it's fair to question the impact it will have on his production—which has already been lacking—once he returns. With this offense in disarray and Barkley on the shelf for at least the next week, no thanks. Recommended Bid: Pass

DeVonta Smith (WR, PHI, 10.64%): Smith missed Week 4 with a hamstring injury, and reports about the injury are rather bearish with not much clarity. Listed as "at very best" questionable for Week 5 with the potential for a multi-game absence, this is one you can wait a week or two to bid on. Recommended Bid: Pass

Highly-Chopped Players To Bid On In Guillotine Leagues™ For Week 5 (10%+)

Parker Washington (WR, JAX, 13.77%): After ranking as the WR5 in target share (30%) through the first three weeks of the season while averaging 16.4 points per game (WR10), Washington busted in Week 4 on only a 13% target share and 2.0 PPR points. He still leads the team in target share for the season (26%), and he's the WR1 in terms of routes on the team, so his role is still strong; these types of games just may happen in an offense with so many potential weapons. I'm bidding on Washington where available, but I'm not getting aggressive; a standard bid feels appropriate. Recommended Bid: 20-25% (Slightly below average to average)

Travis Kelce (TE, KC, 13.02%): Kelce was another player who's posted top-10 positional numbers throughout the season but ended up busting in Week 4. He ran 79% of the routes, right at the 80% elite threshold we look for with TEs, but garnered only a 12% target share for 3.5 PPR points. That said, Rice and Tyquan Thornton are expected to be on the shelf in Week 5 (and Thornton likely the season), so we should see the offense completely consolidate around Kelce and Kenneth Walker. Having posted TE2 overall numbers (16.4 PPG) through the first three weeks with a 21% target share, I'm in on snagging Kelce if I have any TE other than Trey McBride or Brock Bowers on my team right now. Recommended Bid: 10-12% (Average)

D'Andre Swift (RB, CHI, 12.12%): Swift took a back seat to Kyle Monangai after some ball security issues in Week 4, playing only 36% of the snaps with 30% of the rush attempts. Prior to this game, however, Swift was playing 64% of the snaps and leading the backfield with 59% of the rush attempts and a gaudy 22% TPRR. While Monangai exploded on his 30 touches last week, he's also listed as day-to-day with a thumb issue after missing the final 4 minutes of the game. Even if active, it's not a given that he's suddenly siphoned a bigger role from Swift given how solid the latter has been this season, and the potential for Monangai to miss Week 5 could give Swift some short-term boost to his ceiling upside. Recommended Bid: 12-15% (Slightly below average)

I would also bid on: Cam Skattebo (RB, NYG, 12.12%), Josh Downs (WR, IND, 11.15%), Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR, SEA, 10.25%)

Players I Would Avoid Bidding On In Week 5 Guillotine Leagues™

David Montgomery (RB, HOU, 12.98%): So, Montgomery might just stink. Since his Week 1 explosion for three touchdowns, he's seen his rush share drop to 52%, his Utilization Score drop to 48, and has averaged only 5.2 PPR points per game. He's not a factor in the passing game with Woody Marks involved, and he hasn't had a single carry inside the five-yard line since Week 1. His role is heading in the wrong direction, and he's a clear fade in Guillotine Leagues™ because of it.

Ladd McConkey (WR, LAC, 12.75%): It's difficult to trust anyone in this Chargers offense, especially their WR1 who has dealt with a handful of injuries through the first four weeks. On top of entering Week 4 with a rib issue, he now exits with a foot injury that has labeled him as day-to-day. Adding this to the fact that he's only drawn a 16% target share (0.20 targets per route run) and a 48 Utilization Score, and he's one of the easier players to avoid on the waiver wire.

Emeka Egbuka (WR, TB, 11.11%): Until Baker Mayfield returns to this Bucs offense, I can't trust any of their pass catchers in a format like Guillotine Leagues™ where they could individually end your season. Backup Jalon Daniels attempted only 27 passes in Week 4 and had a 3.8-yard aDOT and only 5.5 yards per attempt. There's no downfield upside in this offense, and that's where Egbuka truly unlocks his potential. While he ran 94% of the routes, he drew only 16% of the targets, 50% of which were deemed catchable. Pass.

Others I am avoiding: Dalton Kincaid (TE, BUF, 14.47%), TreVeyon Henderson (RB, NE, 10.4%), Kenyon Sadiq (TE, NYJ, 10.25%), Breece Hall (RB, NYJ, 11.11%)