Welcome to one of the oddest slates of the year! We have a regular-season matchup between Army and Navy combined with the first bowl game of 2024. You can’t make this stuff up. It’s a gross slate, but who knows—maybe this is the type of slate that leads us to victory. Let’s look at the options!
Quarterbacks
Bryson Daily ($10,800) is the obvious choice for the top guy at the position this weekend. He saw “less” usage against Tulane in the AAC Championship Game and still managed four rushing touchdowns. The guy is Army, and thus, against Navy, he will be heavily used, especially around the goal line.
If Blake Horvath ($8,600) plays against Army, then he’s in consideration, of course. His price is high, and the matchup isn’t good, so expect lower ownership and high risk/high reward here. Daily’s price tag is quite large, but with the options at Flex being so weak, he’s very much in play.
Gio Lopez ($8,000) was hurt recently, and I’m not sure we know if he will give it a go against Western Michigan. There’s also a chance that he goes into the portal. There are a lot of question marks here, but the slate is pushing us towards 2 QBs and hoping for the best at flex, so he’s very much in play.
If named the starter, Bishop Davenport ($7,800) is intriguing because of the WMU matchup and the fact that he can run well in an offense without Fluff Bothwell, a key running back in the offense.
Running Backs
With Fluff out, you’d have to think that Kentrel Bullock ($4,900) takes a big step up in usage. This was a committee of sorts, so he’s seen sporadic usage this season. I like him for 15+ touches in a good matchup against WMU.
If you’re looking for a way to pivot off of Daily, you need to consider Kanye Udoh ($6,100). He’s coming off his own big game against Tulane last weekend, but considering the slate, I don’t see both being in the winning lineup.
Jalen Buckley ($6,500) has led his own RBBC at WMU but has managed value because of his ability to find the end zone. He’s scored eight times on 120 rushing attempts this season. He sees some sparing usage through the air that makes his floor a wee bit higher for us as well.
Army/Navy is a battle of similar offenses in the sense that trickery has to come into play. That’s why I think Eli Heidenreich ($5,800) and Noah Short ($4,200) are both in contention. The latter will be more owned due to price, but Eli has been great in the passing game for the Navy this year. He has 36 receptions on the season and had six in the win over East Carolina a few weeks back.
Wide Receivers
Western Michigan is a bottom-15 defense for YPA, so you have to consider Jamal Pritchett ($7,900). He’s the highest-priced guy for a reason, and you should strongly consider him. He has double-digit receptions in four of his last five games and is the type of receiver Davenport would key in on if he is starting. With this matchup being so good through the air, Jeremiah Webb ($3,200) and Devin Voisin ($3,400) are also in play. I like Webb more, as he’s seen more consistent usage this year.
The receiver position is quite thin because of the Army/Navy, so the next best guy to target is probably Kenneth Womack ($6,000), who saw zero targets in his last game. His price is honestly too high to consider, though strongly. I’d rather go cheap at this position and load up on QB and Pritchett before settling for Womack. South Alabama’s defense is ranked in the 80s for YPA, but I don’t think it’ll matter that much.
Nathan Kent ($3,500) is the top Navy receiver to target but should be considered incredibly risky. He’ll likely see 2-3 targets, and that’s about it. The same could almost be said for Craig Reynolds ($3,800). He’s likely to see between one and five targets depending on how much Army feels they need to air it out.
