This article is part of our Fantasy Elite Football series.
Rules: Live draft, add/drops allowed after draft, two- or three-team leagues, various buy-ins, players cannot be on multiple teams, $105,000 salary cap, roster of nine, broken down as two quarterbacks, two running backs, two wide receivers, three flex.
FRIDAY PRIME
East Carolina at Temple, Cincinnati at Tulane, Tulsa at Memphis, UCF at UCONN
QB - Tanner Lee, Tulane ($17,048)
Drafting Lee will take some guts, and also require some flexibility if he ends up not starting. But all signs point to Lee returning from a shoulder injury that has cost him the past two games. Choosing Lee is selecting a mediocre talent in a mediocre system against a bad defense. It's a strategy that has boom or bust potential. Unfortunately, this slate of games offers many of those. Temple's P.J. Walker ($17,655) may be marginally safer, but is dealing with an ankle injury. And Cincinnati's Munchie Legaux ($5,000) is a real wild card as he's slated to play, but how much is anyone's guess. Safer choices like Memphis' Paxton Lynch ($23,057) and Tulsa's Dane Evans ($22,937) would set your squad up nicely.
RB - Mike Boone, Cincinnati ($5,000)
Say hello to your first selection of the Friday Prime draft. Boone ran 19 times for 212 yards and a touchdown last weekend, and there's little reason to suspect he won't see the lion's share of carries this week.
RB - William Stanback, UCF ($12,243)
Stanback continues to average only 3.3 yards per carry, but he's scored six times in six games, four coming in his last three, and he's had at least 14 carries in all his outings.
RB - Zack Langer, Tulsa ($13,279)
Langer has consecutive 100 yard games and despite having only three touchdowns, is the preferred goal line back as well.
WR - Breshad Perriman, UCF ($8,601)
It's not an ideal match up, but Perriman is on a roll right now, scoring in four of the past five games. He has 544 yards on the year, and the team's next closest receiver, Rannell Hall ($5,000), has 299 yards is questionable to play due to a hamstring injury.
WR - Shaq Washington, Cincinnati ($10,704)
Thanks largely to last week's 12 catch performance; Washington is up to 39 receptions on the year. The next closes Bearcat is Max Morrison ($7,696) with 26. I also like Morrison as an option if you're looking a little cheaper. And Chris Moore ($5,000) remains the team's leading receiver despite three catches over the past two weeks and no touchdowns in four weeks. He's too cheap here, and overdue for a big game.
SATURDAY BALLER
Kansas at Baylor, Western Kentucky at Louisiana Tech, Texas at Texas Tech, TCU at West Virginia
QB - Clint Trickett, West Virginia ($23,986)
You'd be hard pressed to make a wrong decision with any of the top six quarterbacks. Trickett gets the nod here as the cheapest of the six. He's had at least two touchdown passes in three straight weeks, and in six of the team's eight games thus far. I'd likely pair him with WKU's Brandon Doughty ($26,629) who averages 47.3 pass attempts per game.
RB - Corey Avery, Kansas ($6,431)
After spending freely under center, you'll need some cheap production elsewhere. Avery offers little upside, averaging 59.6 yards weekly, and has scored three times in seven games. But he has at least 10 carries in all but one game, has caught a pass in every contest and won't result in a goose egg.
RB - Wendell Smallwood, West Virginia ($5,000)
Honestly, I don't love this selection but Smallwood is almost forcing you to take him here. He's cheap, he's rushed for over 100 yards in two of the last three games, and he catches a few passes. Russel Shell ($14,018) is expected back, but Smallwood's success with Shell out should result in him at least sharing carries.
WR - Deante' Gray, TCU ($7,404)
Gray has scored three times in two weeks, and is coming off of a career-high 165 yard game last Saturday. Horned Frogs' top receiver Josh Doctson ($11,437) expects to play despite leaving last week's game early and being limited during the week, but even if he's on the field, Gray's field stretching ability make him worth a selection.
Western Kentucky WRs Taywan Taylor ($8,786), Jared Dangerfield ($7,508), and Antwane Grant ($8,282)
All three of these receivers have at least four touchdowns and 400 yards. It seems absurd to select all four, especially if you're rolling with Doughty, but snagging at least two seems to make sense. Taylor enters the contest having scored in three straight.
SATURDAY SEC
Arkansas at Mississippi State, Auburn at Ole Miss, Old Dominion at Vanderbilt, Tennessee at South Carolina
QB - Joshua Dobbs, Tennessee ($5,000)
Dobbs isn't confirmed as the team's starter, but it's easy to see he should be the choice Saturday after his showing in the second half last week against Alabama. South Carolina's defense is not Alabama's, leaving Dobbs poised for a big game.
Unlike the Pac 12 game that follows this group, the quarterbacks here have a huge price game. South Carolina's Dylan Thompson ($16,833) looks like a great option to pair with Dobbs, allowing you to splurge elsewhere.
RB - Jalen Hurd, Tennessee ($9,911)
South Carolina's defense has been bad enough that it's worth considering stacking Volunteers, even if their offense isn't anything to write home about. Since a 119 yard outing against Georgia, Hurd has just 145 yards over the past four weeks. He's due for a breakout.
RB - Mike Davis, South Carolina ($14,974)
Davis looks like the best bet of the top priced running backs, as he's topped 80 yards in five straight games and 100 in three of those. He added 85 yards receiving last week. I'm apparently all in on this Volunteer-Gamecock match up, which has an over/under of 55 or 56. Maybe I'll play the over for entertainment purposes.
WR - De'Runnya Wilson, Mississippi State ($8,986)
Last week's two catch, 30 yard outing is concerning. So is the likely return of teammate Jameon Lewis ($11,543) but Wilson is a threat to score weekly, and I had to steer away from a Gamecock here. With that said, I'm high on USC's Shaq Roland ($9,370)
WR - C.J. Duncan, Vanderbilt ($8,495)
Duncan has scored in consecutive weeks, and posted a seven catch, 119 yard outing two weeks ago against an inferior opponent in Charleston Southern. Old Dominion is not inferior, but is allowing 40.5 points weekly. It's a rare week where you shouldn't be scared to select Commodore skill players. Running back Ralph Webb ($7,934) looks very appealing as well.
TE - Hunter Henry, Arkansas ($5,000)
It's rare when a tight end appears worthy of a play, but Henry not being priced above the minimum is a surprise. He's tallied at least three catches in the past four games, and in a contest where Arkansas will have to throw some to stay competitive, Henry could find the end zone.
SATURDAY PAC-12
Arizona at UCLA, Stanford at Oregon, Utah at Arizona State, California at Oregon State
QB - Jared Goff, California ($18,634)
Truth be told, the only quarterbacks I'd avoid here are those in Utah Utes and Oregon State Beavers uniforms, even with the Beavers' soft matchup with Cal. Goff seems to offer the right blend of matchup, price and scoring potential. He's averaging 41 attempts per game and has a nice 26:4 touchdown: interception ratio, and has just one game where he threw for less than 280 yards. Stanford's Kevin Hogan ($14,619) makes sense too as the Cardinal will score on Oregon, while the top priced quarterbacks, Arizona's Anu Solomon ($26,473), UCLA's Brett Hundley ($26,055) and Oregon's Marcus Mariota ($25,777) are all priced fairly if not a bit low. You don't look like you could go wrong here, and it's unlikely you'll win or lose this contest based on your quarterback selections.
RB - Byron Marshall, Oregon ($6,898)
It looks like the game has severely lowered the price on all Oregon Ducks with the Cardinal defense coming to town. True, they won't score 50 points this Saturday, but it's not as though they will be shut out either. I'm not advising loading up on Ducks exclusively, but there are a lot of bargains here. Marshal is the team's leading receiver, and figures to see some snaps at running back as well with Thomas Tyner limited. He could be my top choice in this grouping.
The running backs here honestly all look like values. Utah's Devontae Booker ($16,100) has become a one man wrecking crew over the last four weeks, averaging 28.9 carries, 166.3 yards and totaling six touchdowns. He's worth paying for. So are all of Arizona State's D.J. Foster ($12,978) Oregon's Royce Freeman ($12,145) California's Daniel Lasco ($12,038) UCLA's Paul Perkins ($10,387) and Arizona's Terris Jones-Grigsby ($10,257). Similar to quarterback, there is a plethora of options and the pricing means you shouldn't have to look at second tier options. Oregon State's Terron Ward ($9,398) looks like another great bargain if Storm Woods ($9,153) does not play.
WR - Ty Montgomery, Stanford ($9,398)
Oregon can't stop anyone, and Montgomery figures to make a few plays down the field. He hasn't scored in four weeks, a trend I'm betting changes Saturday, but has topped 70 yards and has at least six catches in each of the last three weeks.
WR - Dwayne Stanford, Oregon ($5,000)
Stanford has 11 catches, 158 yards and three touchdowns in the last two weeks. He's hot, he's cheap and worth rolling the dice on.
WR - Jaelen Strong, Arizona State ($13,845)
Strong is the most expensive receiver, but given the depth and value at running back, you have to spend your money somewhere. And with all of Arizona's top receivers being listed as running backs, the top tier of pass catchers is somewhat limited. Strong has scored five times in the last three games, and has 744 yards and seven scores on the year. He's a stud and worth buying.
