That was my initial thought too when I first watched the scene. They need numbers to fight Negan and he thinks they might be more willing to fight than Ezekiel.

 

Rick's thought was "I'm not a smart man. But I know what an army is!" This is why he smiled.

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The one thought I had was why Rick didn't inquire for Judith? Gabriel had sworn an oath to protect her. Where is she and why didn't Rick ask?

 

Yup. These are the people Gabriel was stealing the food for.

 

Well, if he was on guard duty you'd expect he'd have arranged for someone to babysit.

 

Maybe she's the one who sat up in the car as he was driving away.