1. Michael Thomas, Saints
  2. Chris Godwin, Buccaneers
  3. Davante Adams, Packers
  4. DeAndre Hopkins, Cardinals
  5. Julio Jones, Falcons
  6. Tyreek Hill, Chiefs
  7. Kenny Golladay, Lions
  8. DJ Moore, Panthers
  9. Allen Robinson, Bears
  10. Mike Evans, Buccaneers
  11. Amari Cooper, Cowboys
  12. A.J. Brown, Titans
  13. Adam Thielen, Vikings
  14. Cooper Kupp, Rams
  15. JuJu Smith-Schuster, Steelers
  16. DeVante Parker, Dolphins
  17. Odell Beckham Jr., Browns
  18. DJ Chark, Jaguars
  19. Courtland Sutton, Broncos
  20. DK Metcalf, Seahawks
  21. Will Fuller, Texans
  22. Terry McLaurin, Washington Football Team
  23. Stefon Diggs, Bills
  24. Calvin Ridley, Falcons
  25. Tyler Boyd, Bengals
  26. Tyler Lockett, Seahawks
  27. Keenan Allen, Chargers
  28. T.Y. Hilton, Colts
  29. Jarvis Landry, Browns
  30. Sterling Shepard, Giants
  31. Marvin Jones, Lions
  32. Julian Edelman, Patriots
  33. Christian Kirk, Cardinals
  34. Michael Gallup, Cowboys
  35. Robert Woods, Rams
  36. Brandin Cooks, Texans
  37. Marquise Brown, Ravens
  38. Diontae Johnson, Steelers
  39. A.J. Green, Bengals
  40. Deebo Samuel, 49ers
  41. Breshad Perriman, Jets
  42. Jerry Jeudy, Broncos
  43. John Brown, Bills
  44. Hunter Renfrow, Raiders
  45. Darius Slayton, Giants
  46. Sammy Watkins, Chiefs
  47. Emmanuel Sanders, Saints
  48. Anthony Miller, Bears
  49. DeSean Jackson, Eagles
  50. N’Keal Harry, Patriots
  51. Curtis Samuel, Panthers
  52. Mecole Hardman, Chiefs
  53. Jamison Crowder, Jets
  54. Bryan Edwards, Raiders
  55. Dede Westbrook, Jaguars
  56. Justin Jefferson, Vikings
  57. Robby Anderson, Panthers
  58. Cole Beasley, Bills
  59. Mike Williams, Chargers
  60. CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys
  61. Jalen Reagor, Eagles
  62. John Ross III, Bengals
  63. Corey Davis, Titans
  64. Michael Pittman Jr., Colts
  65. Preston Williams, Dolphins
  66. Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals
  67. Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers
  68. Chris Conley, Jaguars
  69. Golden Tate, Giants
  70. Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Packers
  71. Henry Ruggs III, Raiders
  72. Parris Campbell, Colts
  73. Steven Sims, Washington Football Team
  74. Laviska Shenault, Jaguars
  75. Allen Lazard, Packers

POSITIONAL RANKINGS

QB-STARTER RANKINGS
TOP 70 PPR TAILBACKS
TOP 75 PPR WIDE RECEIVERS
TOP 35 PPR TIGHT ENDS
TOP 160 PPR PLAYMAKERS

THE ANNUAL PPR SPECTACULAR

PART I
PART II

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS

PRESSURE PACKED: Results of three simultaneous mocks (No. 8 slot)
FANTASY: 4 ways to invoke the risky ‘Bye Week’ draft strategy
FANTASY: How to fake your way through an uncomfortably early draft
DEEP DIVE: Fun Facts-style breakdown of the 2020 schedule
TWO OF EVERYTHING: Cool results from our ‘Noah’s Ark’ mock draft
FREE MONEY: Our second crack at NFL ‘Survivor Pool’ picks for 2020
READY, SET, GO: The NFL’s 30 most anticipated matchups of the season
MOCK DRAFT SIMULATION: # 11 slot
MOCK DRAFT SIMULATION: #4 slot

BREAKDOWN

a) You can bet the proverbial farm on Saints wideout Michael Thomas (149 catches, 1,725 yards, 9 TDs) incurring a slight production dip in 2020, citing three firm presumptions:

**Last season, Thomas notched a new NFL single-season record for catches; and for what it’s worth, only Cris Carter (1994-95) and Antonio Brown (2014-15) have posted consecutive seasons of 120-plus receptions.

**It’s difficult to envision Saints tailback Alvin Kamara (three-year average: 1,492 total yards, 12.3 TDs) falling short of 1,400 total yards and/or double-digit touchdowns this year, especially with the University of Tennessee product set to hit unrestricted free agency after the 2020 campaign.

**The Saints’ previous model of having Thomas outperform his wideout teammates by three or four times the targets reeked of absurdity; and that lack of balance contributed to the Saints averaging three points less in 2019 (compared to 2018).

To rectify the situation in 2020, New Orleans went out and signed Emmanuel Sanders for the WR2 role.

b) Chris Godwin finished second overall with the majority of PPR leagues last year (trailing only Thomas), despite ranking 11th in receptions (86), 17th in targets (120), 3rd in receiving yards (1,333) and 3rd in receiving touchdowns (9).

As such, there are two ways to interpret our positional ranking for 2020:

GOOD: Godwin (three double-digit target outings, six 100-yard games last year) might already be a fantasy superstar … but also has plenty of tangible upside with catches, targets and touchdowns.

MEH: Fantasy owners should never assume 1,300-plus yards and nine touchdowns from any wideout, year to year, especially one who has yet to clear 90 receptions.

Put it all together, and it’ll be fascinating to see how new Bucs quarterback Tom Brady utilizes arguably the NFC’s best collection of playmakers from Day 1 (Evans, Godwin, Ronald Jones, Rob Gronkowski, O.J. Howard, Justin Watson).

c) We’ll keep this short and sweet with Davante Adams:

**When extrapolating his 2016-18 numbers over three 16-game campaigns, Adams tallied elite-level averages of 87 catches, 136 targets, 1,089 yards and 11.7 touchdowns.

**Adams’ 12-game numbers from last season, when extrapolated to a 16-game slate, shake out to 111 catches, 170 targets, 1,330 yards and 6.7 TDs.

d) Julio Jones (turned 31 in February) feels like a no-brainer pick for the top five, after posting six consecutive seasons of 1,300-plus yards.

In fact, let’s take a stab at prognosticating Julio’s precise statistics for 2020 — assuming full health:

First, let’s throw out Jones’ gold-standard season of (136 catches, 1,871 yards, 8 TDs) … and his, uh, worst, campaign of the last six years — 2017 (84 catches, 1,444 yards, 3 TDs).

The averages of the other four seasons (2014, 2016, 2018-19) come out to: 100 catches, 155 targets, 1,518 yards and seven scores for this season. BOOM!

e) Remember when noted ESPN blowhard Rex Ryan inadvertently referred to Amari Cooper as a ‘turd’ back in March?

It was obviously a poor choice of words on Ryan’s part, an indefensible cheap shot on national TV. But moving past the needless insult, did Ryan have a point in criticizing Cooper’s home/road splits with the Cowboys?

Check this out:

**For his 12 regular-season road outings (2018-19), Cooper owns painful averages of 3.8 catches, 7.1 targets, 41.2 yards and 0.3 TDs.

**For his 13 regular-season home games (2018-19), Cooper boasts stellar averages of 6.7 catches, 8.5 targets, 109 yards and 0.9 TDs.

What’s the verdict? Cooper might become the first top-10 wideout in fantasy history … to be mired in a home/away platoon with a third-tier receiver.

f) The Odell Beckham Jr. we knew from 2014-16 — boasting Hall of Fame-like averages of 96 catches, 1,374 yards, 12 TDs — probably doesn’t exist anymore … in totality.

Chalk it up to injuries (16 games missed since 2017), ego, complacency (middling catch-to-target rate of 55 percent last season), general unhappiness, unwanted change of scenery or simply getting older (four catches/11 red-zone targets last year).

Whatever the reasons, isolated or cumulative, the days of rubber-stamping 90 catches, 1,300 yards or even double-digit touchdowns have likely passed.

The lesson here: Stop taking OBJ high in Round 2 of PPR drafts!

You’ll be much happier with Beckham’s standing as a Round 5 or 6 selection.

And finally …

g) Here’s a cool stats to celebrate with your fantasy friends … and conceal from your rivals of this wonderfully addictive game:

In 2019, only three NFL wideouts racked up double-digit numbers with ‘games of eight-plus targets‘ AND ‘outings with seven catches, 95 yards and/or one touchdown‘ — Michael Thomas, DeAndre Hopkins … and emerging Panthers star DJ Moore (87 catches, 135 targets, 1,175 yards, 4 TDs).