Now that the 2019 NFL regular season is over, we can start looking ahead. It's already time to turn the page and start planning for Draft Day in 2020.
We're going to spend the next several months working on plenty of things to preview next season, including rankings, mock drafts, sleepers, breakouts, busts and many other cool features. But for now, here's a preview of the preview.
This is our first run of the top-20 overall rankings in PPR for me, Dave Richard, Heath Cummings, Ben Gretch and Adam Aizer. These rankings will change hundreds of times before September, but our job is to start planning now.
We will likely reveal our full early rankings for 2020 right after Super Bowl LIV in February. But this is a sneak peek at what we think about the top-20 overall players in PPR after what just happened in 2019.
Jamey Eisenberg
1. Christian McCaffrey, RB, CAR
2. Michael Thomas, WR, NO
3. Saquon Barkley, RB, NYG
4. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, DAL
5. Dalvin Cook, RB, MIN
6. Alvin Kamara, RB, NO
7. DeAndre Hopkins, WR, HOU
8. Davante Adams, WR, GB
9. Julio Jones, WR, ATL
10. Nick Chubb, RB, CLE
11. Derrick Henry, RB, TEN
12. Tyreek Hill, WR, KC
13. Mike Evans, WR, TB
14. Chris Godwin, WR, TB
15. Travis Kelce, TE, KC
16. George Kittle, TE, SF
17. Aaron Jones, RB, GB
18. Joe Mixon, RB, CIN
19. Leonard Fournette, RB, JAC
20. Miles Sanders, RB, PHI
Dave Richard
1. Christian McCaffrey, RB, CAR
2. Saquon Barkley, RB, NYG
3. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, DAL
4. Dalvin Cook, RB, MIN
5. Michael Thomas, WR, NO
6. Nick Chubb, RB, CLE
7. Alvin Kamara, RB, NO
8. Joe Mixon, RB, CIN
9. Josh Jacobs, RB, OAK
10. Derrick Henry, RB, TEN
11. DeAndre Hopkins, WR, HOU
12. Miles Sanders RB, PHI
13. Julio Jones, WR, ATL
14. Tyreek Hill, WR, KC
15. Travis Kelce, TE | KC
16. Chris Carson, RB, SEA
17. Aaron Jones, RB, GB
18. Davante Adams, WR, GB
19. Chris Godwin, WR, TB
20. George Kittle, TE, SF
Heath Cummings
1. Christian McCaffrey, RB, CAR
2. Dalvin Cook, RB, MIN
3. Michael Thomas, WR, NO
4. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, DAL
5. Saquon Barkley, RB, NYG
6. DeAndre Hopkins, WR, HOU
7. Julio Jones, WR, ATL
8. Derrick Henry, RB, TEN
9. Alvin Kamara, RB, NO
10. Nick Chubb, RB, CLE
11. Davante Adams, WR, GB
12. Tyreek Hill, WR, KC
13. Mike Evans, WR, TB
14. Aaron Jones, RB, GB
15. Leonard Fournette, RB, JAC
16. Travis Kelce, TE, KC
17. Chris Godwin, WR, TB
18. Miles Sanders, RB, PHI
19. George Kittle, TE, SF
20. Austin Ekeler, RB, LAC
Ben Gretch
1. Christian McCaffrey, RB, KC
2. Michael Thomas, WR, NO
3. Saquon Barkley, RB, NYG
4. Alvin Kamara, RB, NO
5. Dalvin Cook, RB, MIN
6. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, DAL
7. DeAndre Hopkins, WR, HOU
8. Tyreek Hill, WR, KC
9. Nick Chubb, RB, CLE
10. Julio Jones, WR, ATL
11. Davante Adams, WR, GB
12. Mike Evans, WR, TB
13. Miles Sanders, RB, PHI
14. D.J. Moore, WR, CAR
15. Chris Godwin, WR, TB
16. Aaron Jones, RB, GB
17. Derrick Henry, RB, TEN
18. Travis Kelce, TE, KC
19. George Kittle, TE, SF
20. Stefon Diggs, WR, MIN
Adam Aizer
1. Christian McCaffrey, RB, CAR
2. Saquon Barkley, RB, NYG
3. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, DAL
4. Dalvin Cook, RB, MIN
5. Michael Thomas, WR, NO
6. Nick Chubb, RB, CLE
7. Alvin Kamara, RB, NO
8. DeAndre Hopkins, WR, HOU
9. Julio Jones, WR, ATL
10. Miles Sanders, RB, PHI
11. Tyreek Hill, WR, KC
12. Amari Cooper, WR, DAL
13. Davante Adams, WR, GB
14. Mike Evans, WR, TB
15. Chris Godwin, WR, TB
16. Travis Kelce, TE, KC
17. Lamar Jackson, QB, BAL
18. Josh Jacobs, RB, OAK
19. George Kittle, TE, SF
20. Leonard Fournette, RB, JAC
We spent the entire week previewing the top 10 in 2020 at quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end, and you can read about each position by clicking on the links. That should give you an indication of what we think about most of the players listed here.
What you want to study with the top 20 overall is where the running backs, receivers, tight ends -- and for Adam, Lamar Jackson -- stack up in relation to each other. For now, the only thing we all agree on is that McCaffrey should be No. 1 overall, which is easy to understand given what he just accomplished in 2019.
Ben and I would draft Thomas at No. 2 overall, and he and McCaffrey finished in the top five overall players in PPR in 2019. McCaffrey was No. 2 behind Jackson, and Thomas was at No. 5 behind Dak Prescott and Russell Wilson.
I'm leaning heavily on running backs here, with seven guys in the top 12 and 11 in the top 20. The only receivers I would draft in the top 10 are Thomas, Hopkins, Adams, Jones and Hill.
I gave consideration to Kelce and Kittle in the top 12, but I feel like the middle of Round 2 is the best spot for them. That's something I might change during the offseason. And I would draft Zach Ertz late in Round 2, likely at No. 21 or 22 overall, because those three tight ends are elite and should be selected early.
The other players I would select toward the end of Round 2 include Moore, Jacobs and Jackson. And as you can see, some of my colleagues have those players in the top 20.
Dave favors running backs early more than all of us, with 10 guys in his top 12. The only receivers he considers as first-round options are Thomas and Hopkins.
The biggest difference for Dave in his top 20 is Carson at No. 16, and hopefully he will be fine for the start of training camp after ending 2019 on injured reserve with a bad hip. When healthy, Carson is a standout running back, but I'm not drafting him until Round 3 at the earliest.
Heath is the highest on Cook and Henry in his top 10, but the one player who stands out on his list is Ekeler at No. 20. And he might deserve to be there -- if not higher -- if Melvin Gordon leaves the Chargers as a free agent. With Gordon sharing the backfield in 2019, Ekeler was the No. 4 PPR running back, so there's a lot to like about his outlook in 2020 if Gordon is gone.
Ben has the fewest running backs in his top 12 with six, and he only has nine running backs in his top 20. The outliers for his list are Moore at No. 14 and Diggs at No. 20. You can read more about those guys in the top 10 receivers breakdown.
As for Adam, the two things that stand out in his top 20 are the absence of Henry, and Jackson is at No. 17 overall. Adam prefers pass-catching running backs in PPR, and Henry's 18 receptions from 2019 are a concern, even if he did lead the NFL in rushing with 1,540 yards, along with 18 total touchdowns.
While the rest of us don't have Jackson ranked in the top 20, Adam's selection of Jackson is closer to what Average Draft Position will likely reflect in 2020 when it comes to the No. 1 quarterback in 2019. No matter how many times we tell you that you shouldn't select a quarterback in Round 1 -- and Jackson was the No. 14 quarterback last year off the board based on ADP -- he will still be drafted in the top 12.
Again, these lists will change plenty of times between now and August, but this is our first look at the top-20 overall players for 2020.
