By Andrew Banks

It’s that time of year again. The time where we as writers insert our favorite season changing cliches like “as the leaves start to change color”, or “as kids start to go back to school”, or “as the hot summer air turns to a crisp fall breeze”. Nonetheless, fantasy football season is vastly approaching. As the first week of preseason games have come and gone, now is the time to really start your evaluation of the players you like. How will Pat Mahomes look at the head of the Chiefs offense? Will Saquon Barkley be the third straight rookie running back to lead the NFL in rushing (the correct answer is yes, you’re welcome). How will the new look Browns improve? Will Seattle ever find a starting running back? These are all questions looking to be answered during the preseason

It’s important to not to put too much stock into preseason, but also take little pieces of development into consideration. Snap count is an important factor in determining which rookies or second year players a team values going into the season. As for the starters keep a close eye on game 3 of the preseason. This is the game that is most like a regular season game. A dress rehearsal if you will. Your bonafide starters will see more action in this one so that is the game you want to study. Without further ado I release unto you my top 50 overall rankings for the upcoming fantasy season (PPR format) Next week, I will release my top 20 quarterbacks as well as sleepers and bust candidates. Enjoy the preseason!

1. Todd Gurley
2. Le’Veon Bell
3. Antonio Brown
4. David Johnson
5. Ezekiel Elliot
6. DeAndre Hopkins
7. Odell Beckham
8. Kareem Hunt
9. Alvin Kamara
10. Saquon Barkley
11. Julio Jones
12. Michael Thomas
13. Melvin Gordon
14. Keenan Allen
15. Davante Adams
16. Dalvin Cook
17. A.J. Green
18. Mike Evans
19. Doug Baldwin
20. LeSean McCoy
21. Rob Gronkowski
22. TY Hilton
23. Jordan Howard
24. Travis Kelce
25. Allen Robinson
26. Leonard Fournette
27. Tyreek Hill
28. Kenyan Drake
29. Devonta Freeman
30. Aaron Rodgers
31. Adam Thielen
32. Jerick McKinnon
33. Lamar Miller
34. CJ Anderson
35. Jay Ajayi
36. Demaryius Thomas
37. Amari Cooper
38. Stefon Diggs
39. Josh Gordon
40. Larry Fitzgerald
41. Joe Mixon
42. Russell Wilson
43. Brandin Cooks
44. Devin Funchess
45. Jarvis Landry
46. Alshon Jeffery
47. Deshaun Watson
48. Golden Tate
49. Christian McCaffrey
50. Tom Brady

Saquon Barkley at #10 is going to be someone I would not be scared to draft in the top 5 in my draft. The Giants have not had a 1,000 yard rusher since Ahmad Bradshaw in 2012. Barkley might be better than Ezekiel Elliot. A better receiver than Elliot and better vision than Kareem Hunt, Barkley could be the third straight rookie to lead the league in rushing . This is a weapon unlike Eli Manning has had in the backfield and they intend to use him.. a lot. The Giants offense the last two years have finished 21st or worse in yards and 26th or worse in scoring. 1,000 yards rushing and 400 yards receiving  should be expected with 10-14 total scores. He carried 4 times for 43 yards including a 39-yard burst in his first game as a pro.

Davante Adams at #17 is someone I have on my radar this season. Maybe a little overlooked because he hasn’t had a monster season yet, but this could be the year. He has 22 touchdown catches since 2016—- tops in the league. It’s not all Aaron Rodgers either because half of those came from Brett Hundley. Even though Jimmy Graham might steal some of the short scores, Jordy Nelson is gone. Adams will gobble up targets this season, and belongs in round 2 of your draft. He hauled in both of his targets for 57 yards in his first preseason action.

At #21 I look for TY Hilton to have a bounce back season. Andrew Luck is back. When Luck was healthy in 2016 Hilton had 1,448 receiving  yards and 91 receptions. He also had 155 targets. All indications say Luck is back and healthy this season. He had 1 catch for 8 yards in the Colts first preseason game. There isn’t a lot of weapons on offense for Indy so expect Hilton to approach those 16′ numbers.

Lamar Miller doesn’t get the proper respect he deserves. He’s the lead back in an offense that is led by an emerging star in Deshaun Watson. On Thuraday he showed his burst on a 19-yard run against the Chiefs. D’Onta Foreman is coming off an Achilles tear but could cut into Miller’s work load later in the season. But until then, take advantage of the borderline RB2 numbers. He’s better served as a flex option with a safe floor. Depending on matchup he could slide into a RB2 role. For where Miller will be drafted, he’s a great value. He had 4 carries for 29 yards in his preseason debut.

Joe Mixon didn’t have the rookie season we were all expecting. 3.5 yards per carry is nothing to write home about. Part of it was the play of the offensive line as it was one of the worst units in the league. Not much has changed but Cincinnati did acquire former Bills LT Cordy Glenn and drafted C Billy Price to fix their line issues. Mixon didn’t do much on the ground with only 9 yards on 3 carries, but he did catch a 24-yard touchdown from Andy Dalton. Mixon showed ability as a pass-catcher hauling in 30 of his 34 targets last season. The Bengals offense is sure to bounce back and if the online improves, Mixon is a solid RB2 with RB1 upside.