Updated 2012 Fantasy Football Player Rankings

The 2012 NFL preseason gets underway in earnest Thursday evening with six games, and with every meaningless game that's played we inch closer to September 5th's season-opening tilt between the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants.

That also means that fantasy football draft season is kicking into overdrive, so in order to help you better prepare for your league's draft, here's a look at my latest set of player rankings for the 2012 season.

Please note that these rankings apply to point-per-reception (PPR) fantasy football leagues.

Tom Brady and the Top 20 Quarterbacks

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was one of three quarterbacks in the National Football League who topped 5,000 passing yards in 2011, throwing for 5,235 yards and 39 touchdowns en route to leading the Patriots to Super Bowl XLVI.

The improvements that New England made at the wide receiver position makes it a very real possibility that Brady could better even those gaudy numbers in 2012.

That shot at making history is enough for the 13-year veteran to get the nod as fantasy's top signal-caller this year.

1. Tom Brady, New England Patriots

2. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

3. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints

4. Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions

5. Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers

6. Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles

7. Eli Manning, New York Giants

8. Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys

9. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers

10. Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos

11. Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears

12. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers

13. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons

14. Matt Schaub, Houston Texans

15. Robert Griffin III, Washington Redskins (R)

16. Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals

17. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Buffalo Bills

18. Carson Palmer, Oakland Raiders

19. Josh Freeman, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

20. Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens

Ray Rice and the Top 20 Running Backs

A fairly compelling argument can be made for either Arian Foster of the Houston Texans, LeSean McCoy of the Philadelphia Eagles or Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens as fantasy football's top ballcarrier for the 2012 season.

For our money we'll go with Rice, who averaged 4.7 yards a carry a year ago and chipped in over 70 receptions on his way to leading all running backs in fantasy points by a sizable margin.

The fact that he hasn't missed a game in three seasons is just icing on the cake.

1. Ray Rice, Baltimore Ravens

2. LeSean McCoy, Philadelphia Eagles

3. Arian Foster, Houston Texans

4. Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans

5. Matt Forte, Chicago Bears

6. Jamaal Charles, Kansas City Chiefs

7. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings

8. Darren McFadden, Oakland Raiders

9. Ryan Mathews, San Diego Chargers

10. Darren Sproles, New Orleans Saints

11. DeMarco Murray, Dallas Cowboys

12. Steven Jackson, St. Louis Rams

13. Trent Richardson, Cleveland Browns (R)

14. Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (R)

15. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville Jaguars

16. Ahmad Bradshaw, New York Giants

17. Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers

18. Fred Jackson, Buffalo Bills

19. Michael Turner, Atlanta Falcons

20. Reggie Bush, Miami Dolphins

Calvin Johnson and the Top 20 Wide Receivers

Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson lived up to his nickname and then some a season ago.

"Megatron" transformed defensive backs from grown men into quivering piles of jelly in 2011, beating double and even triple-teams en route to leading the National Football League with 1,681 receiving yards.

The sixth-year veteran is about as close as it gets to uncoverable, and when you combine the ridiculous stats he posted last year with his freakish physical talents, Johnson is safely ensconced atop my fantasy football wide receiver rankings this season.

1. Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions

2. Wes Welker, New England Patriots

3. Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals

4. Andre Johnson, Houston Texans

5. Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons

6. Brandon Marshall, Chicago Bears

7. Greg Jennings, Green Bay Packers

8. A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals

9. Victor Cruz, New York Giants

10. Marques Colston, New Orleans Saints

11. Hakeem Nicks, New York Giants

12. Percy Harvin, Minnesota Vikings

13. Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons

14. Steve Smith, Carolina Panthers

15. Jordy Nelson, Green Bay Packers

16. Miles Austin, Dallas Cowboys

17. Steve Johnson, Buffalo Bills

18. Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos

19. Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City Chiefs

20. Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers

Jimmy Graham and the Top 20 Tight Ends

It was lost a little bit in the record-setting season put up by Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots in 2011, but it wasn't exactly like Jimmy Graham stunk up the joint for the New Orleans Saints.

It was Graham, and not Gronkowski, who led all tight ends with 99 catches, and the departure of Robert Meachem from the Big Easy makes Graham a safer bet for 100 receptions than Gronkowski is to duplicate his 17 scores from last season, especially given all the weapons at Tom Brady's disposal in the passing game.

It's razor close, but Graham gets the edge.

1. Jimmy Graham, New Orleans Saints

2. Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots

3. Aaron Hernandez, New England Patriots

4. Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers

5. Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys

6. Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta Falcons

7. Vernon Davis, San Francisco 49ers

8. Brandon Pettigrew, Detroit Lions

9. Fred Davis, Washington Redskins

10. Jermichael Finley, Green Bay Packers

11. Owen Daniels, Houston Texans

12. Jacob Tamme, Denver Broncos

13. Brent Celek, Philadelphia Eagles

14. Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati Bengals

15. Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers

16. Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota Vikings

17. Dustin Keller, New York Jets

18. Jared Cook, Tennessee Titans

19. Coby Fleener, Indianapolis Colts (R)

20. Ed Dickson, Baltimore Ravens

David Akers and the Top 20 Kickers

David Akers of the San Francisco 49ers was fantasy football's top kicker in 2011, on the heels of making 11 more field goals than the next closest player at his position.

The 37-year-old may be hard-pressed to match that dominant performance in 2012, but given how ridiculously unpredictable kickers can be, Akers has been the exception to that rule with four straight top-three fantasy finishes dating back to his days with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Good enough for me.

1. David Akers, San Francisco 49ers

2. Stephen Gostkowski, New England Patriots

3. Mason Crosby, Green Bay Packers

4. Jason Hanson, Detroit Lions

5. Nate Kaeding, San Diego Chargers

6. Garrett Hartley, New Orleans Saints

7. Sebastian Janikowski, Oakland Raiders

8. Dan Bailey, Dallas Cowboys

9. Alex Henery, Philadelphia Eagles

10. Robbie Gould, Chicago Bears

11. Randy Bullock, Houston Texans

12. Neil Rackers, Washington Redskins

13. Matt Prater, Denver Broncos

14. Matt Bryant, Atlanta Falcons

15. Lawrence Tynes, New York Giants

16. Billy Cundiff, Baltimore Ravens

17. Mike Nugent, Cincinnati Bengals

18. Rob Bironas, Tennessee Titans

19. Rian Lindell, Buffalo Bills

20. Shaun Suisham, Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers and the Top 20 Defenses

Fantasy defenses can be difficult to predict and even harder to rank, as scoring systems vary greatly where the position is concerned.

However, nearly all fantasy football leagues award points for points allowed, sacks, and takeways.

The San Francisco 49ers were at least above average in nearly all of those categories last year in addition to ranking fourth in the National Football League in total defense. So, with the 49ers defense returning all 11 starters in 2012, they sit atop my team defense rankings as the preseason gets underway.

1. San Francisco 49ers

2. Philadelphia Eagles

3. Pittsburgh Steelers

4. Baltimore Ravens

5. Green Bay Packers

6. Houston Texans

7. Chicago Bears

8. New York Giants

9. Buffalo Bills

10. Detroit Lions

11 New England Patriots

12. Seattle Seahawks

13. Denver Broncos

14. New York Jets

15. Dallas Cowboys

16. San Diego Chargers

17. Cincinnati Bengals

18. Atlanta Falcons

19. Minnesota Vikings

20. New Orleans Saints