I think the average opinion on this thread is underrating Boyang. Yeah, he's been pretty unimpressive this season so far, but it's normal for him to start slow and he's been actually fairly consistent about putting out good results at big competitions nearer to the end of the season, Worlds disaster last year aside (his 3 highest combined scores are at 2018 Olys, 2018 4CC, and 2017 Worlds). I also see improvements in skating skills and interpretation, so he might even get better PCS this year. So I would say he's still number 4 behind Yuzu-Shoma-Nathan, especially as I can't think of anyone obvious to challenge him for the spot--others either also have consistency problems or don't have the technical difficulty.
I would also say I'm more bullish on Shoma than on Nathan. I guess I'm just a little skeptical that anyone can manage full time college and being an elite figure skater at the same time without the figure skating suffering. Plus, do we know why Nathan downgraded his layout for Skate America? Now obviously he didn't need a bunch of quads to win that competition and he can upgrade later, but it's notable that Yuzu, Shoma, and Boyang are all jumping 4 quad FSs and 2 quad SPs right out the gate, even though they don't necessarily need that to win either (in fact, Boyang would probably be better off downgrading for now). But it's good practice for later when it might be necessary. And Nathan needs BV more than Yuzu or even Shoma, who can offset lower BVs with higher GOEs and PCS.
I agree with the consensus of Yuzu number 1, but I do think he's going to have less of a PCS edge against Shoma and others this year, especially if he isn't clean. But on the other hand, if he lands his jumps nicely (so *not* like Helsinki FS--but kudos on still landing everything and not bombing your first GP, Yuzu!) even with one or two mistakes, the new COP will give him more points for that (I mean, +4.3 points on his SP 4S, 'nuff said). So maybe it's a wash.
The rest are hard to say though. Misha has high potential but tends to underperform and Vincent is at the mercy of the tech panel even when he lands everything, while others have lower potential but are more consistent, which is a huge boon this season as we can see from GP results but may not be enough when everybody is on top form.
I would also say I'm more bullish on Shoma than on Nathan. I guess I'm just a little skeptical that anyone can manage full time college and being an elite figure skater at the same time without the figure skating suffering. Plus, do we know why Nathan downgraded his layout for Skate America? Now obviously he didn't need a bunch of quads to win that competition and he can upgrade later, but it's notable that Yuzu, Shoma, and Boyang are all jumping 4 quad FSs and 2 quad SPs right out the gate, even though they don't necessarily need that to win either (in fact, Boyang would probably be better off downgrading for now). But it's good practice for later when it might be necessary. And Nathan needs BV more than Yuzu or even Shoma, who can offset lower BVs with higher GOEs and PCS.
I agree with the consensus of Yuzu number 1, but I do think he's going to have less of a PCS edge against Shoma and others this year, especially if he isn't clean. But on the other hand, if he lands his jumps nicely (so *not* like Helsinki FS--but kudos on still landing everything and not bombing your first GP, Yuzu!) even with one or two mistakes, the new COP will give him more points for that (I mean, +4.3 points on his SP 4S, 'nuff said). So maybe it's a wash.
The rest are hard to say though. Misha has high potential but tends to underperform and Vincent is at the mercy of the tech panel even when he lands everything, while others have lower potential but are more consistent, which is a huge boon this season as we can see from GP results but may not be enough when everybody is on top form.