Their selections are based on how they graded the players last year.
https://www.pff.com/news/college-pff-preseason-2019-all-m... Buffalo dominates the picks, followed by WMU, Ohio, and Miami:
Buffalo: 11 picks (5 First Team, 6 Second team)
WMU: 9 picks (3 First Team, 4 Second team, 2 Honorable Mention)
Ohio: 9 picks (4 First Team, 1 Second team, 4 Honorable Mention)
Miami: 8 picks (4,1,3)
Ball St: 8 picks (2,2,4)
NIU: 8 picks (2,3,2)
Akron: 5 picks (2,0,3)
EMU: 4 picks (2,1,1)
Kent: 3 picks (0,3,0)
BG: 3 picks (0,1,2)
Toledo: 3 picks (1,1,1)
CMU: 1 pick (0,0,1)
The odd thing here, to me, at least, is seeing Toledo so close to the bottom of the list. They are the consensus favorite to win the West.