Friday, April 25, 2008

2008 Upper Deck NFL Draft Edition

Since the NFL Draft is tomorrow (and I already ripped this pack on my own site so it's an easy post) here's a pack of Upper Deck's NFL Draft Edition product. This is a retail pack, hobby packs have 10 cards and cost three times as much, but you get 5 autographs a box. Let's open this sucker.

93 Tashard Choice RC
70 Mario Urrutia RC
10 Brian Brohm RC
SOD7 Keith Rivers Stars of the Draft
103 Larry Fitzgerald
184 Patrick Willis


For years people who wanted cards of brand new draft picks had two choices. The College oriented Draft Pick sets from companies like Press Pass and Sage, or early NFL products from the mainstream manufacturers that doled out one rookie a pack. Upper Deck makes a hybrid of the two with this set which has the NFL Draft logo prominently displayed on the wrapper. The cards are kind of goofy looking with spot UV coating and foil Rookie Card stamps even on the veteran cards. However, the fact that UD is not short printing the rookies is a welcome change. I like cards of players in their college uniforms and for once, UD isn't showing the players in NFL unis from an "NFL Rookie Shoot" photo session. I guess they ponied up for a license to use the college logos. I'm surprised no one else thought to do this before now. I like football, but I've gotten to the point where I'm not really interested in collecting a dozen different sets every year. This is essentially two sets in one, and the packs aren't outrageously priced at two bucks a pop.


This isn't the greatest pack in the world, but it's not bad. Larry Fitzgerald and Patrick Willis are solid players but they'll never be considered superstars. Out of the draft picks, I've heard of three of them which ain't bad for someone who only really follows SEC football. Tashard Choice is huge news in Atlanta, but I'm not sure how he'll be as a pro. He could be a stud in the right system. Keith Rivers will go in the top 10 and will anchor a defense one day. If Brian Brohm is wearing a Falcons hat by tomorrow evening I'll be dancing naked in the streets. Mainly because we didn't waste our #1 on Matt Ryan, but dance I shall until they come to take me away. Urrutia sounds like a skin disease or a type or lettuce. He'll probably make me look stupid now and end up in the pro bowl.

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