Archive for August, 2011

There will be plenty of guys left off of this list as there are far to many WR’s in the league to give a comprehensive list so instead we’ll focus on the guys you should buy into and those who you should avoid like that annoying girl in high school that asked you out no less than twenty times senior year.

**IMPORTANT NOTE- Investing in Wide Receivers is almost always riskier than any other position you could choose, do your own research to be sure you want to buy into a guy.**

Larry Fitzgerald- It’s hard to say his rookie cards don’t get their due respect but given his numbers and age they should be getting even more support. 2004 Topps Chrome Refractors routinely sell under $10 for the only current player with a legitimate shot at cracking the top 3 major recieving stats for his career. Jerry Rice may never be caught but 8200 yards and 65 TD’s at the soon to be age of 28 Fitz is the only one with a real chance at catching Rice’s 197 TD’s and almost 23,000 yards. Rice played until he was 42 and Fitz’s body type, work ethic, and all around health say that he could do the same. INVESTMENT GRADE: A

Calvin Johnson- There isn’t much to say about “Megatron” that you haven’t already heard. He is the epitome of a stud at the WR position. Talent-wise nobody in the league touches the class he and Larry Fitzgerald are in. His National Treasures Auto Patches run about $125 which is about $50-100 lower than they should be given their rarity and fantastic design. His 2007 Contenders autographs will cost you about $70 and don’t have a ton of room for growth when you compare them to other stud WR’s rookie cards because they aren’t all that rare and their are plenty of other rookie card options available in 2007 if the Contenders gets too high priced. You can’t really go wrong buying Megatron, just don’t expect it to be a huge upside investment. INVESTMENT GRADE: B+

Percy Harvin-Sidney Rice is gone, Donovan McNabb is in. Donovan loves his speedy little slot WR’s and his TE’s. Expect Harvin’s production to spike if he can stay on the field. This year will be a big one in determining whether Minnesota makes him the centerpiece of the passing game going forward. He needs to stay healthy and find a quick fix for those darn migraines when they hit him. Harvin is still only 23 years old and definitely has the highlight reel potential you look for when considering the potential for rookie cards to appreciate in value. We like him a lot this season and his NT can be found for under $50 while his Exquisite is more around $75. Our biggest recommendation would be to buy NT or Topps Chrome which you can find for about $25. INVESTMENT GRADE: B+

Greg Jennings- We’re not sure what’s keeping Jenning’s Rookie cards down. Is it that Aaron Rodgers is making everyone look good so Jennings value is being underappreciated? Perhaps, but Jennings is probably there for the longhaul and he and Rodgers will inevitably become a Manning/Harrison or Montana/Rice like combo should they both stay healthy. His Exquisite RC Autos #’d to 150 are his unquestioned best and most valuable rookie and sell around $60. Given the Green Bay fan base you can expect that to fluctuate to $100 if he has another dynamite season and possibly more if the Pack get another Super Bowl ring. The only thing hurting his value worth noting is that he had a lot of autographs collector’s can get for under $30 that are in much higher supply like Topps Chrome, SPX and Bowman Chrome. He is also as old as Larry Fitzgerald already. INVESTMENT GRADE: B

Vernon Davis- The San Fran QB situation is just as bad as it’s ever been with Davis at TE so it’s not like that will hurt his potential output in comparison to any other year. He is still a freak athlete as usual and given the opportunity will end up on highlight reels quite a few times this season. His value has gradually been dragged down each year of his career thanks to SF’s pisspoor team. With Exquisite Auto Patches under $40 and SPA Auto Patches under $25-30 it seems like a decent time to invest if you believe in his potential. We do.  INVESTMENT GRADE: B

Dezmon Briscoe- While none of his rookie cards picture him in a Buccaneers uniform which is sad for a second year player there are plenty of neutral UD products showing him in his Kansas Jayhawk duds. Briscoe was ditched by the receiver heavy Cincinnati roster early last season and picked up by the Bucs where he ended the season with a 4 reception, 65 yard and one touchdown game at New Orleans. Thanks to Arrelious Benn’s injury problems Briscoe has unseated him as the starter opposite Mike Williams. The Bucs are a crowd favorite pick as sleeper in the NFC this year although they are hardly a sleeper after their 10 win season in 2010. Grab some of his KU RC Autographs but don’t spend over $5-6 on one as they don’t have much room for upside beyond $10 even if he does do well. He will probably remain second fiddle in the card market to teammate Mike Williams barring a true breakout season. There is a little room for growth though and of course a low entrance price to the Briscoe market. INVESTMENT GRADE: C+

Jeremy Maclin- Now that his major health concerns have been revealed to be a tough case of mononucleosis you can continue your regularly scheduled buying of Maclin. He’s essentially the same player as Desean Jackson but about 1/10th as much of a head case. With 2009 Exquisite and SPA Auto Patches always under $50 it’s not too much of a gamble and it could really pay off when Desean ultimately does something stupid to get suspended. Once again though this is the type of price range you really need to tread lightly with WR’s.  INVESTMENT GRADE: C+

Earl Bennett- Another low risk, semi-high reward guy like Meachem, Bennett is in need of a breakout season. Everything looked good for him to finally come in healthy and be the #1 guy. Precisely the instant we were ready to dive deep into Bennett the Bears signed Roy Williams. Williams’ signing doesn’t necessarily kill Bennett’s value and in fact it could help his on field performance greatly with another threat for defenders to worry about. However we’re reading it as a lack of confidence in Bennett and backing off. With that being said there is still potential for his RC Autos to make a move. Grab a few lower end cards like Topps Chrome Autographs or if you can get an SP Authentic for less than $15-20 go ahead and take a chance. INVESTMENT GRADE: B- (Upgraded 8/29/11 from C+)

Dez Bryant- Nowhere to go but down usually on guys like this who have sky high prices and are still riding high from a stellar rookie season for a big market team. We don’t expect his value to sink much but it certainly won’t be gaining much if anything even if he does do all that well. With non-SP Contenders around $50 that puts him on a level above young stars like Jamaal Charles and Ray Rice which he clearly has not earned yet. Make no mistakes about our impression of Dez…he will be good but there won’t be much money to be made here especially when you consider the entrance price. INVESTMENT GRADE: C

Tony Moeaki- The Chiefs love him, fans love the Chiefs…however in this case Moeaki may have already topped out in value. You have to keep in mind fans are hoping for the next Tony Gonzalez and they almost certainly will not get him. His Contenders Autos are usually around $10 and his National Treasures are about the same. While that proportion is way off of what it should be that doesn’t mean you should buy one or the other. Neither will make much of a move upward if there is a move at all. The plus side of Moeaki is there isn’t much room to fall and he does have a legitimate chance to gain a few bucks value before completely deflating into the never-neverland of solid veteran TE RC’s. INVESTMENT GRADE: C

Stevie Johnson- Despite being in Buffalo his RC’s have done quite well since his breakout began in early 2010. Don’t expect them to do much better even if he puts up Pro Bowl numbers again. $20 for his 2008 Contenders and $50 for his National Treasures don’t give much room for growth on a guy stuck in Buffalo. These will move down before they move up any more. DON’T BUY. INVESTMENT GRADE: C-

Sidney Rice- Went to a good place for the hobby but the Card Geeks crew doesn’t have much faith in Rice’s abilities. The Seahawks did get T-Jack whom Rice has a repoire with so that should lessen the blow of being dealt to such a terrible offense. We basically see Rice as a more highly touted(in the NFL at least) version of a guy Seattle already has, Mike Williams.  With his SPA around $30 and his outlook bleak don’t expect much movement upward.  INVESTMENT GRADE: C-

Michael Crabtree- (BIAS NOTE…49ers fan writing this) While we wouldn’t touch his cardboard with a ten foot pole because of his nasty “I love me some me” style attitude, there is probably a few bucks to be made if he ever gets his act together and stops acting out against his starting quarterback whomever that may be. He may not be able to gain real value until he leaves San Francisco as he has really soured their fan base in a prima donna show dating back to his draft day in 2009. His SP Authentic Patch Autos still almost touch $100 which is absolutely asinine. Lucky for him he’ll still only be 25 when he leaves San Fran which should give him plenty of time to clean up his act elsewhere and still have a decent career. INVESTMENT GRADE: D+