Armani Watts was a 4-year starter at free safety for the Texas A&M Aggies from 2014-2017. He had a nose for the ball, recording 324 combined career tackles, 24 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 7 forced fumbles, and 10 interceptions (17 pass deflections).
He’d be selected during the 2018 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs, during round 4. Armani impressed enough during camp to make the final 52 roster. He finished 2018 with 5 combined tackles and a sack.
I like the design of this card, but its greatest strength is its greatest weakness in this case. Armani’s autograph at the bottom of the card is uninspiring or disappointing to say the least and you can tell by this point he was tired of signing autograph stickers.
A redshirt-medical double major senior who specialized in medical science, Brandon Facyson played cornerback with Virginia Tech from 2013 to 2017. He made an impressive 5 interceptions as a freshman, but injuries and teams looking away from him ensured he did not have another takeaway- outside of fumbles for the rest of his college career. Notably, in 2016 he had 11 pass deflections and 2 forced fumbles, and finished his time with the Hokies with 131 total tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 5 interceptions, 39 pass deflections, 1 fumble recovery, and 3 forced fumbles. Possessing the size and football intelligence, teams were intrigued by Facyson as a situational starter in the right defensive alignment- but he’d go unselected in the 2018 NFL Draft- thanks to a series of leg injuries that impacted his college career.
Undeterred Brandon signed with the Los Angeles Chargers. He’d make the 53 based on his impressive preseason efforts, with 2 pass deflections and a pick. During the regular season he’d notch xx tackles for 2018
Congratulations to Brandon Facyson and Panini Contenders 2018 for probably the worst and most uninspiring autograph of the year. This one is absolutely terrible. Who puts just the first letter of their last name as their autograph? Not to mention it just looks slowly and lazily done. It even drops off the bottom of the sticker.
Folorunso Fatukasi, or Foley as he’s know to by his teammates, was a productive run stopping defensive lineman for the UConn Huskies who can kick inside to defensive tackle in a pinch. Strong and explosive off the line, Fatukasi clocks in at 6’4″, 318. He’d be selected in the 6th round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. Slotting him in at defensive end in a 3-4 alignment, Foley impressed coaches enough to make the Jets’ 2018 roster.
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
