Tag Archives: panini contenders 2016

NFL

Bosa, Joey

Card: Panini Contenders 2016
Acquired: TTM 2017, C/o Home
Sent:  4/18  Received: 5/6   (18 days)

Joey Bosa has been hailed as the second coming of JJ Watt by some. The son of former Miami Dolphin John Bosa had an eye popping career at Ohio State and impressive measurables to boot. The 3rd overall pick of the 2016 NFL draft by the San Diego Chargers finished with 148 total tackles, 51 tackles for loss, 26 sacks, and 5 forced fumbles in only 3 years.

Joey finished his rookie year with San Diego with 29 tackles and 10.5 sacks. In 2017 he continued his tear where he became the fastest player to reach 20 sacks, doing so in only 20 games.  He concluded the 2017 season with

I was pretty hot on Bosa entering into the 2016 NFL Draft. He and Ezekiel Elliot were the best players on my draft board, but I knew they’d both be gone early before the Texans came up.  I hoped to pull an autograph of Bosa at some point but had no luck at all- so I decided to go TTM.

Well beggars can’t be choosers- as the Sage Artistry that I really liked did not come back to me. Instead Joey sent me a Panini Contenders School Colors card. Not that I am complaining or anything. There has been speculation that the autographs coming back were fakes of Bosa, but really they just look badly rushed. Also if they were fakes, then why stop signing all together?  With that being said, Bosa at this time no longer signs autographs through his home address anymore.

NFL

Williams (-Lambert), Jordan


Card: Panini Contenders School Colors 2016, Sage 2016 (13/250)
Acquired: 2016 & 2017, Box Breaker

A solid receiving option in the Ball State offense, Jordan Williams – Lambert was a 2nd team All Mac selection in both his Junior and Senior seasons.  Scouts liked his size, but after a poor showing at the combine, Williams-Lambert left them scratching their collective heads.  Jordan’s tenuous draft stock fell. Going unselected in 2016, he was picked up by the receiver needy New Orleans Saints. He got some playing time in during the preseason catching 3 passes for 58 yards, including a nice 30 yarder.  The Saints liked what they saw out of Jordan and kept him in the family, signing him to their practice squad, and later again for 2017.

NFL

Jones, Cyrus

Card: Panini Contenders 2016
Acquired: 2016, Box Breaker

Cyrus Jones was an intriguing prospect coming out of Alabama in 2016.  A decorated punt return and cover man, Jones was a bit undersized for the pro level, but the Patriots liked what they saw and selected Jones in the second round of the 2016 draft. It was a rough debut to say the least for Cyrus, but give Bill Belichick and his staff credit for not giving up on him.

Cyrus finished with 7 tackles on defense, as he contributed mainly on special teams. There he had 11 punt returns for 46 yards, and 8 kick offs for 180. While his bottom line wasn’t horrible for a rookie, it’s the fact that he fumbled 5 times (recovering 2) that really got him in trouble.  It was difficult for Cyrus. Even though the Patriots won the Super Bowl with him, he didn’t really feel a part of it, because of his performance that ended with him on the bench.

Cyrus wanted to become a better player and opted to spend his offseason training for 2017.  Things were looking up for the young speedster, until he suffered a torn ACL in training camp, ending his season before it began.