Tyler Conklin played three years for Central Michigan at tight end. Originally a full ride basketball player at Northwood University, Conklin transferred to CMU and walked onto the football team. During his Junior year in 2016 he had 42 catches for 560 yards and 6 touchdowns. His Senior year stats were nearly identical. Playing in 8 games, Tyler had 35 catches for 504 yards and 5 TDs. The Vikings traded up during day 3 of the 2018 NFL Draft to select Tyler with the 157th pick (5th round). Minnesota drafted Tyler with the idea of having him compete for the backup TE position behind Kyle Rudolph. He’s caught 13 passes for 135 yards so far in his young NFL career, but gets most of his playing time currently on special teams.
A physical one on one defender, MJ Stewart saw action for the Tarheels as a True Freshman and worked his way up from there. A cornerback by trade, its thought that Stewart might be moved to safety at the pro level or work his way into the lineup by playing some nickelback. He finished his time at the school with 199 total tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 6 interceptions, 41 pass deflections, and 3 forced fumbles.
When the Bucs moved down during the 2018 NFL Draft, they were able to pick up a few additional draft choices from the Bills. They used one of those additional picks to select MJ during the second round (pick 53). Impressive from day one, Stewart worked his way into the starting lineup at corner and earned high praise from coaches during training camp.
MJ Stewart has a nice looking card here. The icy whites he’s wearing really add to the canvas nicely, and the light blue compliments the black, which in turn really stands out on the white.
Braxton Berrios played 4 years for the Miami Hurricanes from 2014 to 2017 at wide receiver and punt returner. His best year came as a Senior, when he logged 55 receptions for 679 yards and 9 TDs. He finished at Miami with 100 receptions for 1175 yards and 14 TDs, to go along with 47 punt returns for 488 yards and a TD. He’d be selected in the 6th round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots with the idea of grooming him into the next slot receiving sensation.
With Julian Edelman, Philip Dorsett, Chris Hogan pretty much set at the starting spots, and Cordarrelle Patterson, Eric Decker, Kenny Britt, Malcolm Mitchell, and Jordan Matthews battling it out for scraps it looked like Berrios might the rookie caught looking in. As the preseason progressed however, the smoke cleared, and with Matthews, Mitchell, and Britt, all leaving the team before the end of the preseason, it looked like Braxton might stand a dark horse chance of making the roster and having a real impact. Injuries too impacted Braxton’s tape during the preseason- and ultimately he’d end his rookie season on IR. He’d be cut after training camp in 2019, but quickly scooped up by the New York Jets. On the season he’d make 6 catches for 115 yards including a 69 yard long, while returning kicks (4 for 48 yards) and punts (21 for 240 yards) for the Jets.
OK. Gotta give Panini credit on this card. It is a really nice one. Braxton’s face is really clear in this image, and colors are all spot on. A highly slanted autograph with really pronounced ‘B’s, Braxton’s autograph even compliments this canvas well.
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