In
anticipation of the upcoming NFL Draft, April 25-27, I picked up a 2013 Leaf
Draft Football blaster. The blasters run $20 and include 20 5-card packs and 2
autographs. The base set is a 100-card checklist but I am not certain how many
autographs there are in the set but I will note that there are some players who
have an autograph but are not included in the set. Luke Joeckel, the project #1
Draft Pick, does not have a base card but he is included on the autograph
checklist.
Leaf Draft
Football, not to be confused with Metal Draft Football or Valiant Draft
Football, is a bare-bones, floor model type of product. There are no parallels
or inserts besides the autographs. Even the paper stock is plain; it is quite
thin with a matte finish.
When the box
contains 102 total cards you would expect to build a complete set plus the 2
autographs, but in my case I completed 99/100 with one duplicate (face palm). I
am missing card #78, SMU’s Zach Line, and I got two cards #97, Penn State’s
Michael Mauti.
Since this
year’s draft will be pretty low key with lots of defensive players and
O-lineman taken in the first round it is difficult to really sell a product
like this especially with no major skill position players making a huge splash
like last year’s draft class. Some of the big(ger) names are missing like
projected #1 pick Luke Joeckel, Syracuse QB Ryan Nassib and UW CB Desmond
Trufant but most of the other names are here like Geno Smith, Te’o, Barkley,
E.J. Manuel, Tavon Austin and Eddie Lacy.
The autograph
cards are designed almost exactly like the base cards; on the front the name
banner is removed and replaced with the autograph sticker, on the back the
player’s personal stats info is removed and the card number is different.
In the blaster
boxes the two autographs are packaged separately with each card in a ridge
protector and both rigid protectors in a team bag. You can still pull an
autograph out of the packs but it is pretty difficult.
I pulled
Florida State DT Everett Dawkins and Missouri LB Zaviar Gooden, both are
projected as late round picks. Surprisingly none of the major players
autographs have shown up for auction
yet, about the “biggest” named player to appear is E.J. Manuel with a $30 starting
price and no bids, most other autographs can be found under $20 easily.
There was some
fun with the blaster, it is always fun busting packs and knowing that you are
getting at least 2 autographs makes it interesting. If you are interested in a better
looking card or more value than Metal Draft or Valiant Draft is the way to go.
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