By now, the 2017 Panini Prizm football has solidified its place as one of the most iconic sets of the modern era.
And it's all thanks to one guy: Patrick Mahomes.
Mahomes is already a six-time Pro Bowler, three-time Super Bowl champ, and three-time Super Bowl MVP over eight seasons.
He's already a surefire Hall-of-Famer.
And he's got plenty of years left in the tank.
But Mahomes isn't the only big-name rookie in this set.
Christian McCaffrey, Cooper Kupp, T.J. Watt, and Myles Garrett are just a few of the other superstars to make their debuts in 2017 Prizm.
Few rookie classes can compare with this one, and it's the reason why this set will hold up just fine over the long run.
And in this guide, we look at the 15 most valuable.
Let's jump right in!
2017 Panini Prizm #269 Patrick Mahomes Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $4,250
It could have gone very wrong for the Kansas City Chiefs when they drafted Patrick Mahomes as starting QB Alex Smith's successor.
Instead, it was the perfect situation for their first-round pick to learn the ropes from a gracious, giving veteran.
Smith had the best year of his NFL career with Mahomes on the sidelines, leading the NFL in interception rate (1.0%) and passer rating (104.7) while leading 10-6 Kansas City to a second consecutive division title.
The writing remained on the wall as Mahomes was virtually guaranteed to take over under center in 2018.
Rather than resenting the gifted young QB for his presence on the roster, Smith taught Mahomes how to make things happen at the game's highest level.
"He was playing great football at a top level, and he was teaching me at the same time," Mahomes said. "It's about just trying to make everybody better."
Mahomes got an opportunity to start in an otherwise meaningless Week 17 contest against the rival Broncos.
The first KC draft pick to start at QB in 38 years, Mahomes completed 22-of-35 passes for 284 yards and a pick in a 27-24 Chiefs win.
2017 Panini Prizm #216 T.J. Watt Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $160
The first week of TJ Watt's career was a resounding statement by one of the greatest defensive players of this generation.
Selected 30th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2007 NFL Draft, the former Wisconsin star was named the team's starting right outside linebacker for a Week 1 showdown with the hated Cleveland Browns.
Watt put on a clinic in the 21-18 Steelers win, winning Defensive Rookie of the Week for his seven-tackle, two-sack, one-interception showcase.
It was a sign of Hall-of-Fame play to come, but it also came with one of the most embarrassing moments of Watt's career thus far.
"I forgot to tie my shoe after it came undone on a play," Watt said. "I dropped to the flat and I actually stepped on my shoelace and fell over and the pass was completed and I was not part of the play."
He may have fallen flat in that one instance, but Watt stood tall through the rest of the 2017 regular season, amassing 54 tackles, 13 quarterback hits, 10 tackles for a loss, 7.0 sacks, seven passes defensed, a forced fumble, and a pick in 15 starts for the AFC North champs.
2017 Panini Prizm #242 Myles Garrett Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $150
When you're part of the second 0-16 team in NFL history, it's hard to feel great about what you accomplished, individually or otherwise.
That was the case for 2017's first-overall pick, Myles Garrett, during his debut season with the woeful Cleveland Browns.
"Did well but not up to my standards," Garrett said. "I want to be a force in this league and didn't feel like I did that this year. But there is always next year, and there is always the next game."
Garrett was a fine addition to a Browns defense that, while finishing second-to-worst in points allowed, placed in the middle of the pack (14th) in yards allowed).
He played in just 11 games (nine starts) due to a high ankle sprain, yet still tallied 7.0 sacks, 31 tackles, 18 quarterback hits, one forced fumble, one pass defensed, and one fumble recovery.
Place Garrett on a much better defense and give him better injury luck, and you have a potential Defensive Rookie-of-the-Year.
Instead, you get a promising season marred by the stench of a winless season.
2017 Panini Prizm #249 Christian McCaffrey Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $150
Christian McCaffrey's atypical skill set may have been his biggest hurdle during his 2017 rookie campaign.
His explosive, downhill running style was a match made in heaven for a reloading Panthers squad, and his refined touch as a pass catcher was just as essential.
Oddly, it didn't quite click as much as previously expected during the 2017 campaign.
McCaffrey amassed 1,086 yards from scrimmage (435 rushing, 651 receiving) but failed to show the big-play burst from his college days, posting just eight plays of 20 yards or more.
Panthers head coach Ron Rivera ping-ponged McCaffrey all over the field with mostly positive results.
This included the 21-year-old's 101-yard, one-touchdown receiving performance in Carolina's 31-26 Wild Card Round loss to New Orleans.
On the other hand, McCaffrey placed just third on the team in regular-season carries (117) and lacked the polish necessary to be an every-down option, as evidenced by his scant six rushes for 16 yards against the Saints.
"I'm trying to become a complete back," McCaffrey said. "I want to be a guy who doesn't have to leave the field."
2017 Panini Prizm #33 Tom Brady
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $85
A historic third NFL MVP award wasn't enough to soothe Tom Brady after the burn of a third Super Bowl loss.
The oldest player to win MVP by three years, the 40-year-old New England Patriots megastar ripped through the first three months of the 2017 season, completing around 69% of his passes with 26 touchdowns against just three interceptions.
Brady fell off in December but ended the regular season, completing 66.3% of his passes for an NFL-best 4,577 yards with 32 touchdowns against eight interceptions.
More importantly to the GOAT and his fans, the 13-3 Patriots snagged the AFC East title yet again for the 15th playoff appearance of the Brady era.
New England rode their veteran QB to wins over Tennessee and Jacksonville before falling to Philadelphia, 41-33, in one of the most thrilling Super Bowl shootouts of all time.
"They're all pretty disappointing," Brady said of the loss. "I mean, losing sucks. But you show up and you try to win and sometimes you lose and that's the way it goes."
Brady gashed the Eagles' fourth-ranked defense for 505 yards and three touchdowns, but it wasn't enough to paper over New England's defensive miscues.
2017 Panini Prizm #203 Cooper Kupp Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $65
Cooper Kupp was always an underdog.
Despite winning multiple honors in high school and posting over 2,000 receiving yards during his prep career, the Yakima, Washington native received zero scholarship offers.
A loss for everyone else was a gain for Eastern Washington.
Kupp broke almost every FCS receiving record there is to break in his four years with the Eagles and entered the NFL Draft process as an intriguing yet unhyped non-FBS prospect.
The Los Angeles Rams wideout ended up being a top-ten talent in retrospect but wasn't selected until the middle of the third round (69th) of the 2017 Draft due to a lack of prototypical NFL speed and size.
So much for all that.
Kupp had a fantastic rookie season for the playoff-bound Rams, setting a new rookie franchise record with 62 receptions while starting only five of 16 regular-season games.
His 869 receiving yards fell just 55 shy of Eddie Kennison (1996) for the franchise's first-year mark.
"He's the epitome of consistency in everything he's done, right from the day he got here," Rams offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur said.
2017 Panini Prizm #1 Aaron Rodgers
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $50
Aaron Rodgers broke his left collarbone in 2013.
Four years later, it was his right one that took the fall.
Winners of the NFC North in five of the previous six seasons, the 2017 Green Bay Packers looked poised to take home yet another division crown.
They entered a Week 6 matchup with the rival Vikings at 4-1 and were coming off back-to-back 35-point outings in wins over Chicago and Dallas.
However, the season turned on a dreadful dime in the first quarter in Minnesota.
Rodgers was flattened by Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr and cracked his collarbone when landing on his throwing shoulder.
Under backup quarterback Brett Hundley, the Packers lost that game and slipped to the fringes of the playoff picture with five losses in their next six contests.
Rodgers returned for one more game in Week 15 (a 31-24 loss to Carolina) before he was shut down.
Green Bay finished 7-9, three games out of a playoff spot.
2017 Panini Prizm #291 Alvin Kamara Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $45
The revival of the New Orleans Saints had just as much to do with the team's A-plus draft as Drew Brees and a reconstructed defense.
New Orleans became just the second team in NFL history (Detroit Lions, 1967) to sweep the Defensive Rookie of the Year and Offensive Rookie of the Year awards, a glowing review of the organization's work in Philadelphia.
Cornerback Marshon Lattimore took home defensive honors with a rookie-best five interceptions.
On the offensive side of the ball, Alvin Kamara earned his trophy with a multi-purpose masterpiece.
Kamara joined two-time Pro Bowler Mark Ingram as the only running back duo in league history to top 1,500 yards from scrimmage each.
He racked up 728 yards on the ground on an NFL-high 6.1 yards per attempt and trailed only star receiver Michael Thomas for the team's most receiving yards (826).
It all added up to 13 combined TDs (8 rushing, 5 receiving) and a narrow award win over NFL rushing champ Kareem Hunt.
The former Tennessee RB ended the year strong with 138 yards from scrimmage and two TDs in two playoff games.
2017 Panini Prizm #192 Drew Brees
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $35
After wasting three years of Drew Brees' elite play with a ghastly defense, the New Orleans Saints finally assembled a complete team around their sure-to-be Hall-of-Famer.
New Orleans placed in the bottom five of the league in scoring defense from 2014-16 and in the bottom two in both 2015 and 2016.
Brees' high-octane arm was one of the only reasons they finished 7-9 each year.
In 2017, the Saints ranked 10th in scoring defense.
Surprise, surprise.
It led to an 11-5 record and the franchise's first division title since 2011.
Brees was, as you might expect, at his very best.
The 38-year-old made his 11th Pro Bowl in 2017, topping the NFL in completions (386) and completion percentage (72.0).
His 8.1 yards per attempt were the best among qualified passers, and his 4,334 yards placed fourth.
It wasn't until the Divisional Round that cracks started to show.
After throwing just eight interceptions during the regular season, Brees threw two costly mistakes that sealed a 29-24 Vikings win.
2017 Panini Prizm #261 Joe Mixon Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $35
The Cincinnati Bengals banked on Joe Mixon becoming an explosive feature back at the pro level, drafting him in the mid-second round (48th overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft.
Cincinnati head coach Marvin Lewis stayed true to that plan during Mixon's rookie season, dialing up the Oklahoma product's number for a team-high 178 carries.
Yet, he wasn't a true every-down workhorse.
Giovani Bernard (105), Jeremy Hill (37), and Brian Hill (6) combined for nearly 40% of the team's rushes.
It was a by-committee arrangement that often rubbed Mixon the wrong way.
This was never more apparent than during Cincy's Week 7 loss to the Steelers, in which the 21-year-old didn't register a carry in the second half.
Mixon went to the press and blasted the coaching staff for holding him out, leading Lewis to call him out for a lack of "maturity."
"We talk about it all the time," Jeremy Hill said. When you only have 50 plays, it's hard to get drives sustained, especially in the second half. It's hard to get those carries. That's just something you have to understand as a player."
Mixon bought in more as the season progressed and finished with a flourish.
He ended the Bengals' 7-9 campaign with 913 yards from scrimmage (626 rushing, 287 receiving) and four rushing touchdowns.
2017 Panini Prizm #243 Chris Godwin Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $30
The 2017 Tampa Bay Buccaneers were often forced to play from behind.
That's the problem when you have the league's worst defense in your corner.
In doing so, though, the Bucs found a real asset in rookie wide receiver Chris Godwin.
Selected in the third round of the ’17 Draft out of Penn State, Godwin worked his way into the WR4 spot in a loaded position group that included franchise legend Mike Evans and three-time Pro Bowl DeSean Jackson.
Jameis Winston and Ryan Fitzpatrick were forced to use all of their aerial weapons to keep games competitive, and Godwin proved just as potent as any.
Playing at 16 games with two starts, the 21-year-old converted on 34 of his 55 targets for 525 yards and a score.
Godwin's 15.4 yards per reception were the best of any Tampa Bay regular, as was his 58.2% success rate.
2017 Panini Prizm #272 Marshon Lattimore Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $30
The New Orleans Saints strung together one of the best draft classes in NFL history in 2017.
In the third round, the Saints selected Tennessee running back Alvin Kamara.
He promptly went on to set numerous records and win NFL Offensive Rookie-of-the-Year.
Two rounds before that, the Saints spent their coveted 11th overall pick on Ohio State cornerback Marshon Lattimore.
After finishing dead last against the pass in 2016, New Orleans bet the house on Lattimore's potential as a shutdown CB1.
The house paid out.
Winning NFL Defensive Rookie-of-the-Year with 45 of a possible 50 votes, Lattimore topped all rookies in interceptions (5) and passes defended (18).
The Pro Bowler allowed a passer rating of 45.3, good for third-best among all NFL cornerbacks.
That rating is less than six points higher than if a quarterback tossed the ball away.
To top it all off, Lattimore did not allow a touchdown in 415 coverage assignments.
2017 Panini Prizm #288 Aaron Jones Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $30
The Green Bay Packers' 2017 season was a rare lost one.
After eight consecutive playoff appearances and coming off an appearance in the NFC title game, the Packers had designs on a division title and a Super Bowl run.
Instead, star quarterback Aaron Rodgers went down for over two months, and Green Bay dipped below .500 (7-9) since 2008.
The Packers plummeted from fourth in points scored the year before to 21st, scoring near a full touchdown less per game.
There wasn't much to look at and feel proud about, whether it was Rodgers or backup Brett Hundley under center.
But there were a few bright spots to pick out.
One of those was rookie Aaron Jones.
Selected in the fifth round of the ’17 Draft, Jones took over backup RB duties after Ty Montgomery went down to injury.
He responded with a blistering 5.5 yards per carry in twelve games (four starts), bringing efficiency and big-play ability to an otherwise floundering offensive attack.
2017 Panini Prizm #253 Kareem Hunt Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $25
Kareem Hunt carved out a nice eight-year career for himself, appearing in 104 games (46 starts) for the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns.
Hunt's NFL stay lasted much longer than most running backs, with the current average sitting at just over 2.5 years.
However, it's hard not to look at his rookie breakout and wonder why he never truly ascended to star status.
Selected 86th overall in the third round of the 2017 Draft, the former Toledo halfback won the Chiefs starting job going away during the spring and summer.
He proceeded to rocket his way into the record books, becoming the first rookie in NFL history to start his career with 100 yards from scrimmage in seven consecutive games.
Hunt ended his one-year breakthrough as the NFL rushing champion, amassing a franchise rookie record 1,327 yards on 272 attempts with eight touchdowns.
He became only the second Chiefs rookie to cross the 1,000-yard mark, joining Joe Delaney (1,121) in 1981.
2017 Panini Prizm #225 James Conner Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $20
James Conner didn't get much of an opportunity to run in his rookie season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
However, he received a world-class education from fellow running back and First-Team All-Pro Le'Veon Bell.
"In my running backs room, Le'Veon and his routine, his nutrition, what he eats, his warmup before practice, getting his mind locked in," Conner said. "That taught me a lot."
Bell carried the ball a league-high 321 times during the 2017 campaign. Conner led all other ball carries for the Steelers…
…with 32.
A third-round selection out of Pitt, Conner was never meant to supplant Bell, at least not at that time.
And considering that Conner's pass protection skills needed work, he was held out for a few plays here and there until late in the season.
Once the kid finally got a bit more rope, he was sideswiped by a season-ending knee injury in Week 15.
That halted his debut campaign at 32 carries for 144 yards with a high of 22.
2017 Panini Prizm Football Cards In Review
With a rookie class as elite as the one in this set, it's easy to see why collectors love 2017 Prizm football so much.
There are plenty of key rookie cards to chase but none of them compare to Patrick Mahomes.
As his career has soared, so have prices of his rookies and this set overall.
And it will only continue to go higher if Mahomes wins more championships.
In PSA 10 condition, his base rookie is already out of reach for many in the hobby.
And any of the parallels or autographed versions of his cards are merely a dream for most collectors at this point.
Aside from the numerous colored parallels and autographs to chase, the set is also packed with outstanding inserts.
As for the inserts, I particularly like the "Randy Moss Tribute", "Illumination" and "Instant Impact" designs.
Of course, any of the Patrick Mahomes cards are the ones you'll want to find if ripping any packs.
Let's see how well Mahomes and this set can continue to climb!