When 2020 Panini Prizm football was first released, it was one of the most highly-anticipated products of the year.
Aside from the exciting parallels, inserts, and autographs, the 400-card contained 100 rookie cards, some of which set the hobby hype train in full motion.
Today, several of these guys have proven well worth it...
The rookie quarterback class of Jalen Hurts, Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Jordan Love and Tua Tagovailoa have turned out to be stars.
One of them already has a Super Bowl ring.
And the rookie receiving corps of Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb, Tee Higgins, and Brandon Aiyuk has been almost as impressive.
Big-name rookie cards is the theme for this set and only time will tell how many end up in Canton.
All this star power should give 2020 Prizm football plenty of staying power.
And in this guide, we look at the 15 most valuable.
Let's jump right in!
2020 Panini Prizm #307 Joe Burrow Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $100
After winning the Heisman Trophy at LSU, expectations could not have been higher for the number one overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, Joe Burrow.
Of all the quarterbacks in his draft class, Burrow was the only one who started Week 1 under center.
During that game, Burrow completed 23 of 36 passes for 193 yards and one interception while rushing eight times for 46 yards and a score.
Over the ten games in which he played, Burrow managed a 65.3% completion rate on 404 attempts with 2,688 yards and thirteen touchdowns through the air.
In Week 7 against the Browns, Burrow turned in a gem of a performance, passing for 406 yards and three touchdowns along with one rushing touchdown.
However, in late November, Burrow suffered a season-ending injury in his left knee.
The Bengals went 4-11-1 to finish 4th in the AFC North Division.
Burrow played well throughout most of the season; however, the team couldn’t rally behind him to forge a path to an overall winning season.
Things would change drastically for Burrow and the Bengals in 2021, as the young superstar drove the team all the way to the Super Bowl before losing a tough one to the Rams by just three points.
2020 Panini Prizm #343 Jalen Hurts Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $70
With the 53rd pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles took quarterback Jalen Hurts out of the University of Oklahoma to bolster their passing game.
After two seasons as the starting quarterback for Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide, Hurts lost the starting job to Tua Tagovailoa during his junior year.
That was it for Hurts at Alabama.
During his final year of eligibility in 2019, Hurts transferred to Oklahoma, where he produced one of the most successful seasons in school history to finish second in the Heisman vote behind Joe Burrow.
But since the Eagles already had Carson Wentz notched in as their starting quarterback for 2020, Hurts would start the season as his backup.
Hurts only played a handful of snaps in the first several games of the 2020 season before coming into a Week 13 game against the Packers in relief of a struggling Wentz.
He'd start the remaining four games of the season, completing 52% of his passes for 1,061 yards with six touchdowns against four interceptions.
2020 Panini Prizm #398 Justin Jefferson Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $70
There's a case to be made that Justin Jefferson was screwed out of the 2020 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award.
Landslide winner Justin Herbert had a historic year for the Los Angeles Chargers, but he came into the season as a heralded top-ten prospect.
As for Jefferson, the LSU wideout was considered a slot specialist and landed 22nd to the Minnesota Vikings.
Both Herbert and Jefferson went nuclear in the 2020 COVID season, but Jefferson's breakout may be more impressive considering the somewhat muted expectations.
The 21-year-old WR broke an 18-year-old rookie record with 1,400 receiving yards and finished alongside Odell Beckham Jr. (2014) as the only first-year wide receiver with seven 100-yard receiving efforts.
Jefferson was initially considered more of a fill-in for Stefon Diggs after Diggs pushed his way out of Minneapolis, yet ultimately became an impact WR a tier or two above.
The 7-9 Vikings finished fourth in total offense and six in passing scores, largely due to Jefferson's big-play ability and team-high 88 catches.
Herbert was the easier pick, but Jefferson may have been the better one.
2020 Panini Prizm #325 Justin Herbert Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $50
Though he may not have been as heralded as the two quarterbacks taken ahead of him in the 2020 NFL Draft, Justin Herbert certainly had the best rookie year of the three.
Playing on a San Diego Chargers team that featured many dynamic playmakers at every skill position, Herbert was thrust into the starting role in Week 2 after a freak pregame injury to Week 1 starter Tyrod Taylor.
You wouldn’t have known Herbert was notified only 30 minutes before kickoff that he was starting as he kept the Chargers competitive in the game vs. reigning Super Bowl champions Kansas City, throwing for a touchdown and rushing for one as well.
Herbert never relinquished the starting role the rest of the season, tossing 31 touchdowns and adding another five on the ground.
And though the Chargers finished the year under .500 at 7-9, they went into the offseason with a firm understanding that they had found a franchise quarterback in Herbert.
In 2021, Herbert showed no signs of a sophomore slump as he threw for 5,014 yards and 38 touchdowns.
2020 Panini Prizm #363 Jordan Love Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $45
When the Green Bay Packers selected Utah State quarterback Jordan Love with the 26th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, it was with the expressed intent to sit him and groom him for a future starting role.
After all, the Packers had Aaron Rodgers entrenched under center.
An eight-time Pro Bowler, Rodgers returned to game-breaking form in 2020, ushering 13-3 Green Bay to a second consecutive division title and NFC Championship appearance with one of the most dazzling MVP seasons in recent memory.
Rodgers' all-everything year provided Love and the Packers with the ultimate luxury: time.
"Being able to be in Green Bay and be behind Aaron Rodgers, that's one of the guys I grew up watching, learned how to do it from him," Love said. "I would say that this is a really good situation to be in, not being thrown out there. I'm behind one of the great quarterbacks in the league."
With no pressure to perform right away, Love eased his way into the swing of things while getting an up-close look at what it takes to be an elite NFL QB.
2020 Panini Prizm #124 Patrick Mahomes
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $40
In 2020, Patrick Mahomes was absolutely lethal with the football as he threw for 4,740 yards with 38 touchdowns against just 6 interceptions.
His eye-popping 108.2 passer rating has been the highest of his career so far.
With Mahomes under center, the high-octane Kansas City Chiefs offense lit up the scoreboard for 29.6 points per game, sixth-best in the league.
Combined with the Chiefs' above-average defense, teams barely stood a chance.
Kansas City rode their 14-1 record to another first-place finish in the AFC West and a postseason bye.
The playoffs started great for Mahomes and crew with a closer-than-expected 22-17 Divisional Round win over Cleveland followed by a 38-24 victory over Buffalo in the AFC Championship.
But that's where the fun came to a screeching halt.
Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers dominated Super Bowl LV, destroying Kansas City 31-9 in front of the hometown crowd at Raymond James Stadium.
Mahomes was nowhere to be found all night, throwing for 270 yards and two picks to finish with a 52.3 passer rating.
Kansas City's quest to repeat as champions was blocked, but only temporarily.
A few years later, they'd be back at it again with different results.
2020 Panini Prizm #334 CeeDee Lamb Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $40
When Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott went down with a brutal compound ankle fracture in Week 5 of the 2020 season, the team's playoff hopes were are but snuffed out.
Surprisingly, it wasn't the passing game that ended up letting the Cowboys down.
Despite four different quarterbacks logging a start, Dallas finished the '20 campaign eighth in passing yards.
Much of that credit goes to the team's top two wideouts: Amari Cooper and rookie CeeDee Lamb.
The dynamic duo combined for over 2,000 receiving yards (2,049) and ten touchdowns (five apiece).
With Cooper stretching the defense on the outside, Lamb excelled as a slot receiver, amassing the most catches (69) and receiving yards (877) by a rookie in the slot since 2006.
Lamb didn't quite mesh with Andy Dalton during his nine starts (45.6 yards per game), yet found other ways to make a difference.
This included 82 rushing yards on ten carries (with a TD) and a game-winning onside kick return in Week 15 against San Francisco.
2020 Panini Prizm #1 Josh Allen
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $30
After a slow build up in 2018 and 2019, Buffalo Bills superstar quarterback Josh Allen broke out in a big way in 2020.
Not since 1995 had the Buffalo Bills finished atop the AFC East when Jim Kelly and all those great teams seemed to do it routinely from the late 80s through the early 90s.
Finally, after decades of heartache, Josh Allen led them to glory once again.
Allen went berserk through the air, throwing for a career-high 4,544 yards with 37 touchdowns and ten interceptions to lead the team to a stellar 13-3 record.
His 107.2 passer rating still stands as his best mark.
Not only did Allen dominate teams through the air, he continued to be a nightmare to stop on the ground, rushing for 421 yards and 8 touchdowns.
Unfortunately, there would be more playoff heartbreak ahead for Bills fans.
After a couple of tough wins against the Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card and Divisional Rounds, respectively, they came up short in the AFC Championship against Kansas City.
It wouldn't be the last time Kansas City had their number in the playoffs, either.
Still, earning a second-place finish in the MVP vote along with his first Pro Bowl and All-Pro team selections, Allen had officially arrived.
2020 Panini Prizm #255 Tom Brady
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $25
Tom Brady's record seventh Super Bowl win gave him more Super Bowl wins than any NFL franchise.
His record fifth Super Bowl MVP was pretty nice, too.
When the 43-year-old quarterback left his two-decade home in New England to join a Tampa Bay Bucs franchise that had just one winning season in the past nine years, it seemed unlikely that the magic could carry over.
After all, there was no Bill Belichick here and no track record of sustained success.
Tom Brady didn't care about any of that.
The 21-year vet completed 65.7% of his passes on the year for 4,633 yards with 40 touchdowns against 12 interceptions, leading 11-5 Tampa to their best record since 2005 and their first playoff appearance since 2007.
Playoff Brady took over from there.
Tom Terrific threw for over 1,000 yards (1,061) in four playoff wins, including 201 yards and three touchdown strikes in a 31-9 Super Bowl LV beatdown of the Kansas City Chiefs.
"Every year is amazing," Brady said. "This team is world champions forever. You can't take it away from us."
2020 Panini Prizm #301 Brandon Aiyuk Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $25
The San Francisco 49ers passed on CeeDee Lamb and Jerry Jeudy in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, electing to trade up late in the first to grab Arizona St. wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
Often overlooked and underrated during his collegiate recruiting process and the lead-up to the draft, Aiyuk outperformed many of his rookie counterparts during the 2020 campaign.
With 200 pounds of freakish athleticism packed into a 6-foot frame, Aiyuk was the most dependable pass catcher for the 6-10 49ers.
Whether it was Jimmy Garroppolo, CJ Beathard, or Nick Mullens on the other end, Aiyuk looked like a veteran possession receiver in a 22-year-old's body.
The former First-Team All-Pac-12 performer led the team in targets (96), receptions (60), receiving yards (748), and receiving touchdowns (5).
What's more impressive is that he missed four games due to illness and still paced the Niners in every receiving category.
Add in six rushes for 77 yards and two scores (and even a couple of punt returns), and you can see why the Niners were so bullish on Aiyuk from the start.
2020 Panini Prizm #339 Tua Tagovailoa Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $25
The timing of Tua Tagvailoa's promotion to Miami Dolphins starting QB came at an odd time.
Miami won two straight before their bye week, moving to 3-3 by a combined 77-17 count over the 49ers and Jets.
Ryan Fitzpatrick was one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL by QBR (7th) at that moment, and the Dolphins had some real momentum with him at the helm.
Head coach Brian Flores decided to zag anyway, inserting Tagovailoa nearly a year after he went down with a dislocated right hip/fracture as Alabama's starter.
The move was a bold one and mostly worked.
Tagvailoa went 6-3 as a starter to push Miami to the brink of a playoff berth.
On the other hand, he made plenty of rookie mistakes in clutch situations, including three picks that ended the team's postseason hopes in a 56-26 Week 17 blowout loss to rival Buffalo.
"This past season wasn't up to my expectation that I have for myself," Tagovailoa said. "Hopefully, I can compartmentalize everything and have a much better season next year."
The 22-year-old completed 186 of 290 passes (64.1%) in ten games for 1,814 with 11 touchdowns against five interceptions.
2020 Panini Prizm #206 Aaron Rodgers
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $20
2020 Panini Prizm #308 Tee Higgins Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $20
2020 Panini Prizm #335 Trevon Diggs Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $20
It was a tale of two seasons for Trevon Diggs in 2020.
Selected late in the second round (51st overall) of the ‘20 NFL Draft, the newly-minted Dallas Cowboys cornerback was thrust into a Week 1 starting role due to injuries and illness elsewhere on the depth chart.
Diggs did an admirable job during a weird COVID year.
However, he was still targeted mercilessly early on and gave up a bushel of big plays.
The former Alabama CB1 found his footing as the schedule progressed and became the first rookie in Cowboys history to top the team in interceptions (3) and pass breakups (15).
He did all of this in just 12 games (11 starts) due to a broken bone in his left foot that cost him a month of action.
Dallas’ 31st-ranked rush defense was the team’s most glaring weakness in a disappointing 6-10 campaign.
Diggs helped lift the pass defense to 11th in yards against, keeping the Cowboys around in games they otherwise wouldn’t have been in.
2020 Panini Prizm #332 Jonathan Taylor Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $15
It took Jonathan Taylor just three seasons at the University of Wisconsin to rack up 6,174 rushing yards, good enough for sixth all-time in NCAA history.
Had he stayed another year, he likely would've broken both the school and NCAA rushing records of 7,125 held by Ron Dayne, who played for the Badgers from 1996 to 1999.
But, Taylor decided to forego his senior season, and the Indianapolis Colts were more than happy to give him a shot, selecting him with the 41st pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.
At the time, some called it a steal, and in hindsight, they were correct.
Though he started the season as Marlon Mack's backup, things changed quickly after Mack tore his Achilles during a Week 1 loss to the division-rival Jacksonville Jaguars.
Taylor moved into the starter's role for thirteen of the team's remaining games, rushing for 1,169 yards and eleven touchdowns while catching 36 of 39 passes for 299 yards and a score.
In his brilliant sophomore campaign in 2021, Taylor led the NFL in rushes (332), rushing yards (1,811), rushing touchdowns (18), rushing yards per game (106.5) and yards from scrimmage (2,171).
2020 Panini Prizm Football Cards In Review
After going through some of the names on this list alone, it's easy to see why this is such a popular set.
And there are plenty more big names that are not mentioned here.
The 400-card checklist is simply one of the most star-studded of the era and, given how well these guys are playing, should continue to hold up well over the long run.
Even if you set the checklist aside and ignore the several great parallels, inserts and autograph cards, the design holds up well, too.
The Optichrome technology gives them such a nice look and feel.
If the rookies in this set are able to win more and more Super Bowls over the coming years, then demand will only go higher.
The sky's the limit for 2020 Panini Prizm football.