The 2022 Donruss Optic football card set packs a little bit of everything to appeal to a broad range of collectors.
But perhaps most impressive is its solid crop of big-name rookie cards...
Of the 300 cards in the checklist, 100 receive the "Rated Rookie" designation, with the remaining 200 made up of current veterans and retired superstars.
Aesthetically, the set features the same imagery as the flagship 2022 Donruss set but with a chromium finish for added pop.
Along with numbered parallels, there are multiple great-looking inserts, including the ever-popular "Downtown" as well as newcomers in "Diamond Hands," "Light It Up," and "Blazers."
Overall, it's a great-looking set that should have some long-term staying power, given the solid rookie class.
And in this guide, we'll take a look at the 15 most valuable.
Let's jump right in!
2022 Donruss Optic #277 Brock Purdy Rookie Card
Estimated Base PSA 10 Value: $100
From depth to darling, nobody had a year quite like Brock Purdy.
The San Francisco 49ers selected Purdy with the 262nd overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, the final selection of the seven-round event.
The Iowa State QB was a tacked-on insurance policy, perhaps as irrelevant as any Mr. Irrelevant we've had.
There was no way Purdy could feasibly sniff playing time with Trey Lance in place and Nate Sudfeld seemingly locked in for the backup gig.
And when Jimmy Garoppolo re-signed, it looked even more like a wrap.
Football's fickle, though.
Purdy balled out in camp, sending Sudfeld to the cut line.
He slotted in third as an emergency option behind Lance and Garoppolo, ready to learn with clipboard in hand.
Well, the emergency happened.
Or emergencies, rather.
Lance went down with a season-ending ankle injury in Week 2, and Garoppolo signed off in Week 13 with a broken foot.
Suddenly, Purdy was the guy.
And then, he became the guy.
The 23-year-old completed 68.2 percent of his passes from the first quarter of Week 13 through the regular season, tallying 13 touchdowns against just three interceptions.
San Francisco scored 33 points or more in five of their last six games, finishing 6-0 to run away with the NFC West at 13-4.
Purdy was a legit sensation.
Two playoff wins later, he was a first-year legend.
2022 Donruss Optic #206 Garrett Wilson Rookie Card
Estimated Base PSA 10 Value: $40
On the offensive side of the ball in New York, it was the Garrett Wilson Show.
That's remarkable, considering how depressing the team's quarterback situation was.
The four-headed QB headache of Zach Wilson, Joe Flacco, Mike White, and Chris Streveler finished 31st in the NFL in passing touchdowns (14) despite logging the seventh-most attempts.
It was a dreadful year for the Jets' quarterback room.
So, how exactly did Garrett Wilson do what he did?
Perhaps it was because he was the only real threat in a shallow Jets receiving corps.
Or, maybe it's because he's just that damn good.
Whatever the reason, Wilson was a cut above the rookie pack in 2022.
The NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year set new first-year franchise records for receptions (83) and receiving yards (1,103) and tied for the NFL rookie lead with four touchdown catches.
He forced missed tackles on over a quarter of his receptions and topped 90 yards receiving on six occasions.
The former Ohio State wideout earned every bit of his NFL OROTY award.
But he still wanted more.
"We're trying to change the culture," Wilson said. "Awards are cool and all, but we want to start winning games."
2022 Donruss Optic #275 Patrick Mahomes
Estimated Base PSA 10 Value: $35
No Tyreek Hill, no problem for Patrick Mahomes in 2022.
The KC QB was a hot-take magnet all offseason long, dodging barbs about his reliance on the newly-minted Miami Dolphins wideout and his supposed one-dimensional approach under center.
One writer knocked him for a lack of "natural pocket presence."
A big contract with less big-name talent, the 2018 NFL MVP wasn't what everyone thought he was, was he?
Nope.
He was much better.
Mahomes pushed KC to a 14-3 record and a seventh straight AFC West title.
He was far and away the class of the QB position, leading the league in yards (5,250), yards per game (308.8), QBR (79.0), passing touchdowns (41), and TD percentage (6.3), among other categories.
With less established weapons at his disposal, Mahomes overcompensated and delivered the most impressive regular season of his career thus far.
He captured 48 of 50 first-place votes to become the 10th two-time MVP in NFL history and finished second to Justin Jefferson for NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
And that was just the appetizer.
In the postseason, Mahomes completed a cool 72% of his passes in three one-score wins, throwing seven touchdowns without a pick to propel the Chiefs to a second championship in four years.
Despite an injury scare and a so-so first half, Mahomes took home Super Bowl MVP honors in a 38-35 thriller.
2022 Donruss Optic #183 Tom Brady
Estimated Base PSA 10 Value: $30
When Tom Brady did an about-face and canceled his retirement plans, it was supposed to be about football.
At 45, Brady wanted nothing more than to put Tampa Bay on his back and carry them to a Super Bowl.
Everything else seemed to get in the way.
Brady's oft-publicized marriage to Gisele Bündchen fell apart, and the subsequent divorce in October was headline news.
In addition, Brady was a figurehead in the fall of FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange that went belly up in a torrential downpour of controversy.
His eight-figure stake in the company was gone just like that.
The Buccaneers were a media circus.
So, it's no surprise they finished 8-9, the worst record for a Brady-led team.
Tampa did squeak into the NFL Wild Card game as the champions of the mediocre NFC South but immediately suffered a 31-14 home loss to Dallas.
It was a brutal cap to Brady's one-of-a-kind career.
He finished third in the league in passing yards (4,694), yet that was more due to volume than anything else.
Brady paced the NFL in passing attempts (733) and struggled to contain his anger as the Bucs' one-dimensional offense flailed about.
The GOAT remained the GOAT.
2022, however, was a finale worth forgetting.
2022 Donruss Optic #213 Aidan Hutchinson Rookie Card
Estimated Base PSA 10 Value: $30
From 1-6 to 9-8, the Detroit Lions were the feel-good story of the 2022 NFL season.
The Lions may be the most snake-bitten franchise in the entire league, with just three playoff appearances from 2000-2022 and just one conference championship appearance (1991) since the AFL/NFL merger.
An 8-2 finish was cause for boundless optimism.
To some, it may even have been worth a parade.
At the center of this Detroit resurgence was an influx of blue-chip young talent.
And no player from the team's youth movement was more essential than Aidan Hutchinson.
Selected 2nd overall out of Michigan in the 2022 NFL Draft, Hutchinson came to Motown as a well-rounded edge threat with a boatload of hype.
He was even better than advertised, becoming the first rookie in league history to post 7.5 sacks (9.5), three interceptions, and two fumble recoveries.
He joins Hall-of-Famer Richard Dent (1990) as the only defensive lineman to hit all three markers in a single season.
Hutchinson called his debut year an "appetizer" for things to come.
While there's room for improvement against the run, it's wild to think that the runner-up for 2022 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year has even more up his sleeve.
2022 Donruss Optic #209 Chris Olave Rookie Card
Estimated Base PSA 10 Value: $25
When the New Orleans Saints selected WR Chris Olave with the 11th pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, he knew why they called his name.
"I feel like stretching the field is my job and that's why that drafted me to be here," Olave said. "I feel like I can stretch the field and get open at all times."
New Orleans' bottom-feeding passing game sunk their playoff hopes in 2021.
With Olave, new head coach Dennis Allen hoped to jolt the team's aerial attack to life.
It sure helped.
The Ohio State product is just the third Saints rookie to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards (1,042) in his debut year.
Garrett Wilson may have got the headlines and the New York spotlight, but Olave was arguably just as valuable.
His 69.5 receiving yards per game topped all rookies, and he helped boost the Andy Dalton/Jameis Winston duo to the middle of the pack in most key passing stats.
Turnovers and poor red-zone efficiency ultimately undid the 7-10 Saints' offense.
It would have been much worse without Olave.
2022 Donruss Optic #214 Breece Hall Rookie Card
Estimated Base PSA 10 Value: $25
After a 1-2 start, the 2022 New York Jets caught fire for about a month, ripping off four straight wins (three on the road) to join the midseason list of playoff contenders.
The sudden ascent of the Jets coincided with the emergence of running back Breece Hall, a 2022 second-round pick with the big-play ability of a first-rounder.
New York moved up to snag Hall in the second, earmarking him as an integral part of their backfield.
The 21-year-old Iowa State product rewarded the Jets’ faith in him with a brilliant seven-game debut.
Hall rushed 80 times for 463 yards (5.8 yards per carry) and four touchdowns, logging a rush of at least 14 yards in every game.
He also caught 19 balls on 31 targets, amassing 218 yards and a score, breaking off one of those catches for 79 yards.
Through the opening snaps of New York’s Week 7 win at Denver, Hall was on pace for over 1,100 rushing yards and over 1,600 yards from scrimmage.
He looked like a lock for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
And then, fate intervened.
A few minutes after setting a season-high with a 62-yard rushing touchdown, Hall tore his ACL, ending his season when it was just getting great.
2022 Donruss Optic #39 Joe Burrow
Estimated Base PSA 10 Value: $20
2022 Donruss Optic #201 Kenny Pickett Rookie Card
Estimated Base PSA 10 Value: $20
Selected 20th overall in 2022, Pickett was Pittsburgh's first choice all draft cycle long.
It was a match made in Steel City heaven: the former Pitts star staying home to lead the Steelers into a new era.
Pickett sat behind Mitch Trubisky to start the '22 campaign, but not for long.
He relieved Trubisky at the end of a Week 4 loss to the Jets and was given the keys to the offense one week later.
The results were mixed.
Pickett went 1-3 out of the gate, and the Steelers failed to crack 13 points in all but one of those games.
Pittsburgh went into the bye week at 2-6, out of the playoff conversation and in turmoil.
As it turned out, the week off was just what Pickett needed.
The 24-year-old signal-caller stayed in town during the bye, working diligently to find his rhythm.
His efforts paid off.
Pickett went 6-2 in his final eight starts, leading the 9-8 Steelers to their 19th consecutive non-losing season.
And he did so in the most dramatic of ways, orchestrating four game-winning drives and three fourth-quarter comebacks.
The New Jersey native completed 63.0% of his passes on the year for 2,404 yards, with seven touchdowns against nine interceptions.
They weren't the best numbers, but it still translated to winning football.
2022 Donruss Optic #223 George Pickens Rookie Card
Estimated Base PSA 10 Value: $20
2022 Donruss Optic #228 Sauce Gardner Rookie Card
Estimated Base PSA 10 Value: $20
No team in 2022 had a better draft night than the New York Jets.
New York picked fourth and tenth in the first round, leaving plenty of room for booms and busts. Lucky for them, it was all boom.
In succession, the Jets locked down the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year, Sauce Gardner, and the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year, Garrett Wilson.
It was a massive prospect haul on the level with the best of the past few decades.
In the case of Sauce Gardner, the Jets landed one of the game's top shutdown corners right out of the box.
The former Cincinnati Bearcat topped the NFL with 20 passes defended and led all rookie CBs with a 48.1 completion percentage against.
He tallied two interceptions and 75 tackles and allowed just two touchdowns all season long.
The metrics weren't just good for a rookie.
They were good enough to earn Gardner a First-Team All-Pro selection and a Pro Bowl spot.
His -28.8 target EPA was the second-best for all cornerbacks during the '22 campaign.
And his reputation earned him the utmost respect from opposing coaches, to the extent that the Detroit Lions refused to throw at him in a Week 15 matchup.
2022 Donruss Optic #229 Bailey Zappe Rookie Card
Estimated Base PSA 10 Value: $20
New England Patriots QB Bailey Zappe wasn't supposed to see the field in 2022.
Injuries changed that within a matter of weeks.
It's not that he didn't have the pedigree to make it happen.
In his only season at Western Kentucky, the soon-to-be Conference USA MVP set new FBS records for passing yards (5,967) and touchdowns (62).
However, Zappe's video game numbers for the Hilltoppers didn't translate to his scouting report.
While many scouts lauded his pocket IQ and accuracy, his relative lack of arm strength capped him as a middle-round prospect.
Mac Jones was the incumbent #1 starter and Brian Hoyer added veteran insurance.
Zappe was the clear #3.
And then, #1 and #2 went down.
Jones sprained his ankle on the final snap of New England's Week 3 loss to Baltimore.
A week later, Hoyer suffered a first-quarter concussion against Green Bay.
Zappe went 10 of 15 to finish off an overtime loss to the Packers and followed that up with top-notch performances in wins over Detroit and Cleveland.
Jones returned to the starting role soon thereafter, ending Zappe's brief dalliance as New England's starter on a high note.
Zappe completed 70.7% of his passes for 787 yards over four games (two starts) with five touchdowns and ended the campaign with a stellar 100.9 quarterback rating.
2022 Donruss Optic #157 Jalen Hurts
Estimated Base PSA 10 Value: $15
The Philadelphia Eagles struck gold with Jalen Hurts.
Selected 53rd overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, Hurts' athleticism made him an intriguing wild-card pick.
However, whether he had the pocket presence to be a long-term starting quarterback was a crapshoot.
2021 was a window into what Hurts could be, yet he was still raw and overreliant on his wheels.
In 2022, the Alabama/Oklahoma product turned promise into pure production.
Hurts finished 14-1 as a starter for the NFC's #1 seed, completing 66.5% of his 460 passing attempts for 3,701 yards.
He tossed 22 touchdowns against just six interceptions, more than doubling his TD/INT ratio from 1.78 in '21 to 3.67.
The best part was that Hurts' evolution as a dropback passer didn't cut into his effectiveness as a rusher.
While his yards per carry dropped from 5.6 to 4.6, Hurts logged career-highs in rushing attempts (160), first downs (67), and rushing touchdowns (13).
Hurts finished a distant runner-up to Patrick Mahomes in the NFL MVP race, grabbing just one first-place votes to Mahomes' 48.
The Eagles did have a chance to get the last laugh in Super Bowl LVII, yet fell to Harrison Butker's last-second FG.
2022 Donruss Optic #202 Desmond Ridder Rookie Card
Estimated Base PSA 10 Value: $15
2022 brought us the most muddled QB draft class in recent memory.
Kenny Pickett was the only quarterback to hear his name called in the first round.
Cincinnati product Desmond Ridder was the second off the board, yet that didn't come until Atlanta's selection in the middle of the third round.
Ridder was far from a can't-miss pick.
Although his intelligence preceded him, there remained concerns about his ability to make decisions on the fly.
In retrospect, those concerns were probably justified.
In 2022, though, the jury was still out.
Headed into the bye week at 5-8, Falcons head coach Arthur Smith was ready to see what Ridder had to offer, benching Marcus Mariota after an up-and-down thirteen games.
Ridder looked overmatched in losses to New Orleans and Baltimore but finished strong in season-ending wins over Arizona and Tampa.
His PFF passing grade (45.2) and adjusted completion percentage (64.3%) against the Saints and Ravens placed him at the bottom of the NFL pile for Weeks 15 and 16.
In Weeks 17 and 18, he improved to 10th in passing grade (76.7) and 16th in adjusted percentage (73.1%).
Ridder ended his four-game debut with a 63.5% completion percentage, 708 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, zero interceptions, and an 86.4 quarterback rating.
2022 Donruss Optic #205 Sam Howell Rookie Card
Estimated Base PSA 10 Value: $15
The Washington Commanders took a late-round flier on Sam Howell in the 2022 NFL Draft, grabbing him with the 144th overall pick.
Washington's front office looked at the 2019 ACC Rookie of the Year as a high-upside project, a well-built thrower with good arm strength that could potentially outgrow his limitations as an RPO system QB.
According to reports, the Commanders may have targeted Howell with a second or third-round selection if not for the trade that brought Carson Wentz to town.
Instead, they snatched the former North Carolina Tarheel in the fifth and slotted him behind Wentz and Taylor Heinicke on the depth chart.
Howell moved into the backup role in Week 7 after Wentz went down with a finger injury and got his first chance as a starter in Week 18 following Washington's elimination from the postseason mix.
He did fine enough against a Cowboys team resting its starters, finishing 11-of-19 for 169 yards with a touchdown and a pick in a 26-6 Washington win.
What caught the coaching staff's eye was Howell's demeanor.
He had the air of someone who had been there before.
One audition was all it took.
Howell would go from fifth-round add-on to Washington's starting QB in 2023.
2022 Donruss Optic Football Cards In Review
It may not have the largest checklist of the year, but the 2022 Donruss Optic football set packs plenty of firepower and lots of great-looking cards.
Collectors always love chasing "Downtown" inserts and they will not be disappointed by those in this set, given their unique and colorful designs.
Fans of parallels will find two new ones in "Jazz" and "Electricity", adding some color to any potential rainbow that one might attempt.
Plenty of big-name players signed for this set, including rookies and big-name legends like Barry Sanders, for those lucky enough to pull an auto.
As with any rookie class, some of these guys may go on to Hall of Fame careers while others may fade away.
Big names like Brock Purdy, Breece Hall, Drake London, and Garrett Wilson have shown plenty of promise, so let's hope they hold up well over time.
But one of the main drawbacks of the rookie class is that it's not looking like any of the quarterbacks outside of Brock Purdy are off to a hot start.
Who knows if that will change.
But, if it doesn't, that could be a ding on this set over the long term as collectors are typically more attracted to sets with big-name rookie quarterbacks.