Buzz Break: 2019 Panini Contenders football cards (blaster)

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The box: 2019 Panini Contenders football cards (blaster box)
First Buzz preview: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Packs per box: 5
Cards per pack: 8
Cards in this box: 40
Base set completion: 
34 of 100 (34 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards: Patrick Mahomes II, Pat Tillman, Baker Mayfield, Tom Brady, Amari Cooper, Julio Jones, Derrick Henry, Eli Manning, Cam Newton, Jared Goff, Dak Prescott, Sam Darnold, Drew Brees

Insert cards: 5 (all in gallery below with some base)
MVP Contenders (2) – Ezekiel Elliott, Russell Wilson
Rookie of the Year Contenders (1) – Devin Singletary
Round Numbers (1) – Chase Winovich & Damien Harris
Winning Ticket (1) – Eli Manning

Autographs/Memorabilia: 1
Rookie Ticket Swatches (1) – T.J. Hockenson

What's Buzz-worthy: Hobby boxes of this one don't arrive until January, so your best bet at getting a fix for new Contenders NFL resides within these boxes, which contain a hit every time -- and sometimes that's ink. (In hobby boxes you get at least five.) These boxes run very lean on everything but base cards just like past years -- a hit and then five inserts -- and the rest is base. While the basic portion of the set is small at 100 cards and stacked with stars, boxes like this probably won't help the value or perceived demand when you get a third of the set in every box. It feels like these could easily have a one-per-pack exclusive parallel (seems like every other brand does) to help here. Your rookie presence is limited to the hits and the inserts as the RCs are the autographs in this brand -- they won't flow here as often but are possible. The inclusions list on the panel of the box is meaty so there should be plenty of possible things here -- just not in every box. The card backs are pretty solid visually but don't include a statline (the norm for this brand) but I still think they could use one to make this one's base set feel more standard. The card fronts have a bit of a simple and thick feel compared to some recent years here and some of the photos feel dull. However, this brand is all about its autographed rookie cards -- and possible SPs there -- so those points may not matter as much. This is a brand that I think could easily take on a Donruss/Optic/Prizm feel beyond the autographs with just a few added touches.

Product Grade: A- (autographs bolster the brand overall)
Box Grade: B (feels average here but I found enough names I liked)
Fun Grade: B- (needs more inserts or variety for this format)

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