Buzz Break: 2021 Panini Chronicles Draft Picks (fat pack box)

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The box: 2021 Panini Chronicles Draft Picks football cards (fat pack box)
First Buzz preview: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (a few formats)

Keep reading for a breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

Packs per box: 12
Cards per pack: 15
Cards in this box: 180
Chronicles set completion: 
15 of 25 (60 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Cards: 20 (a sampling of everything in gallery below ... click for closer looks)
Chronicles (15) – Justin Fields, Trey Lance, Zach Wilson, Ja'Marr Chase, DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle, Travis Etienne, Rashod Bateman, Terrace Marshall Jr., Rondale Moore, Chuba Hubbard, Jamie Newman, Kenneth Gainwell, Elijah Moore, Pat Freiermuth
Chronicles Bronze (3) – Seth Williams, Travis Etienne, Kellen Mond
Donruss (15) – Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Caleb Farley, Michah Parsons, Greg Rousseau, Ja'Marr Chase, Travis Etienne, Terrace Marshall Jr., Kyle Pitts, Javonte Williams, Rashod Bateman, Chuba Hubbard, Rondale Moore, Azeez Ojulari, DeVonta Smith
Donruss Bronze (3) – Trevor Lawrence, Najee Harris, Justin Fields
Donruss Optic (6) – DeVonta Smith, Trey Lance, Jamie Newman, Kyle Trask, Travis Etienne, Terrace Marshall Jr.
Flux (6) – Justin Fields, Caleb Farley, Kwity Paye, Javonte Williams, Azeez Ojulari, Rondale Moore
Illusions (5) – Najee Harris, Terrace Marshall Jr., Kyle Pitts, Chuba Hubbard, Kyle Trask
Illusions Bronze (2) – Kyle Pitts, Elijah Moore

Playbook (60) – Najee Harris (3), Jaylen Waddle (3), Mac Jones (2), DeVonta Smith (2), Trevor Lawrence (2), Micah Parsons (3), Rondale Moore (2), Trey Lance (2), Terrace Marshall Jr. (3), Ja'Marr Chase (2), Jamie Newman (2), Carlos Basham Jr. (2), Greg Rousseau (2), Shaun Wade (2), Rashod Bateman (2), Azeez Ojulari (2), Kyle Pitts (3), Kyle Trask (2), Caleb Farley (2), Travis Etienne (2), Justin Fields (3), Chuba Hubbard (3), Zach Wilson (3), Javonte Williams (3), Kwity Paye (3)
Prestige (15) – DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle, Trey Lance, Zach Wilson, Ja'Marr Chase, "Tutu" Atwell, Larry Rountree III, Tamorrion Terry, Elijah Molden, Demetric Felton, Rondale Moore, Terrace Marshall Jr., Rashod Bateman, Kadarius Toney, Nico Collins
Prestige Bronze (3) – Justin Fields, Travis Etienne, Tylan Wallace
Recon (4) – Mac Jones, DeVonta Smith, Zach Wilson, Kwity Paye
Recon Bronze (1) – Rondale Moore
Score (14) – Dylan Moses, Jaylen Waddle, DeVonta Smith, Trey Lance, Kyle Pitts, Javian Hawkins, Trey Sermon, Terrace Marshall Jr., Ja'Marr Chase, Zach Wilson, Ian Book, Rondale Moore, Javonte Williams, Michael Carter
Score Bronze (3) – Rashod Bateman, Justin Fields, Travis Etienne
Spectra (5) – Trevor Lawrence, DeVonta Smith, Trey Lance, Larry Rountree III, Kyle Trask
Spectra Bronze Prizm (1) – Travis Etienne
Select (5) – Jaylen Waddle, Justin Fields, Elijah Moore, Ja'Marr Chase, Kadarius Toney
Select Silver Prizm (1) – Trevor Lawrence
Status (4) – Trevor Lawrence, Dylan Moses, Kylin Hill, Zach Wilson
Status Bronze (1) – Mac Jones
XR (5) – DeVonta Smith, Travis Etienne, Elijah Molden, Terrace Marshall Jr., Kyle Trask
XR Bronze (2) – Nico Collins, Elijah Molden

Autographs/Memorabilia: 1
Bronze Rookie Signatures (1) – Frank Darby

What's Buzz-worthy: My box delivered a boatload of star power -- and nearly 30 cards for my school alone -- but I'll admit that some production issues here definitely stung keeping things from being an A+ across the board from a collector standpoint alone. All but one of my Optic cards had pretty severe chicken pox surfaces up and down all borders and a Silver Spectra of a solid player had that as well as a dramatically large crease in the top surface but not the cardboard backer ... they were not alone and they are all bummers since the Optichrome stuff here would be the best-seller types of cardboard first -- perhaps even moreso than the ink. A lot of my foilboard stuff also had sort of dented top and bottom edges from packaging that would affect their grades but not necessarily basic visual appeal (see the Status cards). All that said? I still gave this one benefit of the doubt A-/B+ grades because the mix here is good on the bargain side and should satisfy college collectors quite a bit. Flippers and big-money chasers? Wait for NFL riches. I'm sure you can do pretty well in the short-term as a flipper here on the better names and the rarer finds. (Bronzes are mixed throughout here in this pack format only and the Playbook cards that are super-plentiful are also only found here ... oddly no parallels in my box.) But once NFL stuff shows up, there will be fewer people looking here and wanting pro colors -- leaving college-focused buyers like me to grab bargains and school/player lots. ... As I noted last time, numbering-wise, this is all one set -- but to me it feels like a Chronicles base set and then the rest feel like inserts because of the variety of the stock and looks so I broke it down that way. Over time the easier pulls found here will get cheaper -- no doubt -- because of the volume of good names found in every box (sometimes in the same packs) but the quality of stuff here simply from a collector standpoint is unmatched, especially if you're a college football fan. If you're collecting or not all that worried about cash returns, rip these all day long ... they are a lot of fun. I'd do more of this box format if on the cheaper side of things for sure.

Product Grade: A
Box Grade: A- (still an A despite most of my Optichome cards having the chicken pox -- pretty bad -- along with other damaged cards)
Fun Grade: B+

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