We’re a quarter of the way through the NFL season, and the hobby side of it already has a few clear pressure points. Some names are wobbling, some are surging, and one high-profile rookie is still waiting for his turn. Heading into Week 5, these are the storylines collectors are watching most closely.
Drake Maye is still the headliner for a lot of fans, even after a rocky start. Coming off an MVP-caliber season that ended with a Super Bowl run, he entered the year with plenty of questions hanging over him. His playoff production dipped as the competition stiffened, and his season opened in ugly fashion with a disastrous outing against Jacksonville, where he committed three turnovers and didn’t throw a touchdown.
Then came Buffalo.
Maye answered with a much-needed rebound against the Bills, even though the ball still found its way out of his hands twice more. He made up for it with three passing touchdowns, engineered a game-winning drive, and finished the night with a perfect touchdown throw to Efton Chilsm, who delivered an equally spectacular catch.
For collectors, that was the kind of performance that can steady the market, at least for now. It was only one start, but it showed the talent that made people believe in him in the first place.
The smart long-term move, as it stands, is to hold Maye cards and see whether that game was the start of a real climb back.
Atlanta has offered the opposite kind of storyline: a team that looked broken before finally finding its footing. The Falcons stumbled badly out of the gate, losing their first two games and looking uncompetitive in both.
A big part of that mess came from having to start their third-string quarterback. But former No. 8 overall pick Michael Penix Jr. returned in Week 3 after recovering from surgery for a torn ACL, and the tone changed fast.
Since Penix came back, Atlanta has looked like a different team entirely, beating Green Bay and New Orleans on the road. Bijan Robinson deserves plenty of the credit for that turnaround, but Penix has been steady under center during the two-game run.
Even with the recent improvement, his cards are still going for respectable, if modest, prices, according to Card Ladder sales data. That fits the moment: there’s injury history in the background, and the sample size is still tiny.
But Penix is sitting in a strong spot with Drake London, Kyle Pitts and Robinson around him. If he stays healthy, the buy-low case is real.
Then there’s Fernando Mendoza, who remains a name to stash rather than chase. The 2026 No. 1 overall pick still hasn’t seen the field to open the season, and that won’t change in Week 5. Las Vegas has started 3-1, with the lone loss coming against the Chiefs last week in a 30-27 defeat after the defense gave up a late lead.
Kirk Cousins has played well so far, which means Mendoza’s path to the field is blocked unless something changes fast. For now, fans and collectors are stuck waiting. But if the Raiders and Cousins come back down to earth, the noise around Mendoza could get louder in a hurry.
In Other News...
Jake Matthews Forces A Big Falcons Decision Ahead Of A Rare Milestone
Jake Matthews is hovering around a milestone few NFL offensive linemen ever reach as the Falcons head into Week 5 against the Ravens. The veteran left tackle is questionable with a groin injury from Week 4, and his status has become one of Atlantas biggest pregame decisions because one more appearance would put him at 200 consecutive starts, a rare mark for a player in the trenches.
The timing adds another layer to a game already shaped by injuries on the other side, with Baltimore set to be without star edge rusher Trey Hendrickson. For Atlanta, the choice is simple on paper and complicated in practice: protect Matthews, protect the streak, or trust him to keep one of the NFLs steadiest runs going while the Falcons try to keep their offensive line intact. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Run Defense Is About To Face Its Realest Test Yet
Through four weeks, the Falcons have done something that has turned heads around the league: they have looked like the NFLs best run defense. The early slate has kept them mostly away from the kind of pounding ground game that can expose a front seven, but the production has still been there, and Atlanta has made a habit of keeping opposing backs from getting comfortable.
Week 5 brings a different kind of exam. Baltimore arrives with Derrick Henry, a power runner who changes the tone of a game just by getting the ball, and Atlantas defense, including rookie linebacker Kendal Daniels, will have to prove its early success can travel against a back built to wear teams down. This is the test that can tell us a lot more about where the Falcons really stand in stopping the run. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Primetime Run Faces A Very Different Ravens Test
The Falcons have spent the past couple of weeks building real momentum under the lights, and Sunday night gives them another chance to show that their primetime surge is more than a short-term burst. Atlanta has already won two night games in convincing fashion, and now gets Baltimore in a matchup that arrives with the kind of spotlight and intrigue that can reshape a teams early-season conversation.
The wrinkle is on the other side. The Ravens are trying to stack a third straight win, but their outlook is tied closely to Lamar Jacksons availability, which has turned this into a very different kind of betting market than it was earlier in the week. Even with Atlanta now sitting as the favorite, this one feels like the sort of test that can tell the Falcons whether their recent success under the lights is built to last. [Read more 🡒]