The rookie quarterback watch is getting louder by the week, and Week 5 only added fuel to it. Fernando Mendoza finally got into an NFL game after the Raiders dropped their second straight, getting blown out by the Patriots. That cameo immediately raises the question of whether the 2026 No. 1 overall pick is next in line to take over, or whether his first start is still somewhere down the road.
Mendoza, though, might not even be the rookie who gets there first. The Cardinals are sitting at 1-4 and heading into games against the Rams and Broncos over the next two weeks, which could open the door for third-round pick Carson Beck to make his move sooner rather than later.
Neither quarterback has a clean path to the field right now, and that kind of uncertainty tends to matter in the hobby. With Panini’s NFL releases arriving sporadically in recent years and premium products often not hitting until months after a season ends, the delay around two of the top three quarterbacks selected in 2026 can actually work in the market’s favor.
Topps, meanwhile, has pushed officially licensed NFL product aggressively, including Flagship before the season begins, which has only made it more important to track when young players actually get their first real shot. For collectors, Mendoza and Beck remain names to watch closely.
While the rookie buzz builds, Trevor Lawrence is quietly giving the Jaguars real staying power. Jacksonville is tied for the second-best record in the AFC and looks clearly ahead of the rest of the AFC South, which should at least put a playoff berth within reach for Lawrence and company.
Lawrence has been far from the letdown label that followed him early in his career. The 2021 No. 1 overall pick is putting together a strong 2026, with 10 passing touchdowns, a top-five passer rating among quarterbacks with at least four games played, and 1,174 passing yards, putting him near the top 10 there as well. After a career-best season last year, he seems to be carrying that momentum into his second year with head coach Liam Cohen.
The market has noticed. Lawrence’s big cards remain unusual pieces because of the lower print counts from his rookie year and the quality-control issues that came with that run.
His Silver Prizm PSA 10 carries a population of 139 and has only sold 14 times since July, according to Cardladder. His 2021 Donruss Optic Downtown PSA 10 has climbed about 25 percent from an early-August level around $1600, though that price point comes with a caveat, since the card has changed hands eight times in the last two months.
There’s real demand there, but also some skepticism baked in.
Bo Nix is heading in the opposite direction. The Broncos entered Week 5 sitting in the bottom third of the league in both passing and rushing, and there wasn’t an obvious injury excuse to lean on. Sean Payton took back playcalling in Week 5 in hopes of jolting an offense that had gone stale, but the result was still a rough 23-16 win over the Chargers.
At this point, the problem looks unmistakable: Denver has a Bo Nix problem. Over his first two seasons, Nix posted a 54:23 TD:INT ratio with 7,706 passing yards, numbers that were helped by one of the league’s heaviest passing attacks.
He has also been viewed as one of the better young quarterbacks in a league short on them. But this year has gone sideways, with Nix now in the bottom third among quarterbacks with at least four starts in both passing yards and completion percentage, even after the Broncos added Pro Bowl wideout Jaylen Waddle from the Dolphins this offseason.
His card market has felt the slide. Nix’s 2024 Silver Prizm PSA 10 has recently sold for less than $525 on multiple occasions.
In August and early September, that same card was regularly fetching $780-$820, a range that was even stronger than where it stood when the Broncos were still in position to challenge for a Super Bowl run last year. There’s time for him to turn it around, especially with the AFC West looking weaker, but a return to preseason card values looks like a tall order right now.
In Other News...
Jaguars Have A Discipline Problem Liam Coen Knows He Must Fix
The Jaguars left their game against the Eagles with the same kind of frustration that has been hanging around them for another week: too many flags, too much wasted time, and scoring chances slipping away. Multiple delay of game penalties short-circuited drives, and Jacksonville finished with 13 penalties in that game after also piling up 13 against the Bengals, a pattern that has become hard to ignore for a team trying to establish a cleaner identity.
Liam Coen took responsibility for the breakdowns and said the answer has to start with simplifying the play-calling process so the offense can get lined up and operate with more urgency. For a staff trying to build consistency, the issue is bigger than one messy afternoon. It is about whether the Jaguars can get the details right before the penalties begin to shape games for them. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Fans Have A Bigger Brian Thomas Jr. Concern Than Trade Buzz
Brian Thomas Jr. has become part of the trade chatter around Jacksonville, but the more immediate concern for the Jaguars is not what another team might offer. It is the quiet, underwhelming start to his sophomore season, which has left the young receiver in an unusual spot after what the team hoped would be a step forward.
Through five games, Thomas has just nine catches for 105 yards and one touchdown, production that does not match the expectations surrounding a player the Jaguars still appear willing to build around. Even with outside interest floating around, Jacksonville has not signaled any desire to move him, leaving the bigger question focused on whether the breakout still comes in time for the season to matter. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars-Texans Could Come Down To What Houston Still Hasn't Fixed
With Week 6 bringing the Jaguars and Texans back into the same divisional frame, the matchup is starting to look less like a showcase for star power and more like a test of which side has done a better job of fixing its own issues. Scott Barzilla of Battle Red Blog dug into Houstons current state, and his read centered on a team still trying to sort out its offense, where scheme and playcalling have been lingering concerns even after another offseason meant to move things forward.
From Jacksonvilles perspective, that makes the trip to Houston feel winnable, especially with Barzilla also pointing to defensive injury effects that have complicated the Texans balance on that side of the ball. He flagged a few under-the-radar names worth watching and still called for a tight game, but his slight edge goes to the Jaguars, which says plenty about how much Houston still has to clean up before this rivalry feels settled again. [Read more 🡒]