Back with another sleek design, the 2021 Panini Prizm Football set brought all the exciting features that make it an annual hobby favorite.
From high-powered rookies to colorful parallels, inserts and autographed cards, 2021 Prizm football packs plenty of thrills.
It's also ten percent larger...
By increasing the checklist from 400 cards the year before to 440, Panini made room for 30 more veterans and legends and 10 more rookies.
Starting with Trevor Lawrence in the #331 spot, rookies make up the last 110 cards of the set.
Some of those rookies are now legitimate superstars, which should help maintain collector interest for years to come.
Plenty of big-name veterans only add to the draw of the set.
And in this guide, we look at the 15 most valuable.
Let's jump right in!
2021 Panini Prizm #331 Trevor Lawrence Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $60
How much can we blame Trevor Lawrence for his disappointing rookie season?
In retrospect, he never really had a chance.
The Urban Meyer saga was a stain on the Jacksonville Jaguars season all year.
Lawrence was saddled with a skill-position core that was both questionable and constantly injured.
He also had one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL.
2021's first-overall pick also needed time.
Clemson's offense was built to make life as easy as possible for him.
Adjusting to a nuanced pro scheme doesn't just happen overnight.
From hype to humbled, Lawrence posted the worst passer rating (71.5) and QBR (33.5) of 2021's five-man QB class.
A starter from day one, the 22-year-old averaged an interception per game to finish with a league-worst 17 picks.
He completed under 60% of his passes (59.6%) for 3,641, throwing 12 touchdowns and rushing for two more.
Jacksonville finished at an NFL-worst 3-14. Everything that could go wrong went even worse.
Yet, it was less a reflection on Lawrence as a talent than a perfect storm of suck for a franchise at rock bottom.
2021 Panini Prizm #337 Ja'Marr Chase Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $50
It’s hard to believe there was a time when Cincinnati Bengals fans were down on Ja’Marr Chase.
The fifth overall pick of the 2021 Draft ripped up the record books during his debut season, setting both a franchise record and Super Bowl-era NFL rookie record with 1,455 receiving yards.
He capped the season off with a timeless 266-yard performance against Kansas City, good for another all-time rookie mark.
Chase was an easy choice for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
During the preseason, though, he had Bengals fans biting their nails.
Chase dropped pass after pass during first-team reps, struggling to rekindle his connection with Burrow.
It turned out to be nothing of note, yet Cincinnati fans were still anxious about a potential top-five bust.
A Second-Team All-Pro designation and Pro Bowl nod later, there were no worries to be had.
Chase was a superstar receiver and the perfect high-octane complement for their franchise quarterback.
He was also the right big-game WR for the job.
Chase hauled in 25 of 35 targets during the postseason, shedding top corners and double teams for 400 yards from scrimmage (368 receiving, 32 rushing) and a touchdown.
2021 Panini Prizm #117 Josh Allen
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $40
Josh Allen's 2021 season was a statistical step back from his MVP runner-up masterpiece in 2020.
But Allen was the hero Buffalo needed in 2021, warts and all.
He led the 11-6 Bills to a second consecutive AFC East title with a dizzying array of bombs, pinpoint throws, and head-scratching turnovers.
He's perhaps his own best friend and enemy: a confident, big-armed thrower willing to take the fall if a key throw goes awry.
It worked a heck of a lot more than it didn't during the regular season.
Allen completed 63.3% of his passes for 4,407 yards with 36 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
He also rushed for a career-best 763 yards while tacking on six ground scores.
He was still the end-all, be-all, for the regular season's third-best scoring offense.
The Wyoming product may very well have commandeered Buffalo to a Super Bowl appearance if not for the team's 13-second Divisional Round meltdown against Kansas City.
It was a teeth-gritting, bizarre end to a wild 2021 joyride for Allen and the Bills.
2021 Panini Prizm #190 Patrick Mahomes
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $40
You're an easy target when you're at the top of the football mountain.
Two years removed from his first Super Bowl title, Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes was a lightning rod for the hottest takes in 2021.
His inconsistent play during the first half or so of the season only added fuel to those opinionated fires.
The 26-year-old QB found his footing late in the year, notching his fourth straight Pro Bowl appearance.
However, he still finished with full-season worsts in quarterback rating (98.5) and QBR (62.2).
Mahomes' 4,839 passing yards and 37 touchdowns were undercut by decreased efficiency (7.4 yards per attempt).
It was far from a bad year, yet it was enough to give his detractors ammunition.
The Chiefs' excruciating playoff exit sure didn't help matters.
After lighting up the stat sheet in playoff wins over the Steelers and Bills, Mahomes led KC to overtime in a home-field AFC Championship clash with the Bengals.
All the goodwill of the previous twelve quarters evaporated with a three-and-out to start the OT period.
Cincinnati converted their ensuing possession with an AFC-clinching field goal, sending Mahomes home as talk-show fodder for the next eight months.
2021 Panini Prizm #358 Amon-RA St. Brown Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $40
The Detroit Lions' receiving corps was a barren wasteland in the first half of the 2021 season.
Needed reinforcement came in the second half from former USC wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.
At just 5-foot-10 with average to above-average speed, St. Brown's measurables don't jump off a traditional scouting report.
However, scouting reports aren't the end-all, be-all.
The Lions took St. Brown in the fourth round, coveting his high-level blocking ability on the outside.
He filled that role nicely early, albeit with few receptions to his name.
As soon as coach Dan Campbell took over the offensive playcalling and Ben Johnson took control of the passing game, that all changed.
Campbell put St. Brown's energies to good use in November and December, letting him bust his way open through sheer will.
St. Brown caught 35 of his franchise rookie-record 90 balls in the last month of the season, finishing with 912 receiving yards and five touchdown passes.
As the Lions offense evolved, so did St. Brown.
Within a year, he'd make yet another jump from mid-round surprise to Pro Bowler.
2021 Panini Prizm #374 Patrick Surtain II Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $40
Patrick Surtain II was an anomaly in 2021: an undersized rookie cornerback with the presence and ball skills to take on and shut down all pass targets.
The Denver Broncos raised plenty of eyebrows on draft day after selecting the Alabama product with the ninth overall pick.
Critics pointed to his size and struggles against speed receivers as warning signs.
What they didn't take into account was Surtain's grit.
He got beat often in the season's early days, yet kept progressing.
He went from picked on to feared, roping off his side of the field with field intelligence and pure effort.
By season's end, Surtain was a legit #1 corner.
He gave up just 560 yards and three touchdowns on 85 targets, awe-inspiring numbers considering his uneven start.
He tallied four interceptions, 14 passes defensed, eight passes broken up, and 58 tackles (45 solo) in sixteen games (15 starts).
With Surtain in charge of the defensive backfield, the Broncos improved from 25th in points against in 2020 to third in 2021.
If not for an uninspired offense, 7-10 Denver could have parlayed its elite D into a playoff push.
2021 Panini Prizm #221 Jalen Hurts
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $35
The Philadelphia Eagles caught a glimpse of what Jalen Hurts could do for them during the 2021 season.
They liked what they saw.
The knock on Hurts since college has always been his accuracy.
His success as a runner from under center came with a price: an inability to set his feet and deliver consistent on-target throws from the conventional three-step or five-step drop.
2021 was a step in the right direction.
While Hurts wasn't perfect and often struggled to find his second or third progression, he took critical strides as a passer.
It was just what Philly needed to go from 4-11-1 the year before to a third playoff berth in four seasons.
Hurts completed 61.3% of his passes during the regular season for 3,144 yards, 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
His development in the aerial department opened up his ground game, adding up to a team-best 784 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.
The season ended with a dud: an uninspiring 31-15 Wild Card Game loss to Tom Brady and the Bucs.
Sudden ending notwithstanding, the Eagles took flight in '21 in search of a new golden era of Philly football.
2021 Panini Prizm #335 Devonta Smith Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $30
Devonta Smith had a fantastic rookie season in 2021, setting a new Philadelphia Eagles rookie record with 916 receiving yards.
Yet, there were likely hundreds of yards left on the table.
The first receiver to win a Heisman Trophy since Desmond Howard in 1991, Smith came to Philadelphia with a boatload of accolades.
The question was whether or not the tenth overall pick could translate collegiate stardom into success in the pros.
After all, many Heisman winners have flamed out in the NFL.
Rest assured, Smith won't be one of them.
The 23-year-old Alabama product was a prime factor in Jalen Hurts' maturation as a QB, catching 64 of 104 targets while hauling in five touchdowns.
Many of those targets were well offline, skewing Smith's conversion percentage.
If Hurts had been online with 20-25% of those throws, Smith would have been well over 1,000 yards.
And that's not to mention his relatively low usage rate.
Smith was targeted six times or less in over half (10 games) of the Eagles' regular-season contests.
Twenty more targets would have set him up for All-Pro status.
What ifs aside, it was a brilliant debut for Philadelphia's new wideout.
2021 Panini Prizm #382 Micah Parsons Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $30
The Dallas Cowboys had lofty expectations for Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons after grabbing him with the 12th pick of the 2021 Draft.
Rather than keeping Parsons locked in his college position, the Cowboys transitioned him into a free-roaming edge threat.
He played linebacker.
He played defensive end.
He played anywhere in Cowboys DC Dan Quinn's scheme he was told.
There was plenty to tip his hat about.
Parsons wasn't just the consensus pick for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
He was a shortlist candidate for NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Parsons finished second to Pittsburgh's TJ Watt, narrowing missing out on joining Lawrence Taylor (1981) as the only players to sweep both awards.
Parsons set a new Dallas rookie record with 13 sacks, defensed three passes, and forced three fumbles.
He posted 84 tackles (64 solo) and led all of the NFL with 20 tackles for a loss.
As the Cowboys' injured list hit revolving door status, Parsons filled every gap at a superstar level.
The First-Team All-Pro and first-time Pro Bowler didn't stop in the regular season either, racking up nine tackles (one for a loss) in Dallas' 23-17 Wild Card loss to San Francisco.
2021 Panini Prizm #273 Joe Burrow
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $25
A torn ACL and MCL ended Joe Burrow's 2020 season a month and a half early.
In 2021, he came back with a championship-caliber vengeance.
Edging out Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott for the AP Comeback Player of the Year award, Burrow completed an NFL-best 70.4% of his passes to march Cincinnati to its first Super Bowl appearance since 1988.
Burrow's natural connection with former LSU teammate and Offensive Rookie of the Year Ja'Marr Chase jumpstarted things from Day 1.
It also jolted the offense from a bottom-five mess to the league's 7th-best scoring attack in '21.
Burrow was punished all regular season long, eating an NFL-worst 51 sacks.
He somehow absorbed the beatings in stride, passing for 4,611 yards with 34 touchdowns against 14 interceptions.
He stayed on the level in the playoffs, using his trademark accuracy and eye for the big play to lead the Bengals to an AFC title with his trademark accuracy.
Cincy's Lombardi Trophy hopes were dashed by a heartbreaking Cooper Kupp/Matthew Stafford connection late in Super Bowl LVI.
Regardless, Burrow did his job, completing 68.3% of his passes in four playoff games for 1,105 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions.
2021 Panini Prizm #294 Tom Brady
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $25
Four years after winning his third and final MVP award, Tom Brady came this close to winning his fourth.
Before Brady's arrival, the Tampa Bay Bucs suffered a 12-year playoff drought eerily similar to the team's days as the league's laughing stock.
It all changed when he showed up in 2020, culminating in the franchise's second Super Bowl title.
2021 didn't bring a repeat.
Yet, it did bring with it the best of Brady.
Head coach Bruce Arians and offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich leaned into their megastar quarterback, building what was essentially a pass-only attack.
Tampa finished second to last in rushing attempts in 2021.
They finished first in passes.
And Brady sure made them count.
The seven-time Super Bowl champ set new career highs in completions (an NFL-best 485) and passing yards (an NFL-best 5,316).
He also tossed a league-high 43 touchdown passes and ended the regular season with a 67.5% completion percentage, his best since his MVP year in 2007.
Brady finished second to Aaron Rodgers in MVP voting, third in the Offensive Player of the Year balloting, and landed his fifteenth Pro Bowl nod.
2021 Panini Prizm #341 Kyle Pitts Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $25
Drafted fourth overall in 2021, new Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts came into camp with tunnel vision.
"I just keep my head down and, at the end of the year, I can look back at what I've done," Pitts said. "My focus is living in the present and keeping my feet on the ground."
Looking back on his 2021 season, he had much to be proud of.
The former Florida Gator became the first Atlanta Falcons rookie to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards (1,026), breaking Julio Jones' franchise rookie record.
Pitts was the glue that held Atlanta's middling passing attack together.
While he only registered one TD catch on the season, he repeatedly willed them into scoring range with a team-high 68 receptions on 110 targets.
The rookie Pro Bowler's partnership with QB Matt Ryan was fruitful, even if the final scores for the 7-10 Falcons said otherwise.
2021 Panini Prizm #169 Justin Herbert
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $20
In 2021, Justin Herbert's first Pro Bowl year was undermined by a broken defense and more questionable coaching.
If the Chargers had squeaked out an OT win (or a tie) against the hated Raiders in Week 18, a playoff appearance might have provided a different perspective.
As it was, Herbert's fantastic year was completely wasted.
The Chargers gave up 20 points or more in 14 games and 27 or more in nine.
It's a pity, considering how brilliant Herbert was.
He was the catalyst for the fifth-best scoring attack in the league, finishing second in the NFL in passing yards (5,014), second in completions (443), third in passing touchdowns (38), and tied for second in completions of 40 yards or more (15).
Somehow, in some way, Herbert drug a ramshackle defense to the precipice of a playoff berth.
He even saved their butts in Week 18, erasing a 15-point Raiders lead in the last four minutes or so of a do-or-die, win-and-in showdown.
The defense held Las Vegas to a field goal to start overtime, and Herbert matched it.
Many wondered if the two teams would settle on a tie, considering both would bypass Pittsburgh for a playoff spot in that scenario.
Instead, the Raiders ripped the hearts out of the Chargers with a last-second Daniel Carlson field goal.
2021 Panini Prizm #338 Jaylen Waddle Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $20
The 2021 Miami Dolphins weren't yet the high-flying offensive team they'd become just a year or two later.
Drafting Jaylen Waddle counted for several steps in the right direction.
The sixth overall pick immediately settled back into a groove with former Alabama teammate Tua Tagovailoa.
In fact, they were the whole dang dancefloor.
Waddle was targeted 140 times in 2021.
No other Dolphins wide receiver saw more than 73 (DeVante Parker).
Waddle converted on 104 of those targets, breaking Anquan Boldin's rookie record for receptions (101) set back in 2003.
Waddle wasn't quite a big-play threat yet, though.
He did amass 1,015 yards and six touchdowns.
However, he only averaged 9.8 yards per reception, nearly half of his league-leading 18.1 in 2022.
What he was was dependable.
Waddle was the aerial game workhorse as Miami rocketed from a 1-7 start to a near-playoff berth at 9-8.
When Tagovailoa needed a bailout or a key first down, it was Waddle who was there more often than not.
2021 Panini Prizm #334 Justin Fields Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $15
The Chicago Bears gave Justin Fields no chance to succeed in 2022.
More specifically, former Bears head coach Matt Nagy gave him no chance.
It all started when Nagy all but gift-wrapped the starting QB job to Andy Dalton in the preseason.
Fields was relegated to a backup role until Dalton went down with an injury in Week 3.
Undeveloped as a pocket passer, he was pressed into a traditional pocket role for most of the season.
It may have been excusable if Chicago's offensive line was capable of protecting him.
That wasn't the case.
Fields was sacked 36 times in 12 games.
He missed a whole month's worth of action due to injury.
When Fields was in uniform, Nagy stayed static and failed to adjust the offense to his strengths.
The 11th overall pick of the 2021 Draft performed accordingly, completing just 58.9% of his passes for 1,870 yards, seven touchdowns and ten interceptions.
There was still plenty to like about him, even with the whole coaching staff in his way.
Rightfully, the blame was placed on Nagy's shoulders.
He was fired after a 6-11 campaign, opening the door for Fields and a new offense.
2021 Panini Prizm Football Cards In Review
The design, parallels, inserts, and autographs within 2021 Panini Prizm football are all outstanding as usual.
Even the new Prizm Break, New Recruit and Manga inserts hit the mark with collectors.
But one area may hurt this set over the long term, especially when you compare it to the year before, and that's the rookie class.
Don't get me wrong, Ja'Marr Chase, Micah Parsons, Patrick Surtain II, Amon-RA St. Brown, Devonta Smith and several others have been great.
And they should continue having impressive careers.
But the rookie class is weak at the quarterback position.
Right or wrong, that usually hurts a given set over the long term in this hobby.
Trevor Lawrence has been solid but perhaps hasn't lived up to his lofty expectations.
Justin Fields, Mac Jones, Zach Wilson, and Trey Lance have all underperformed.
The lack of star quarterback rookies is even more apparent when compared to 2020 Prizm, which featured Jalen Hurts, Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Jordan Love and Tua Tagovailoa.
Still, despite that gap in big-name rookie QBs, 2021 Prizm is a solid set overall.