Sauce Gardner/Richard Sherman 2022 Illusions Rookie Idols Dual Patch
While the term shutdown corner is commonly used, the actual list of true lockdown corners is much shorter than imagined. Richard Sherman began his career as a wide receiver at Stanford before becoming one of the best defensive backs in recent NFL memory.
Sherman is a fan of the Jets' corner. Following Gardner's selection, Sherman opined, "I loved Sauce, I love his tape, I love his press technique, I love his confidence. He has everything you want to see in the position." The two share a card in the 2022 Illusions set which features a dual patch card of the two corners.
Ahmad Gardner 2022 Panini Score Rookie Card
The brand Score is a legendary one amongst football card collectors. That reputation goes back to the 1989 set that included iconic first-issue cards of Troy Aikman, Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas, and Michael Irvin. There were also two legendary cornerback rookie cards in that set; Deion Sanders and Rod Woodson.
In 2022, Panini brought back to Score brand and produced cards marked with the legendary label. This is a cool way to get a copy of a Gardner rookie card that continues in the tradition of Woodson and Sanders.
Ahmad Gardner Panini Mosaic Silver Prizm
Several different trading card companies have dominated the football card industry. For decades, the leader was Topps, both with its standard line as well as its Chrome line. Upper Deck also had some great football sets with key inserts and valuable autographs. Today, the biggest name in football cards is Panini. Collectors enjoy the variants in the set, allowing them to get rarer and rarer cards.
Any collection of Sauce Gardner rookie cards wouldn't be complete without a Silver Prizm or a more difficult-to-find variant. There are many raw copies available online as graded examples haven't been sent back yet.
Sauce Gardner Panini Illusion Rookie Patch Auto
Cornerbacks normally have a rougher time adapting to the NFL than players at other positions. The rules of the league make it very difficult to keep up with fast-paced offenses. That certainly wasn't the case with Ahmad Gardner. The New York Jets used his blinding speed and incredible length to become a shutdown corner on day one.
Autograph cards are not only fun to collect, but they also make for a good investment as well. Sauce Gardner's Illusion card not only features an autograph but a patch as well.
Ahmad Gardner 2021 Bowman University
Prior to his career in the NFL, Gardner was a lockdown corner for the University of Cincinnati. During his final season at the school, the Bearcats made the College Football Playoffs. While they lost to Alabama, Gardner proved his mettle by locking up the Crimson Tide's elite receivers.
This Bowman card precedes any of Sauce's other offerings and many have been graded as they came out earlier and feature Gardner in his University of Cincinnati uniform.
