You didn’t see his name when Panini and the companies that produce the pre-draft football card sets issued previews for their 2017 issues. He wasn’t invited to the NFL Rookie Premiere and was considered a speculative late round pick at best. Two seasons later, he’s emerged as one of the best picks in a loaded draft class, but Aaron Jones rookie cards are still a relative bargain.
Super Sleeper
The Green Bay Packers snared Jones out of UTEP in the fifth round of that draft, one that also included names like Patrick Mahomes, Christian McCaffrey and Deshaun Watson. Despite a brilliant senior season for the Miners, 18 running backs were selected before his name was finally called. It’s a snub Jones hasn’t forgotten as he blossoms in new coach Matt Lefleur’s offense.
Jones surpassed the 1,000 yard mark for the first time in his career in 2019, recording five games with two or more rushing touchdowns, the most in the NFL. He also tied for the league lead in rushing touchdowns (16). Those numbers are even softened some as he shares carries with powerful and talented Jamaal Williams.
Aaron Jones Rookie Cards
Jones’s status as a fifth round pick meant a somewhat slow start to his rookie card checklist. He has autographed cards inside Leaf’s 2017 draft product which are still available on eBay for under $10.
While those aren’t considered “official” NFL rookie cards, even Jones’ signed cards in Panini products later in 2017 are inexpensive. Many of his autographed rookie cards still sell for under $30, even in popular brands like Optic and Prizm. In fact, as of this moment, only seven Jones rookie cards have ever broached the $400 benchmark. That will likely change if his career continues on its current path and the Packers are able to sustain their success.
Unsigned Aaron Jones rookie cards might be among the best deals in the hobby, with most of the lower to middle-end brands like Donruss, Donruss Optic, Prizm and Unparalleled available for under $2 each. Some collectors have even been able to nab variations for that amount or less.
Collectors and investors who chase high-end Jones cards have focused on products like Contenders, Contenders Optic, Prizm, Flawless and National Treasures. A PSA 10 Cracked Ice Autograph (# to 25) sold for $550 in 2018 while a 2017 Prizm Gold Autograph (# to 10) and graded 9.5 by BGS netted $500 earlier this month. However, non-parallels or those carrying higher serial numbers are well below that figure, with many high quality autograph cards from popular products still affordable for most. A National Treasures Red Parallel auto sold for just over $100 on Christmas Eve.
The only downside to some of Jones’ rookie autographs is that many are on stickers, primarily because Jones wasn’t invited to the Rookie Premiere and Panini likely had to scramble to acquire some signatures once he had made the Packers’ 2017 roster and appeared in line for playing time. He also has only a small number of rookie relic autographs. Those might be extremely popular moving forward.
You can see all of Aaron Jones rookie cards on eBay here and check out the live list of the current ‘most watched’ auctions below.
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