His name may have lagged behind top pick Joe Burrow and Alabama legend Tua Tagovailoa early in the 2020 NFL trading card year but it didn’t take long for collectors to determine that Clyde Edwards-Helaire rookie cards might be worth latching onto as well.
The Kansas City Chiefs young running back went right from a national championship in college to contributing mightily to a Super Bowl contender.
The Clyde Guide
Baton Rouge born and raised, Clyde Edwards-Helaire was a standout on the gridiron from an early age. He became the very first player under Catholic High School coach Dale Weiner to play as a true freshman. Growing up and sharing carries with fellow future LSU standout and NFL running back Derrius Guice, Edwards-Helaire became a four-star recruit. By the time his senior season was over, he was a bona fide star, leading the team to a 5A state championship and being named game MVP.
Staying close to home for college, Edwards-Helaire played sparingly as a freshman mostly on special teams. He started to make an impact his sophomore season in the LSU backfield, logging over 600 yards rushing and seven touchdowns. By the time his junior season rolled around, he was being mentioned as a candidate for many major college award shortlists including the Doak Walker Award.
CEH finished his junior season with over 1,400 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns, putting a bow on the season by knocking off national powerhouse Clemson by a score of 42 to 25 in the 2020 National Championship Game. Clyde then glided into the 2020 NFL Draft and was taken with the 32nd overall pick by the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs.
The 21-year-old came out of the gate like a ball of fire, becoming the youngest player NFL history to rush for over 130 yards and score a touchdown in a debut game. In Week 6 against Buffalo, he ran for 161 yards. Late season injuries put a damper on his individual numbers, but Edwards-Helaire looks like he’ll enjoy a productive career.
Below you can find three tiers of Clyde’s collectible cards, ranging from the high end to the low end with some options in between.
Super Bowl Tier
2020 Panini Impeccable #121 Clyde Edwards-Helaire HEL PAT AU RC EXCH
Even with Edwards-Helaire cooling off of it towards the end of his rookie season, this card continued to heat up. Panini went full uniform on this one with pieces of a helmet and jersey alongside an autograph, all presented on a high-end white matte, artistic looking cardboard finish. A redemption card that truly proved worth the wait. This already sits as the highest valued true RC of the Chiefs RB1.
2020 Panini Spectra #222 Clyde Edwards-Helaire JSY AU RC
Sticker auto aside, Spectra continues to be a well-respected brand and this horizontally designed cards offers some flash and flair. Numbered to 99, the Spectra auto patch price is at a point where the risk seems pretty minimal.
2020 Panini Origins #121 Clyde Edwards-Helaire JSY AU RC
Panini Origins always seems to do a very nice job of producing a higher end product for a reasonable price and this example is no different. The horizontal design features a similarly horizontal jersey swatch and a sticker autograph coupled with a beautiful photo of Edwards-Helaire set in a smoky cool backdrop. They eye appeal is high here with a low three-figure price.
National Championship Tier
2020 Absolute #221 Clyde Edwards-Helaire Rookie Premiere JSY AU/349 RC
A multi-memorabilia card with relic pieces that include a ball and multiple jersey swatches along with an autograph, all done on a quality textured card stock. There’s a lot of Chiefs red on this card making it a racecar red fancy option numbered to a mere 349 copies produced. Again, a sticker auto, but the price is certainly right.
2020 Panini Illusions #111 Clyde Edwards-Helaire JSY AU/199 RC–
Panini Illusions is another mid-level products that offers a sticker auto and a jersey piece. With plenty of shiny and some great color, these look much better in person than on a screen, but the sub-$100 cost makes it a nice mid-level option to think about.
2020 Zenith #61 Clyde Edwards-Helaire RC–
Middle-aged collectors will remember the Zenith name from the early to mid-nineties. They will also remember that it was a little over the top and somehow underwhelming all at the same time. It’s made a return and this is Edward-Helaire’s true rookie card out of the product. It’s a pretty simple design with Clyde Clydesdale-ing down the field. Although it looks like he’s being chased by a giant NFL logoed football it’s still a fun option and a very affordable card. There’s also a version with a sticker auto.
Baton Rouge Tier
2020 Panini Mosaic #212 Clyde Edwards-Helaire RC–
Mosaic stands as one of the new mid-level highlights in the sports card market. Starting with the unbelievably hot basketball product earlier this year, Mosaic transitions into football. As far as value and growth potential, think just a tick below Prizm. There are plenty of parallels here, but the base version is dirt cheap. Just a solid looking card from a popular new product.
2020 Panini XR #121 Clyde Edwards-Helaire RC–
Panini XR offers a nice base rookie of the Kansas City Chiefs running back. The now famous RC logo found across the sport is stamped all over as the backdrop of the card, which actually plays really well when done right, as this example shows. It’s shiny and its cheap, which is a nice combination at this stage in the rookie card countdown.
2020 Donruss #321 Clyde Edwards-Helaire RR RC
Everyone knows the Rated Rookie. The classic Donruss design has been featured since the early eighties in Major League Baseball and has become a go-to for many collectors. At the lowest price point, this is a nice basic Edwards-Helaire rookie card that can be added to your collection for the price of a bottle of soda.
You can check out a list of the 25 most watched Clyde Edwards-Helaire rookie card auctions anytime directly below.
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