Three companies are licensed to produce NFL football cards for 2007, and all of them had access to top rookies at the NFL Players Rookie Premiere event that was held just a few weeks after the NFL Draft. Upper Deck created a box set of 30 cards named after the photo shoot, all of which feature some of the first photos of players like Calvin Johnson and Adrian Peterson in their NFL uniforms.
The 2007 NFL Players Rookie Premiere set is sold as a complete set of 30 cards. Random boxes contain a card autographed by one of the 30 featured rookies.
Base Cards
The top rookies from the NFL's Class of 2007 appear to pop right out at you thanks to the design of the box set's cards. A large action photo emerges from the center of a triangle with a smaller head shot in the bottom-right corner. Player, position, brand info and the Upper Deck logo are all done in silver foil.
Card backs include full college stats, something you won't find on many other football cards. Though the player mix is heavy on offensive skill position players - largely because they comprise most of the guest list for the Rookie Premiere - a few defensive players and even offensive lineman Joe Thomas also make the cut.
And that about sums it up. There are no parallels or other frills, and my review box contained all 30 cards, all in excellent condition.
Autographed Cards
All 30 players on the checklist autographed some cards for inclusion in random boxes. The cards aren't numbered, and Upper Deck did not release odds for finding one of the signed cards. The About.com sample set held no autographs.
The Last Word
The NFL Players Rookie Premiere set is probably the simplest way to get cards of all of the top 2007 rookies, and it's affordable too - with some searching, you may be able to find it for under $10. That makes it a handy, inexpensive tool to get beginners and young collectors interested in football cards. Just be aware that the cards don't fit the commonly accepted definition for rookie cards, and won't be considered such by most of the hobby community.
With it's total lack of inserts and other chase cards, the Rookie Premiere set is definitely a niche product, but it fills that niche just fine.