The 2004 NFL Draft class is taken into account among the finest of all time and the 2004 Topps soccer card set actually displays that.
You may shortly discover some nice rookie playing cards throughout the 385-card guidelines.
Many of those guys had been superstars.
A few of them are surefire future Corridor of Famers…
Aesthetically, the set mimics a number of design components of the 2004 Topps baseball set that give it a simple and conservative really feel.
However, if you happen to look carefully, you may discover some delicate variations.
General, it is a strong set that, surprisingly, is usually not celebrated as a lot because it deserves.
And on this information, we’ll check out the 15 most beneficial.
Let’s bounce proper in!
2004 Topps #311 Ben Roethlisberger Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $125
Chosen eleventh by the Pittsburgh Steelers within the 2004 NFL Draft, Ben Roethlisberger was initially slated to function emergency quarterback behind Tommy Maddox and Charlie Batch.
These plans had been scrapped a number of weeks into the season.
Batch went down with an harm throughout the preseason and Maddox suffered ligament injury in his throwing elbow in Week 2.
Roethlisberger shortly answered the decision.
Aided by the league’s second-best operating recreation, one of the best offensive line within the NFL, and the sport’s #1 protection, the Miami of Ohio product had all of it.
He may have rested on all of the expertise round him, however that wasn’t Roethlisberger’s model.
Large Ben went 13-0 as a starter, changing into the primary quarterback to win Offensive Rookie of the Yr since its inception in 1957.
He accomplished 66.4% of his passes on the 12 months for two,621 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions, and completed fifth within the league in passer ranking (98.4).
Most significantly, he was the sport supervisor Pittsburgh wanted on their solution to a league-best 15-1 file.
Within the postseason, Roethlisberger’s rookie standing was far more obvious.
The Steelers barely sidestepped his two interceptions in a 20-17 Divisional Spherical win over the Jets however could not overcome a trio of picks in a 42-28 loss to New England within the AFC title recreation.
2004 Topps #350 Eli Manning Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $125
Because the son of Archie Manning and youthful brother of Peyton Manning, Eli Manning had large footwear to fill headed into the NFL.
He’d simply accomplished a profession at Ole Miss, main his crew to a ten-win season and an SEC MVP Award.
And that is when the controversy started.
The San Diego Chargers had the primary choose within the 2004 NFL Draft.
However Manning made it clear that he needed no a part of San Diego and damaging his status within the course of.
The Chargers drafted him anyway however instantly despatched him to the Giants for QB Philip Rivers and two picks.
The deal modified the course of each franchise’s futures, however Eli would not begin for the Giants instantly.
As a substitute, he performed backup for former MVP Kurt Warner who helped New York to a 5-4 begin.
Seeking to combine issues as much as salvage any hope of a playoff run, head coach Tom Coughlin turned to Manning from that time on.
And similar to that, the Giants’ season took a nosedive.
After dropping six straight, Manning and crew received the final recreation of the 12 months to complete 6-10.
At that time, few would have predicted that Manning can be hoisting his first Tremendous Bowl trophy just some years later.
2004 Topps #360 Larry Fitzgerald Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $90
The Arizona Cardinals had just one broad receiver value his salt in 2003.
A 12 months later, they’d have the makings of one of many NFL’s greatest WR tandems.
Arizona struck it large with Anquan Boldin in 2003, turning a second-round choose into the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Yr.
The issue was that the offense was all Boldin and little else.
In 2004, the Cardinals remedied that by deciding on Biletnikoff Award (Finest WR) winner and Heisman runner-up Larry Fitzgerald with the third general choice.
With Boldin and Fitzgerald on the prime of the depth chart and Josh McCown underneath middle, the Cardinals’ passing recreation appeared destined to enhance in 2004.
As a substitute, Boldin suffered a proper knee harm in coaching camp that sidelined him for the primary six weeks of the common season.
Now, Fitzgerald was all of the sudden in the identical place Boldin was a 12 months in the past.
He wasn’t fairly able to reply the bell.
Fitzgerald transformed on simply 58 of his team-high 115 targets for 780 yards and eight touchdowns.
His 50.4% catch share was practically 11 % worse than his eventual profession mark.
It was an inauspicious begin to what’s going to absolutely be a first-ballot Corridor-of-Fame profession.
2004 Topps #347 Sean Taylor Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $75
Security Sean Taylor was coming off a historic junior 12 months for the Miami Hurricanes, the place he led the nation in interceptions and set the college’s single-season file for interceptions returned for a landing.
As some of the celebrated defensive gamers within the 2004 NFL Draft, a number of groups salivated on the probability to seize the artful security.
The Washington Redskins took him fifth general.
Quickly after, 5 of his former Hurricane teammates would be part of him as first-round picks, setting an NFL file for essentially the most first-round picks from a single faculty.
Taylor performed properly off the bench throughout the first two weeks, flashing indicators of unimaginable expertise.
And by Week 3, Taylor had crushed out third-year security Andre Lott for the beginning function.
In 15 video games (13 begins), Taylor recorded 78 tackles (61 solo), one sack, two pressured fumbles, and 4 interceptions.
Taylor completed fourth in Defensive Rookie of the Yr voting, whereas his former College of Miami teammate, Jonathan Vilma, received the award.
The standout security would play three extra years within the NFL, incomes Professional Bowl honors in 2006 and 2007 (posthumously).
Sadly, Taylor died tragically after being shot throughout a house invasion in November 2027.
2004 Topps #327 Vince Wilfork Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $60
College of Miami deal with Vince Wilfork opted out of his senior season and entered the NFL Draft.
Wilfork had discovered constant enjoying time all three years however solely grew to become a starter throughout his junior 12 months, the place he discovered success as an elite defender.
And regardless of ending with the top-ranked protection in 2003, the New England Patriots jumped on Wilfork with the twenty first choose of the 2004 NFL Draft.
That made him the final (however actually not least) of a record-setting six first-round picks coming by way of the College of Miami Hurricanes that 12 months.
Ultimately, Wilfork would turn out to be a five-time Professional Bowler and two-time Tremendous Bowl champ.
Nonetheless, his profession in New England started equally to his collegiate profession: Wilfork performed in all 16 video games of his rookie season however solely began in 6.
Regardless of the restricted minutes, he completed the common season with 42 mixed tackles and recorded two sacks.
In the course of the 14-2 Patriots Tremendous Bowl run over the Philadelphia Eagles, Wilfork recorded three tackles in three video games (1 begin).
A Tremendous Bowl ring was a fantastic end for the beginning of a strong profession.
2004 Topps #85 Jerry Rice
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $50
It took 20 years to get Jerry Rice to cease.
The best broad receiver to ever dwell by no means was or can be a quitter.
He labored tougher and studied greater than anybody.
In 2004, his stubbornness was much more obvious.
After the 49ers parted methods with Rice in 2000, it might have been simple to name it a day.
He had simply completed his age-38 season and had an unparalleled 16-year Corridor-of-Fame profession to look again on.
As a substitute, Rice moved throughout the Bay to Oakland.
He put collectively back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons in 2001 and 2002, earlier than dropping a step or two in 2003.
He misplaced a number of extra steps in ’04.
Rice requested a commerce at 42 years previous as an alternative of fading into the space.
The Raiders gave him his want, dealing him to the Seahawks for a conditional seventh-round choose.
Rice took on a extra outstanding function in Seattle, to uneven outcomes (362 yards, three touchdowns) in eleven video games, but his 51.0% catch share was properly beneath that of a top-three receiver.
Seattle parted methods with him after the marketing campaign, but Rice wasn’t glad.
He went to camp with the Broncos in 2005 earlier than retiring when his potential function as a fourth receiver was laid out.
2004 Topps #275 Tom Brady
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $50
Coming off their second championship in three years, the New England Patriots had been laser-focused on solidifying their dynasty within the making.
Brady saved up his elite play, tossing a then-career-high in touchdowns with 28 and placing up 230.8 yards per recreation.
His 92.6 passer ranking eclipsed his earlier seasons, and his career-low in sacks was a testomony to the Patriots’ offensive line and Brady’s growing discipline consciousness.
The improved Brady led his crew to a 14-2 file, incomes Professional Bowl honors for himself and a first-round bye for the Patriots.
Within the Divisional Spherical in opposition to the Indianapolis Colts, Brady and crew bought one of the best of Peyton Manning simply as they’d achieved the 12 months earlier than within the AFC Championship.
The Patriots quickly confronted a 15-1 Pittburgh Steelers juggernaut for the AFC title.
The Pat’s protection dominated en path to a 41-27 victory, forcing rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to throw 3 interceptions on the evening.
Brady locked in throughout Tremendous Bowl XXXIX, throwing for 236 yards and two touchdowns in opposition to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Kicker Adam Vinatieri got here up clutch within the 4th quarter (as he so usually did), and the New England protection held on to keep up a slim 24-21 victory.
2004 Topps #375 Philip Rivers Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $45
No matter how properly Drew Brees performed in 2004, it was solely a matter of time earlier than Philip Rivers acquired the keys to the offense.
The Chargers weren’t about to waste a first-overall choose.
Even with the appreciable draft capital acquired from the Giants for the rights to Eli Manning, San Diego needed to put all of their eggs into Rivers’ basket.
So, 2004 was merely a formality, playoff berth and all.
Rivers sat behind Brees in 2004, patiently ready his flip.
He noticed rubbish time motion in two video games, finishing 5 of 8 passes for 33 yards and a landing.
The stress was palpable on the sidelines.
Brees took the choice of Rivers as a slight, even telling quarterbacks coach Brian Schottenheimer that it “can be the worst f—ing mistake this group may ever make.”
Possibly it was, and possibly it wasn’t.
Rivers had a Corridor-of-Fame caliber profession with eight Professional Bowls and a Comeback Participant of the Yr award.
Nonetheless, he by no means received the large one.
Brees, however, received two Offensive Participant of the Yr awards with the Saints and hoisted the Lombardi in February of 2010, taking dwelling Tremendous Bowl XLIV MVP honors within the course of.
2004 Topps #1 Peyton Manning
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $40
Heading into 2004, the Indianapolis Colts and Peyton Manning had been coming off a 12-4 season wherein they received the AFC South and made the AFC Championship recreation.
Manning himself was the defending league MVP.
And he was out for revenge in opposition to the New England Patriots.
Manning had arguably among the finest particular person common seasons in NFL historical past, throwing an astonishing 49 landing passes on 284.8 yards per recreation and a 121.1 passer ranking.
He virtually unanimously received the NFL MVP award, dropping just one vote to Atlanta’s Michael Vick.
Ending with a 12-4 file, the Colts discovered themselves in a Wild Card matchup in opposition to the Denver Broncos for the second time in a row.
And the outcomes had been related.
After beating them 41-10 the 12 months earlier than, Manning and the Colts torched the Broncos’ protection, successful 49-24 in entrance of 56,609 followers on the RCA Dome.
Sadly for Manning, who had accomplished over 50 landing passes in 17 video games, he could not muster any within the Divisional Spherical in opposition to the Patriots’ elite protection.
Dropping 20-3, the Colts went dwelling with no Tremendous Bowl but once more, regardless of Manning’s legendary numbers.
2004 Topps #152 Antonio Gates
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $40
Antonio Gates did the unthinkable in 2004: he made the Chargers entrance workplace imagine in Drew Brees, if just for a season.
San Diego’s administration was satisfied that Brees was a legal responsibility after a poor exhibiting in 2003.
It is why they pulled the set off on a pricey draft deal to safe Philip Rivers, numbering Brees’ days in sunny Southern California.
All of that modified because of Antonio Gates.
After a strong rookie 12 months in 2003, Gates matured into the league’s most dependable tight finish.
He snagged a team-high 81 receptions and transformed on a formidable 71.1% of his targets.
Each time Brees wanted him, Gates was there.
The First-Workforce All-Professional had three extra catches than the mixed complete of San Diego’s prime broad receiver duo (Eric Parker, Keenan McCardell), amassing 964 yards and 13 receiving touchdowns.
No different NFL tight finish had greater than seven TD catches on the 12 months.
The Brees/Gates connection was the heartbeat of a San Diego offense that improved from sixteenth in scoring in 2003 to third.
The Chargers blew everybody’s expectations to bits, ending 12-4 for the franchise’s first AFC West title in a decade.
2004 Topps #140 Randy Moss
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $35
From the time the Minnesota Vikings drafted Randy Moss with the twenty first choose of the 1998 NFL Draft, he was decided to make all of the groups who handed on him pay.
And that he did.
Throughout his first six seasons, Moss set the NFL on hearth, main the league in receiving touchdowns thrice whereas being named a Professional Bowler 5 occasions and First-Workforce All-Professional thrice.
No one may cease him.
And in 2004, his seventh with the Vikings, he confirmed no indicators of slowing down, racking up eight touchdowns by his first 5 video games.
Nonetheless, a hamstring harm in Week 6 precipitated him to overlook important time and even sit out solely over the subsequent 5 video games.
After returning in Week 12, Moss began to seem like his previous self in Week 14 when he roasted the Seattle Seahawks for 104 yards and a landing.
In 13 video games, Moss totaled 767 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns.
And that was it.
Moss’s time in Minnesota ended, and the crew traded him to the Oakland Raiders forward of the 2005 season.
2004 Topps #191 Emmitt Smith
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $35
Emmitt Smith’s last 12 months as an NFL participant usually will get misplaced in time.
Simply over a month after he hung up his cleats in Arizona, the league’s all-time dashing chief returned to Dallas to retire as a Cowboy.
Smith received three Tremendous Bowls, an MVP award, and Offensive Rookie of the Yr in 13 years with Dallas.
He was synonymous with the franchise, even when he left in 2003.
This makes his two-year stint with the Cardinals really feel like an asterisk.
A fractured shoulder value him six video games in 2004, and he appeared manner off earlier than and after.
In 2005, issues had been a lot completely different.
The 35-year-old famous person was wholesome once more and able to make good on Arizona’s dedication to him.
Smith rushed 267 occasions for the ’04 Cardinals for 937 yards and 9 touchdowns.
He wasn’t the All-Professional power of years previous, however he was nonetheless fairly good.
Smith’s numbers had been akin to his last 12 months in Dallas, and his TD depend was his most since 2000.
The Cardinals hung round on the fringes of playoff rivalry for ten weeks earlier than dropping 5 of their final seven to complete 6-10.
Identical to that, Smith was gone, and his time in Arizona was all however forgotten.
2004 Topps #181 Drew Brees
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $30
San Diego Chargers QB Drew Brees made some huge cash in 2004.
It simply so occurs that the checks would come from a distinct group.
Brees was a stopgap possibility headed into 2004, with Philip Rivers ready within the wings.
He was, for a time, the way forward for the franchise.
Now, he was expendable.
Or, so the entrance workplace thought.
Brees put a tough 2003 manner behind him, morphing into one of many recreation’s greatest quarterbacks over a single offseason.
“I may activate the movie and watch myself final 12 months and say, ‘That is not me. That is not the way in which I play,”‘ Brees stated.
The previous Purdue star devoted himself to intense examine, tweaking his footwork, and refining his progressions.
In ’03, he pressured the difficulty and folded underneath duress.
In ’04, he saved his pulse low and made the suitable reads.
Brees’ numbers bore it out.
He upped his completion fee from 57.6% to 65.5%, ending the 12 months with 3,159 yards and 27 touchdowns.
There is no manner the Chargers may have made it anyplace close to a division title with out the NFL Comeback Participant of the Yr (and first-time Professional Bowler) balling out.
Inside two years, he’d be a New Orleans Saint.
2004 Topps #325 Steven Jackson Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $30
5 years after the closing of the Biggest Present on Turf, the Rams discovered themselves in limbo.
St. Louis made the playoffs 5 occasions in six seasons from 1999 to 2004.
Two of these runs ended within the Tremendous Bowl (’99, ’01), and one introduced rings together with it (’99).
In 2006, the Rams had been in 12 months two of an eventual 12-year playoff drought.
They’d undergo a number of id crises alongside the way in which, ultimately skipping St. Louis altogether to return to Los Angeles in 2016.
Nonetheless, there was one fixed for many of that darkish interval: Steven Jackson.
The Rams grabbed Jackson with the twenty fourth general choose of the 2004 Draft, earmarking the Oregon St. star as their future beginning operating again.
Not a lot was golden in regards to the Rams at the moment, besides possibly this choice.
Jackson shattered a number of profession franchise information, amassing eight consecutive 1,000-yard dashing seasons from 2005 to 2012.
In ’04, Jackson basically cut up time with incumbent Corridor-of-Famer Marshall Faulk.
He carried the ball 134 occasions in 14 video games (three begins), racking up 673 yards and 4 TDs.
Jackson additionally served as a worthwhile receiver out of the backfield, with 19 catches for 189 yards.
2004 Topps #250 Brett Favre
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Worth: $25
Brett Favre and the Inexperienced Bay Packers had been again from a heartbreaking loss in time beyond regulation to the Philadelphia Eagles wherein they didn’t get a game-ending 4th and 26 cease.
Favre was his regular self, finishing 64.1% of his passes for 4,088 yards and 30 touchdowns.
Nonetheless, the spectacular numbers weren’t sufficient to ship Favre to a fourth consecutive Professional Bowl.
Favre additionally protected the ball properly; his 12 sacks had been a profession low as a starter, and his 17 interceptions had been fairly common for his profession.
However that is when the curler coaster trip that was Brett Favre picked up once more.
Inexperienced Bay got here into the season on the lookout for redemption, they usually bought their probability after qualifying for the Wild Card spherical with a 10-6 file.
The 8-8 underdog Minnesota Vikings, a crew Inexperienced Bay had already crushed twice, appeared like an “simple” stepping stone to the Divisional Spherical.
Nonetheless, the Vikings took a commanding 17-3 lead within the first quarter and by no means appeared again, successful 31-17 and sending Favre dwelling.
It was arguably the worst postseason recreation of Brett Favre’s profession, as he completed with a surprisingly dangerous 4 interceptions in entrance of a shocked Lambeau crowd.
2004 Topps Soccer Playing cards In Evaluation
Comapred to a number of the flashier designs of the period, the set design could come throughout as a bit bland.
However I prefer it.
When Topps launched their 2004 flagship baseball set, it was clear they had been giving a nod to their 1964 Topps baseball set with the massive block lettering throughout the highest.
And so they carried a lot of these design components over to their 2004 flagship soccer set.
The small participant logos within the bottom-right corners add a pleasant contact, however in contrast to those used for the 2004 Topps baseball set, which had been personalized to reflect the precise picture of the participant in query, these are standardized by place.
For instance, if you happen to take a look at Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Eli Manning and different quarterbacks, you may discover all of them share the identical participant brand.
If they’d been baseball playing cards, every brand would’ve mirrored the picture of every particular person quarterback.
It is a delicate distinction and simple to overlook.
Design apart, the guidelines is implausible.
The variety of big-name rookies on this set is spectacular and lots of of them aren’t even on this checklist.
Time will inform what number of of them make the Corridor of Fame.
Topps repeated the identical subsets and related numbering sequences as they produced for his or her 2003 flagship launch:
- Weekly Wrap-Up (#291 – 310)
- Rookies (#311 – 385)
- Transaction (All through guidelines)
Should you’re on the lookout for a set that packs a variety of star energy for a comparatively low-cost value level in comparison with others, this set is value a glance.
Choosing up some high-grade examples of a few of these rookie playing cards ought to show an excellent determination over the long run.
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