My first look at 2026 Topps Flagship Football

I was out shopping the other night, and came across some 2026 Topps Flagship Football at Walmart. I decided to pick some up and take a look at it.

Let's see, 59 cards, and 32 teams in the NFL. I guess I want to get two Browns cards in the box to match (alright, very slightly beat) the odds. I would prefer to get three or more, but I don't usually get lucky like that.

Looking at the checklist for the set, there are 400 cards. There are 15 Browns cards, one of which is a League Leaders card.

Opening the box up, here's the first card I see.

Now to show the cards by twos, as I see them.

Hey! My first Browns cards right at the beginning of the pack! All right!

Carson Schwesinger's card has the Topps All-Rookie Team logo right under the Topps logo.

The card fronts seem to share the baseball card fronts. I'm a little indifferent to them. I've seen better, but I've also seen worse. I appreciate that the name, team and position are easily identifiable. I'm also happy that these aren't chrome type cards. I'm getting a little sick of the chrome type cards, but will of course still pick them up for my collection.

Since I've got an offensive and defensive player, let's see what they show for their backs.

They show one year of stats, and the career totals. (Of course Schwesinger only has one year of stats in his career.) They also have a small write-up on the player. I don't hate the backs, but I think that it will depend on how generic the write-ups get.

The Packers white helmet just doesn't look right. Even on a while uniform, I think I would prefer their standard helmet.

Another All-Rookie Team logo on Tyler Shough's card.

So many of those NFL Canada commercials that I have seen have taught me that Chuba Hubbard is Canadian.

Another All-Rookie Team card.

A couple of nice action shots running with the ball.

McLaurin watching the ball coming in to him. I like seeing it.

Actually, I just like these cards having backgrounds, even if they are blurred a bit behind the player.

Woo hoo! There's a second Browns cards.

Let's see the back of the shared Leaders card.

I'm kind of surprised they separated the leaders cards into AFC and NFC cards.

Once again, I love the eyes on the ball into the hands on the Trey McBride card.

Two really good players. I really hate that Ja'Marr Chase is in the Browns division, and that they have to play against him twice a year.

I like Thuney's horizontal card, showing both arms extended, with the quarterback he's protecting just sneaking in on the right hand side of the card.

Well, I got the NFC Sack Leaders card to go with the AFC one earlier.

The Ricky Pearsall photo is another good use for a horizontal card.

It seems interesting to me that the Future Stars logo isn't on a rookie player. McMillan caught 70 passes for 1014 yards, and 7 touchdowns in his rookie year.

The Bills card is my first team card. The back just gives a small blurb about the two players on the front of the card, Josh Allen and James Cook. I like the photo.

Again, I like the photos on these cards. They are cropped to the player, not cutting off limbs, which is good, but I do miss seeing more of the play around the player.

And then we get to these cards that cut off portions of the player. No matter, I love the ball extension on Luke McCaffrey's card. Good use of breaking the frame of the card.

A couple of good young players. Another all white Packers card. Good quarterback photo for Drake Maye.

I'm happy to see lineman cards. When at games, I've been known to miss some nice plays because I was too busy watching the action on the line of scrimmage.

I remember that Jordan Mailata was the Eagles nominee last year for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, and that he's Australian.

And we've now hit the rookie card section of the pack. Coleman was a 4th round pick, while Beck was a 3rd round pick.

I developed a bit of a soft spot for the Cardinals while my mom was living in Arizona. I hope that Beck does well for them.

Both receivers were 1st round picks for their teams. It is nice to see the rookies in their team's uniforms, not combine photos in shorts and numbered t-shirts.

A nice photo of De'Zhaun Stripling, a 2nd round draft pick, while Faulk was a 1st round pick.

Johnson was a 1st round pick, while Wetjen was a 3rd round pick.

Terrell was a 2nd round pick, while McGowan was a 7th round pick.

When it comes to having a 7th round pick included in the set, I wonder what the thought process is on the selection of players for the set. McGowan was the first non-lineman offensive player the Colts drafted this year. Maybe Topps wanted to make sure they had someone on a card that might put up stats during the season.

Both of these players are also 7th round picks. Smith was, again, the first non-lineman offensive player that the Cowboys drafted, while Morton, a quarterback, was selected for the set along with a 3rd round TE from Notre Dame.

The last base rookie card, Sonny Styles, was a 1st round pick.

And this led us to the start of the parallels and inserts in the pack.

I'm not sure what parallel type this is for Colston Loveland, but he finished his first year with the Bears and also got a Future Stars banner from Topps.

More parallels. Singleton was a 5th round pick, and for the quarterback leaders card, they seem to be concentrating on an easy stat, TD passes, but they don't have one for passing yards, or QB rating. Seems interesting, and a little simple, to me.

For the inserts, I'll show the back as well. I kind of like the idea of the Profiles cards. It makes for a good idea for an insert set, but it also depends on what the commentary actually is.

Okay, I really like the Ring of Honor back. It gives a lot of good information on the game and player being showcased.

For the Profiles card, I like the info or description in the player file, but the analyst insights really seem like more of a hype show than actual analysis. But I guess that fits with how I've seen Kyle Brandt speak on Good Morning Football.

35th Anniversary cards in the 1991 design style. I don't mind them, but if I were a set collector, I think I would prefer two other base cards than having these.

Ted Hurst was a 3rd round pick in the draft.

Like the base cards, they have one year and career totals on the back. Nothing special for these card backs. 

Also, like the base cards, they show the 2025 stats from college, along with the college totals, but they don't mention on the back that these stats were with a different team than they are photographed in. I think I would have preferred having the college, or team, listed on the line with the season stats.

I like this Pressure Cookers insert card. It is shiny, not chrome.  However, do I need to have 12 parallels available for the regular insert card?

Since I have time in writing this, and since I wanted to make sure that I got at least two Browns cards in my pack, I'm going to see how evenly split the cards were among the teams.

There are 59 cards, three of which have three players on, so there will be 65 players represented. Here is what I counted for their team representation:

5 cards - Panthers

3 cards - 49ers, Bears, Commanders, Cowboys, Eagles, Falcons, Packers, Patriots, Rams

2 cards - Bills, Broncos, Browns, Cardinals, Chiefs, Colts,  Giants, Lions, Raiders, Saints, Texans, Titans

1 card - Bengals, Bucanneers, Chargers, Dolphins, Jets, Ravens, Seahawks, Steelers, Vikings

0 cards - Jaguars

Ouch, that would have hurt if I was a Jaguars fan.

- - - - - - -

Overall, I am happy with my purchase.  I think it looks like a nice return to licensing set from Topps. I may buy a little more of it, but I don't think that I will be trying to complete the set. I will be looking for all of the Browns cards.

Local card show purchases

At the recent August date for my local monthly card show, I saw what seemed to be a new dealer with a small showcase of cards on the table. I glanced at it and saw a whole bunch of single cards of some pretty big names from all four main North American sport leagues.

After I was about three steps past the table, it registered in my mind that I saw a recognizable Browns cards in the case.

No, I didn't own an autographed version of it, but I recognized a Joe Thomas card that was there.

I looked at the price, determined it to be fair, and shortly afterwards I purchased this nice autographed rookie card.

It is only the second Joe Thomas autographed card that I own, both from his rookie year. I was very happy to add it to my collection.

I found a lot of new cards for my collection, most of which were 2025 cards that I hadn't seen before. Some of which I was able to trade for instead of buying them.

I also bought a couple of other new autographed cards for my collection.

Here's a look at the additions to my collection from the show.

I'm going to miss having The Chief on the Browns this year, after the team didn't seem to make an effort at re-signing him. I hope he does well with the Chargers.

This card is from the Scripts insert cards set in the 2020 Panini Mosaic set.

Here are a couple more David Njoku cards that I also bought.

The card on the left is the base card from the 2025 Topps Chrome set, while the card on the right is a base card from the 2025 Topps Signature Class set.

Here is a pre-draft card of 2022 Browns fifth round draft pick, Jerome Ford.

The card is a Bowman Chrome Prospects Autographed Gold Refractor, numbered out of 50, from the 2021-2022 Bowman University set.

I also added these other Jerome Ford cards to my collection.

The top left card is a base card from the 2025 Panini Phoenix set; the top right card is a No Huddle Purple parallel (hey, I don't name them), numbered out of 75, from the 2025 Panini Prizm set; the bottom card is a base card from the 2025 Topps Chrome set. All these chrome type cards scan so dark.

Jerome Ford was signed as a free agent by the Washington Commanders during the off-season.

I really liked seeing this Ozzie Newsome card. As I've said before, with no logo on their helmets, unlicensed cards are just as good as the licensed ones for my team.

This card is a Finest Sky Blue Refractor, numbered out of 325, from the 2023 Topps Composite set.

I also picked up another Ozzie Newsome card, along with one of his fellow 1978 first round pick.

If you're going to have two first round picks in a draft year, this is what you hope to draft - a Hall of Famer in Newsome, and another player that should be in the Hall of Fame in Clay Matthews.

The Matthews card is a base card from the 2025 Panini Phoenix set, while the Newsome card is an Epic Performers Mosaic insert card from the 2025 Panini Mosaic set.

I also picked up a couple of parallels of one of Newsome's quarterbacks from the 2025 Panini Mosaic set.

The card on the left is a Mosaic parallel, while the card on the right is a Genesis Mosaic parallel from the 2025 Panini Mosaic set. What makes it "Genesis"? I have no clue. As I said, I don't name these things.

Here are a couple of cards of the Browns first draft pick from the 2025 NFL Draft.

Both of these cards are parallels from the 2025 Donruss Optic set. The card on the left is Holo parallel, while the card on the right is a Purple Scope parallel.

Nice cards for my collection, but not as nice as some of the Mason Graham cards that I see Dennis adding to his Michigan collection.

I also purchased cards of many other 2025 Browns draft picks.

Quinshon Judkins was their second second round pick.

The top left card is an Elite Series Rookies insert card from the 2025 Donruss set; the top right card is a Blue Hyper parallel card from the 2025 Donruss Optic set; the bottom left card is a Red parallel from the 2025 Panini Absolute set; the bottom right card is a Rookie Wave insert card, also from the 2025 Panini Absolute set.

The next two cards were two of the rookie pass catchers the Browns had last year.

Isaiah Bond was an undrafted rookie free agent, while Harold Fannin Jr. was the first of two third round picks the Browns had. These cards are both base cards from the 2025 Topps Chrome set.

The Browns second third round draft pick is in a battle to keep his roster spot this year.

As a rookie quarterback, there are plenty of Dillon Gabriel cards out there for my collection.

The card on the left is his base card in the 2025 Topps Chrome set, while the card on the right is a Class Action insert card from the 2025 Topps Signature Class set.

The top left card is a Bomb Squad insert card from the 2025 Donruss set; the top right card is a Retail parallel card from the 2025 Panini Absolute set; the bottom left card is a Hog Heaven insert card from the 2025 Panini Absolute set, while the bottom right card is a Lazer parallel card from the 2025 Panini Prizm set.

Dillon Gabriel started six games for the Browns last year, but was overshadowed by the other quarterback that they had drafted, fifth round pick Shadeur Sanders.

The card on the left is a Retail parallel from the 2025 Panini Absolute set, while the card on the right is an Anniverary Rookies insert card from the 2025 Score set.

At shows, dealers seem to be putting a premium price on Shedeur Sanders cards. I guess they expect for him to become a breakout star. I expect him to have improved from last year, and that he will be helped by a better receiving corps on the team, but I don't really think that his play is going to stop the Browns from drafting a quarterback in the first round next year. I would love for him to prove me wrong!

The next two cards are also from 2025.

The card on the left is a base card from the 2025 Donruss set. Dylan Sampson was drafted by the Browns ins the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

The card on the right is a Leather Refractor from the 2025 Topps Chrome set. Cedric Tillman is in a training camp battle to make this year's Browns team.

Here are a couple of recent cards that aren't from 2025. 

The card on the left is a Press Proof Blue parallel card from the 2023 Donruss set. Za'Darius Smith played a season and a half with the Browns in 2023 and 2024. He was traded to the Lions at the trade deadline in 2024. It looked as though the Browns were going to bring him back to the team this year, but he ended up signing with the Atlanta Falcons.

The Cedric Tillman card on the right is a Stars parallel from the 2023 Donruss Optic set. I like the card in hand, and understand where that parallel name has come from.

The Browns have had a lot of player turnover, and will have a pretty young team this year.

Sadly, one of the players that moved on was Myles Garrett, who was traded to the Rams.

The top left card is a Play Action insert card from the 2025 Donruss Optic set; the top right card is a base card from the 2025 Topps Chrome set; the bottom left card is an All-Chrome Team Refractor insert card from the 2025 Topps Chrome set; the bottom right card is a 1975 Topps insert card from the 2025 Topps Chrome set.

These definitely won't be the last Myles Garrett cards in my collection. As with any star player, there are many base cards, parallels, and insert cards to be chasing for years to come.