One of the things that I always want to check before the new card year, is what the incoming draft class’ signatures look like. As a primarily autograph focused collector, having a good player with a terrible signature is a detriment to the collectability of the player’s cards, in my opinion. Look at players like Chris Johnson and company who are tremendous talents in the NFL, but have very little ability to garner high values because their signatures are barely passable. Check out this Chris Johnson signature and how it can even cheapen the look of his cards. I do not want to collect a player without a signature that I think is cool.

In fact, I was pretty pissed when my favorite player switched his signature froma long and cool signature to a shortened initial/number combo. Its tough to say that Peterson improved things with this change, but at least its a little more cool than what Johnson signs, especially with the number of fakes that tend to surface.

This year, the signature MVP was definitely Ryan Mathews, as his signature was very cool looking,and translated well onto both stickers and on card autos. In fact, its one of the reasons I wanted to collect his stuff, in addition to the experience I had meeting him at last year’s rookie premiere.

Because the upcoming draft class is highlighted by offensive talent, especially at QB, the rookie premiere should be stocked with guys who have potential to make immediate impacts on their team. Just for your reference, here is a guide to what the signatures look like, although I will admit Im not sure if all displayed are as real as they claim to be. This is only meant to be a guide to the LOOK of the signature itself, not the authenticity of said signatures.

Andrew Luck – Projected Pick: #1 – Signed Football

I dont like the way this signature looks, and probably will avoid his stuff just because he will have such high value playing on a crappy team. Although I didnt buy into Bradford for this same reason, its tough to justify an investment when value is already huge. Too bad his signature isnt more like what some of the other QBs have in the upcoming draft class.

Cam Newton – Projected Pick: Top 10 – Signed Jersey

Newton’s signature is pretty cool, though it may turn out poorly on all the stickers. Im not a huge fan of people who cant take the time to spell out a short name, and the C-Line Newton job isnt as cool as it could be if he spelled out his whole name. Yes, I realize I am putting a lot of analysis on this, but remember that this is WHOLE year’s worth of cards seeing these autographs.

Ryan Mallett – Projected Pick: Top 20 – Signed Football

I think Mallett’s signature is very cool looking, and I am already hoping that the Vikings end up with him due to his ability on the field. Looping signatures are always cool, (see Brian Bannister) and I think that Mallett is one of the coolest of the class.

AJ Green – Projected Pick: Top 10 – Signed Photo

Green’s signature isnt horrible, but it isnt great either. The penmanship is sloppy and really doesnt look all that great on the stuff he already has on eBay. Who knows though, maybe it will improve on the stickers with less space to work with.

Julio Jones – Projected Pick: Top 10 – Signed Football

This is the signature is the MVP so far, and I think it will translate well to the cards. More looping uniformity looks great when its consistent and I think that he is good enough that we will see a lot of his cards start high in value.

Jake Locker – Projected Pick: Top 20 – Signed Mini Helmet

Not a bad signature here, but could be a lot better. Looks more like a T to start with, and that kind of bothers me. Again, he could end up as a Viking, and that would be bad for a number of reasons other than just his signature. Either way, not as bad as Luck, but not as good as Newton or Mallett.

Mark Ingram – Projected Pick: Top 25 – Signed Jersey

Im not a fan of line based signatures like Ingram’s, which is very similar to ones like Harvin’s turned out to be. I know that it could be more, but it isnt necessarily the worst of the major players either.

Justin Blackmon – Projected Pick: 1st or 2nd round – Signed Football

Blackmon’s signature looks a lot like Jimmy Clausen’s does, but is a little bit better in the way it looks on the items that are up. He signs big, which could be a problem shrinking it to card sized, but I will reserve judgement until I see it in practice.

Jonathan Baldwin – Projected Pick: 1st or 2nd round – Signed Photo

Its funny, because his signature looks very similar in nature to Blackmon’s, but ends up being smaller in size. I like Blackmon’s better, but this will translate much more appropriately to cards.

That’s all the main guys I think are going to be MAJOR players this coming year, if there is football at all. Im desperately hoping that the CBA gets worked out, because there is a hugely talented class that will go to waste without a season. Think about card values without games behind them, it will be a disaster. Then, on top of that, what will happen to the 2012 class if there is two classes on the field for the first time at once? Nightmarish.