On Draft Day he was "Mr. Irrelevant" -- the last guy that mattered and a bit of a punchline -- but today he's perhaps the NFL's new star on cardboard.

He's San Francisco 49ers rookie quarterback Brock Purdy and after his first career playoff game -- a 41-23 rout of the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday -- he's on the collecting radar even more. He's the lowest-drafted rookie QB to start a playoff game, win one -- something only three rookie non-first-rounders have done -- and that unlikely win is propelling interest in his already popular and relatively scarce overall volume of cards.

Why do we say that? While first-round quarterback Kenny Pickett appears on more than 3,600 different football cards so far, Purdy is at around 400 unique cards from Panini America, Wild Card, Leaf Trading Cards and others in 2022 packed out releases and online-exclusive singles releases. The good news? Almost 300 of those cards are the type that matter most to collectors -- autographs.

It's this overall scarcity that could propel his best cards into the stratosphere if the 49ers make a run this year but also help their values in the future if they come up short -- there's simply far less for collectors to grab vs. other high-profile rookies in 2022 releases. On Friday, the 2022 Panini Certified Mirror Gold Black autograph you see above sold as a PSA 10 on eBay for $22,500 -- and it's not alone being an in-demand card with potential.

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The luck of the draw still comes into play with the new Wild Card release -- but every box has a sure shot at rare stuff.

In fact, every pack of the newly released 2022 Wild Card Five Card Draw football cards has a rarer autograph inside and every box includes a pack with a 1/1 auto in it, giving you a surer shot at rarities for guys who are already competing on the biggest stage.

Thanks to an early batch of promo boxes sold to collectors in advance of this new arrival (live today at link above), there are also some strong sales of cards to see already. The leader in the eBay Completed Sales Clubhouse -- so far -- is the Breece Hall 1/1 auto above that sold for $415 after 37 bids. It's not alone, either, with a dozen early sales over $100 and another 16 over $50 ... from boxes that include five hits and are opening with modest prices.

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What: 2022 Wild Card Five Card Draw football cards
Arrives: Oct. 21
Box basics: Five encased autographed cards per box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Wild Card's next release takes on a very numbers-based presentation for football stars' autographs with five serial-numbered cards inside numbered packs that add some certainty to the chase. Every case and every box is numbered, too.

Keep reading for more info and a gallery of images.

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