2026 Topps Football Hanger Box

2026 Topps:   Jaxon Smith-Njigba is not only a stud wide receiver with a new record-breaking contract, but also a world champion thanks the Seahawks' surprising Super Bowl run.

How Mahomes comes back from injury will be a big story this year and help shape how the AFC plays out.  I'm rooting for him to make a good comeback.  We've already seen this design with the 2026 Topps baseball release.  I like the design and it works here as well too.

The backs lack the career stats we see with baseball.  I don't know why that is and it's very disappointing. 

Plenty of youngsters to go around.

Team card and its back.  I'd rather have team stats and team leaders here but it's hard to argue with the starting lineups.  But still, I want to see numbers.

Here we have 2 Diamante Parallels, exclusive to hanger boxes, and a Holo Foil Parallel.  I'm a fan of the Diamante parallels so I tend to pick up hanger boxes.  You get 2 in a box.

Horizontal offering.  Not enough of these in the set for my taste.  Football looks good in horizontal photos.  There are 400 cards in the base set.

James Cook ran for over 1600 yards and for 12 touchdowns last season.

I really like League Leaders cards and these look good.

Another QB coming off injury, Daniel Jones' play will determine how the Colts do this year.  They were 8-5 with him starting but lost the last 4 games, and last 6 overall, to miss out on the playoffs.  Was last season a fluke for Jones or is he the real deal?

Combo Cards always highlight some type of combo or duo.

Inserts in this box included Greatest Hits, All-Topps Team, 35th Anniversary and Pressure Cookers.  I like all of these.  Not a big fan of 1991 Topps but the tweaks here help.  I like the contrast on the Greatest Hits, and I've always been a fan of "All-Topps" teams.  Enjoy day 1 of the NFL football season!

BREAKDOWN:
59 – Total Cards
15 – RC
2 – Diamante Parallel
2 – Topps 35th Anniversary
1 – Team Card
1 – Combo Card
1 – Greatest Hits
1 – League Leaders
1 – Holo Foil Parallel
1 – Pressure Cookers
1 – 2025 All Topps Team
1 – Topps All-Rookie Team

2026 Atlanta Falcons Preview

There were some positives for the 2025 Atlanta Falcons but the fact that they came out of the season without a true #1 quarterback was huge.  Michael Penix was hurt and went 3-6 in the nine games he started.  Kirk Cousins wasn't the answer.  They could rush the ball and were able to get interceptions.  Outside of those two areas, they struggled and went 8-9 in a weak division.  

They brought in Tua Tagovaila but he doesn't inspire confidence moving forward.  There are some weapons on offense in Bijan Robinson and Drake London but without a stable and good quarterback they'll go to waste.  Kyle Pitts had an excellent year and received a big contract.  Atlanta was in a tough spot.  He hadn't performed before 2025.  It was either give him the extension or let him go.  

I do think there is talent on the roster.  Unfortunately, it hasn't equated to wins.  Unless Tua or Penix step up, I don't think they get back to 8 wins.  The schedule is tough as they'll have to face the AFC North.  Receiver Johan Dotsan was maybe their flashiest move in free agency and doesn't move the needle.  Unless the team makes major advances at QB and on defense, it could be a miserable season. 

2026 Buffalo Bills Preview

 The 2025 Buffalo Bills were good.  Like really good.  The offense was 4th in points scored though the defense was 12th in points given up.  They could stop the pass but not the run.  And again, couldn't get over the playoff hump losing to the Broncos 33-30 in the Divisional round.   This led them to fire coach Sean McDermott who went 98 and 50 with the Bills.  They made it to two Conference Finals during his tenure.  Ownership gets the need to succeed during the now 30-year-old quarterback's time with the Team.

Offensive coordinator Joe Brady is the new coach.  I think this is risky.  The offense is so good.  DJ Moore was the big acquisition on offense.  I'm pretty "meh" about picking him up.  The team needed a top receiver, but I see him more as a #2 guy.  They added help along the defensive line and in the secondary but not many more impact moves.  Buffalo is also changing defensive schemes.

To me this all just means a lot of unknowns.  It feels like they'll be relying on Josh Allen again whatever success they have.  The AFC has seen Denver and New England ascend and you have to think Baltimore and Cincy are better this season.  Just a lot of unknowns.  It could work out for the better, and I'm assuming they get to 12 wins again.  Maybe with some luck they win more.  I know it's easy for me to sound doom and gloom but there is hope the new coaching staff get Buffalo over the hump.  As long as Josh Allen is healthy, they will be good.  They just need to make the right tweaks and be better enough to get to the Super Bowl or the team and fans will once again be disappointed.

And Buffalo is moving into a new stadium this year.

The Penguin

The Penguin: I received this on DVD for Christmas.  I enjoyed it.  It's not even close to a superhero - villain tale.  This is all about The Penguin and what he does in Gotham's underworld which pits him against the Falcone family.  In the same vane as The Batman, it's very gritty and dark though with a different take.  If you are at all interested, give it watch.

2026 Donruss NASCAR Blaster with Relic

2026 NASCAR:  Kyle Busch, my favorite current driver, passed away unexpectedly this May.  The NASCAR playoffs start today, and Busch was no stranger to racing for the championship.  He won 2 NASCAR Championships (2015 and 2019), was ranked in the top 5, 7 times, and inside the top 10, 10 times.  I do like the Unleashed inserts.  First race in the 2026 Chase is Darlington, starting at 5 ET today.  And "The Chase" is the new branding for the NASCAR playoffs. 

The base design this season isn't bad. Not great but okay.  I say this every year, but I don't get why Panini doesn't add a tire, the driver's car number, a car graphic or something else to liven up the fronts. 

We do see a return of Rides, or car shots, this year which is great.  2025 Donruss NASCAR didn't include these cards, and it was a bummer.  Jeff Gordon is an all-time great with 4 Championships to his credit, and this Dupont paint scheme is synonymous with him as a driver.

You get 1 optic in each blaster pack for a total of 7.  Here you see two Orange Velocity Parallels along with a base optic card.  Retired great Carl Edwards did not win a title but was top 10 in the standings 8X in his 13 year career.

New this season is Team Logos cards.  This one isn't the most exciting looking logo going, but I like the addition of these cards.

I've seen this design before, but I can't remember the year to save my life.  After a rough start to his season, Joey Logano has raced back into the championship fight.  He's a 2X Champion and can't be ruled out.  He's seen here on a Lime Green Parallel #/199.

A couple of Rated Rookies and an Artist Proof #/25.

Toni Breidinger only raced a few truck races this season but this Laser Parallel Ride card is still a nice pull.  Not sure if she'll make her way back into a full-time ride but I'm pulling for her.  It's fun seeing the ladies doing better in the sport.

My Souvenir Swatches relic and Race Kings insert.  The Dale Jr. pull is great.  He's a NASCAR Hall of Famer with 26 career wins and has always been a fan favorite.  He's an announcer now and his Dirty Mo Media company provides plenty of great NASCAR content including his own weekly podcast which I really enjoy.  I always look forward to the Race Kings cards I like the design this year.  The car, or truck in this case, take on a prominent role on the card.  Layne Riggs was the champion in the Truck Series last season and deservedly gets his own Race Kings card.

Not a fan of Spellbound which are used to spell out a driver's name.  It doesn't work in a binder, so I don't get the point.  Carson Hocevar is only 23 and an excellent young driver in this year's Chase.  Aggressive on the track, many aren't fans, especially other drivers.  But he's a good personality for the sport.

This year's set is back up to 200 cards as opposed to the drop to 100 we saw in 2025.  We see drivers from across the three NASCAR top series - Cup, O'Reilly and Truck series.  Butterbean Queen is another young talent who has taken the sport by storm as much for his personality more than the driving we've seen so far.

Nice shot of Layne Riggs' truck.

We also get retired greats in this set which is so much fun.  All four of these drivers are in fire suits with their classic sponsors on them.  Rusty Wallace is my favorite NASCAR driver of all time, and he won 1 Championship in his career, finishing top 5 in the standings 7X.

BREAKDOWN:
56 – Total Cards
9 – Rides
9 – Retired Greats
7– Retro
7 – Optic
4 – Orange Velocity
2 – Rated Rookie
1 - Unleashed
1 – Team Logo
1 – Race Kings
1 - Spellbound
1 – Laser Parallel
1 – Artist Proof #/25
1 – Souvenir Swatches
1 – Lime Green Parallel #/199

Random Wax: 1992 Triple Play (4 Packs)

1992 Triple Play:  Sandy Alomar was a good catcher for 20 seasons.  He had some great hitting seasons for those 90s Cleveland teams that went to 2 World Series.  We see him here in this really fun photo.

Big fans of all three of these guys.  Deion was a master speedster and was so entertaining, The Crime Dog was one of the most feared hitters of his time, and Robin Yount was a 2X MVP.  McGriff and Yount are both in the Hall of Fame.  To be fair, Deion is in the NFL Hall of Fame.

Lots of fun photos in this set like this horizontal offering.

More good photography.

Always liked the Ballpark photos.

We love mascots and the San Diego Chicken is one of the best.  Triple Play had their own "Diamond Kings" with Gallery of Stars.  Awesome Action cards are good too.  All great adds to the set.

He does not look happy.  Or maybe he's savoring the moment?  Tony Fernandez was  a 5X All-Star and 4X Gold Glove winner.  

Love the McDowell photo.

Another Awesome Action and good photos.

Greats from the era!

BREAKDOWN:

60 – Total Cards

2 – Mascots

2 – Awesome Action

1 - Stadium

1 – Checklist

1 – Gallery of Stars