The Workbench
Three Swooshes, Three Careers: A 2018 National Treasures 1/1 Got Much Weirder
Three rookies, three huge Nike patches, and three career paths nobody could have predicted in 2018.
I bought this card because three Nike Swooshes on one 2018 National Treasures 1/1 is already ridiculous. Sam Darnold, Saquon Barkley and Kyle Lauletta each get a huge patch window. That would have been enough. The careers attached to those patches somehow made the card better.
It is the 2018 Panini National Treasures Rookie NFL Gear Trio Materials Brand Logo 1/1: Darnold at the top in Jets green, Barkley in the middle, and Lauletta at the bottom in Giants blue. Each window holds a white Nike Swoosh on black fabric. The checklist identifies this as card No. 20 in the 20-card Rookie NFL Gear Trio Materials set. The base card is numbered to 99; the Brand Logo version is a one-of-one. 2018 National Treasures checklist
That was plenty of card in 2018. Now it is even funnier to look at because Barkley and Darnold became Super Bowl champions, while Lauletta signed to play indoor football. The image asks the three obvious questions. Two of them have clear answers. The third needs a little more care.
Three Swooshes on one rookie card
All three players came out in the 2018 NFL Draft, but they were not entering the league from the same place. Barkley was the Giants' No. 2 overall pick out of Penn State. The Jets took Darnold one spot later at No. 3. The Giants came back in the fourth round for Richmond quarterback Lauletta at No. 108. NFL's 2018 draft tracker
That is part of why the card works. It treats a No. 2 pick, a No. 3 pick, and a fourth-round quarterback as the same big deal: three names, three oversized logo patches, one shared card. There is no need to turn it into a lesson about parallels. You can see why the Brand Logo version is the one to own. The three Swooshes take over the card.
In 2018, the obvious hook was Barkley. Darnold was a major quarterback prospect, and Lauletta gave the Giants a second rookie on the card alongside Barkley. It was a premium rookie relic built around a strange, memorable layout. Nobody knew the next eight years would make the player combination this entertaining.
Barkley got the first ring
The middle Swoosh belongs to Barkley, and that Super Bowl question got answered first. In his first season with Philadelphia, he helped the Eagles win Super Bowl LIX over Kansas City and set the NFL single-season rushing record when the playoffs are included. NFL game report on Barkley's record and the Eagles' Super Bowl LIX win
The Giants uniform makes the card more interesting now, not less. It is Barkley's rookie-year team on a card that ended up documenting the start of a career whose biggest team moment came in Philadelphia. He was always the biggest name in this trio. The ring gave the card a new thing to point at.
Darnold got one too
Darnold is the part that really changes the feel of the card. His rookie image is in a Jets uniform, and a Super Bowl title was not the obvious direction of his early NFL career. Then he started for Seattle in Super Bowl LX, and the Seahawks beat New England 29-13. Darnold threw Seattle's lone offensive touchdown to AJ Barner. Seattle's Super Bowl LX recap
So the top question gets a checkmark too. Barkley got there with a historic rushing season in Philadelphia. Darnold got there after a long route that ended in Seattle. Seeing both championship questions lined up beside their rookie patches is what makes this card much better now than it was when it came out.
Lauletta took a different route
Lauletta is the bottom patch and the reason the third caption needs the question mark. The Jacksonville Sharks announced on September 15, 2026 that they had signed him for the 2027 Indoor Football League season. The announcement does not establish that he is currently the Sharks' starting quarterback, and the 2027 season has not started. Jacksonville Sharks signing announcement
So the accurate version is simple: Lauletta is signed to play indoor football in 2027. He is not yet confirmed as a current IFL starter. That is enough. The fact that this card now puts two Super Bowl champions beside a quarterback headed to the Sharks is the whole joke. It does not need extra decoration.
Why I like this card more now
I liked this card the day I got it. Three Nike Swooshes on one rookie 1/1 is an easy thing to like. It is loud, scarce, and built around three players who were all part of the same draft class without really belonging in the same career conversation.
The years made that combination more interesting. Barkley won a title in Philadelphia. Darnold won one in Seattle. Lauletta signed with Jacksonville for the 2027 IFL season. Each patch now points to a completely different football path.
That is why I like owning it now. It was already a cool 1/1. The three careers made it stranger, and that makes it more fun to pull out and look at.
