The Franchise (30th Anniversary Edition)

It's been five years since I reviewed 1993 Score Franchise baseball and discussed the present-day stars that would have been honored if the insert set still existed. 

I haven't bought any 2023 football cards yet, but I traded for these two on TCDB and noticed the familiar 'Franchise' wordmark was an homage to the original insert set from 30 years ago. That gave me the idea to compare the Franchise players from 1993 Score with the 2023 stars and debate if Score made the right choice, starting with the AFC East:

Buffalo Bills

It was probably tougher to choose the Bills' Franchise player between Thurman Thomas, Bruce Smith, Jim Kelly, and possibly Andre Reed during their early '90s run of four straight AFC titles. Josh Allen is a more clear cut choice. Stefon Diggs is one of few franchise-quality wide receivers in the NFL today, but I'd stick with Allen.

Miami Dolphins

This won't be the only team with two quarterbacks as franchise players. Dan Marino rarely had high-end talent around him on either side of the ball; there's no disputing his selection. Tua is a solid choice for now - but Tyreek Hill is on pace for a record-shattering season as his favorite target. If this were based on 2023 production I might make a change.

New England Patriots

What an unfortunate time to discuss Patriots stars - right before Drew Bledsoe arrived and not long after Tom Brady retired. Tight end Marv Cook was quickly overshadowed by Ben Coates but he was the lone Pro Bowler on some awful New England teams. Linebacker Andre Tippett might have been a better choice but he was at the end of his Hall of Fame career. For today's franchise star I'd go with Matt Judon over Mac Jones, who is regressing so poorly the Pats might have to draft another QB in 2024.

New York Jets

Jeff Lageman (seen here being guarded by a mysterious Packer) was chosen primarily for his production in 1991; he missed most of the '92 season while Mo Lewis and James Hasty anchored the Jets' defense. Garrett Wilson was offensive rookie of the year in 2022 and is a much better option than their other Wilson. 2022 All-Pro Quinnen Williams would be my choice, but card companies have largely ignored defensive linemen unless they're Watt/Donald-level stars.

Ever wonder why the Indianapolis Colts are in the AFC South but the Miami Dolphins aren't? Blame the dingus who owned the Fish (and Blockbuster Video).

Indianapolis Colts

I was not expecting this Jeff to be the Colts' franchise star in the early '90s. But Jeff George was playing his way out of Indy and their only Pro Bowlers were on special teams (shout-out Clarence Verdin). Zaire Franklin is their modern-day Herrod - he currently leads the NFL in tackles - but Jonathan Taylor and Shaq Leonard have more star power. Honestly, the best choice for the 2022-23 Colts might be five-time Pro Bowler Quenton Nelson. It wouldn't be unheard of for Score to select a guard.

HousTennessee TexTitans

Neither the Jaguars nor the Texans existed in 1993 (technically the Jags did, but barely) The Titans' franchise star is at the top of this post, while the Jaguar star is Trevor Lawrence. Warren Moon was certainly the most recognizable Oiler but was he the best player on the team? That's a much tougher question for the talent-starved Texans. C.J. Stroud will likely be Houston's Franchise player next year. 

Whoever scanned these to TCDB must have had some snow-covered copies of those '93 inserts. 

Cincinnati Bengals

1992-93 was a tough stretch for the Bungles. Boomer Esiason declined and then departed, David Klingler was awful, and Anthony Munoz was completing his legendary career. He would have been a better choice than the man he opened holes for; Harold Green had just two rushing touchdowns in those two seasons. Total. Alas, Munoz signed with Tampa in the '93 off-season and retired before the season started.

I really hope Joe Burrow isn't turning into Baker Mayfield; he's a special player when healthy.

Cleveland Browns

Two very different running backs for two different iterations of the Browns. Eric Metcalf was an All-Pro return man who didn't even lead his team in rushing yards (and would soon become a wide receiver in Atlanta.) Nick Chubb was one of the top bell-cow backs in the league until suffering a devastating knee injury earlier this season. No argument with either selection.

Tangentially related, the Baltimore Ravens' Franchise star is of course Lamar Jackson.

Pittsburgh Steelers

There are only three defensive players in the 2023 Score Franchise insert set (compared to nine in '93) Pittsburgh is the only franchise with defensive stars in both sets. Score was smart to bypass Barry Foster despite his 1,690 rushing yards in 1992. Rod Woodson was an All-Pro in '92 and '93, doubled his interception total from 4 to 8 and earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. T.J. Watt was named DPOY in 2021 after leading the NFL with 22.5 sacks. An easy choice for face of the franchise.

Denver Broncos

John Elway had been so average at the start of the '90s that Denver drafted his potential successor Tommy Maddox with their first round pick in 1992. Elway responded with the best statistical season of his legendary career. Russell Wilson is in the midst of a bounce-back year after a disappointing first year in Denver. Patrick Surtain was an All-Pro defensive back and Denver's best player last season - which might be good enough to earn the Franchise label on a team without a Hall of Fame signal caller.

Kansas City Chiefs

Derrick Thomas was rightly chosen as Kansas City's star in the original Franchise set, though he had notable competition. Joe Montana had just arrived in the spring of '93 with the expectation that adding an aging legend at QB was all the team needed to make a long-awaited return to the Super Bowl (sound familiar?) Meanwhile, 1993 NFL All-Pro pass rusher Neil Smith matched Thomas's sack total in 1992 and nearly doubled his Hall of Fame teammate's output in '93. Patrick Mahomes is undoubtedly the right choice to rep the current Chiefs - unless you're a Swiftie.


There was an AFC West team in Los Angeles 30 years ago, but not the same one L.A. has now...

Los Angeles/Las Vegas Raiders

Here's the guard I alluded to in the Colts paragraph. I've wondered before on this blog why Steve Wisniewski isn't in the Hall of Fame (not that I'm an expert on offensive linemen). The 8-time Pro Bowl selection was an All-Pro in 1992, which seems to be how Score based many of their selections for the 1993 set. Tim Brown hadn't established himself as an all-time great receiver until that '93 season - which was Howie Long's last in silver and black.

As seen at the top of this post, Davante Adams is the Raiders' current Franchise player. I'm still a fan of Adams and he was fantastic for the Raiders last year, but he probably won't stay in Vegas much longer. Maxxx Crosby should succeed him; no one looks more like a Raider than that dude.

San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers

Ronnie Harmon excelled as a receiver out of the backfield, making his only Pro Bowl appearance in 1992 while leading the Chargers in....

...wait... why isn't Junior Seau here? Why is Junior Seau not the... Score picked Harmon over Junior Seau!?!?!?

At least they got it right this year. Justin Herbert seems destined to follow the lineage of Dan Fouts and Phillip Rivers, putting up incredible passing stats on a Charger team lacking enough talent to contend for the AFC title, much less a Super Bowl. Not that anyone in Los Angeles will notice.

Next week we'll look at the indispensable players of the NFC franchises.

Thanks for reading!



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