For the Madden 10 aficionados, there may be another item with Larry Fitzgerald’s likeness printed on it that may be worth investing in.  That is the Larry Fitzgerald Rookie Card.

The University of Pittsburgh product is one of the most physical receivers in the league, where he may punish the opposition for yards after the catch and will never back down against the most physical cornerbacks in the NFL.  In addition to his presence at 6’3 and over 215 pounds, Fitzgerald has breakaway speed and excellent hands.  Most recently he was able to help the Arizona Cardinals to a wild-card weekend victory over the Green Bay Packers, where he caught 6 catches for 82 yards and 2 touchdowns despite being covered by the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year, Charles Woodson for most of the night.

If Larry Fitzgerald presents a match-up problem for the best defensive player in the league, then you can imagine just how effective of a career this receiver has.  Some experts had seen it coming all along.  Former Cardinals Head Coach Dennis Green had known Fitzgerald from his days as a Minnesota Vikings ball boy, but since committing to D-III Gustavus Adolphus College, Fitzgerald made the switch to Pitt, and has grown into one of the best wide receivers on the planet.

Decorated throughout college and so far in the NFL, Fitzgerald was recognized as the best player in college football after his 2nd season at Pittsburgh, being handed the Walter Camp Award.  After barely losing to Oklahoma Sooner bust Jason White, Fitzgerald chose to make the leap to the NFL and has never looked back.

He has already made a visit to the NFL Pro Bowl game 4 times in his career, including being named the MVP of the 2009 Pro-Bowl game.

Prior to the Pro-Bowl, Fitzgerald was instrumental in the 2009 playoffs, where he broke Jerry Rice’s playoff records for receptions, yards, and touchdowns in the playoffs.  He grabbed the potential game-winning touchdown pass, before Pittsburgh came back to win in the games final moments.

While the emergence of Fitzgerald has been helped by being lined up with another Pro-Bowl caliber wide-out in Anquan Boldin, there is no doubt that Fitzgerald will continue to thrive in the Arizona Cardinals offense even if Boldin is lost to free-agency.  Even without Boldin in the playoff game against the Packers, Fitzgerald picked up the slack and helped the Cardinals rack up a record number of points against Green Bay’s #2 ranked defense.

The Larry Fitzgerald Rookie Card is a rare commodity, but possibly the best card of all wide-receivers based on Fitzgerald’s accomplished career.  He has already carried his team to an NFC Championship, and hopes to continue to be a dominant force in the NFL for many years to come.