It’s already been a wild offseason for many teams, including the Patriots. Nate Solder is gone and with the Giants now (seriously, what are they going to do at left tackle?), Malcolm Butler is gone with Dion Lewis in Tennessee and Danny Amendola is in Miami now. Lewis and Amendola are obviously notable names, being the team’s now formr best and most reliable returners. Belichick recently went out and took care of that void by trading for Cordarrelle Patterson.
Yeah, I know. The name isn’t sexy. Rarely are the names ever sexy when a player first comes to New England. Albeit, the assets that come with the player have the potential to be quite sexy in a time of need for New England. He’s one of the league’s better and more explosive kick returners as well as one of the better rushing receivers out there. For the sake of comparison, Patterson is one of two players to have recorded six or more rushing touchdowns as a WR since 2013; meanwhile, Tyreek only has three in his (short) career.
As a kick returner, again, he’s one of the better options out there. Belichick has praised him in the past, which is always a good sign, calling him, most notably, “explosive” and “great with his hands”. In his career, Patterson has returned 153 kicks for 1,463 yards and five touchdowns, three of those going for 100 yards or more. Fun fact, Patterson owns the NFL record for longest return for a TD. He set that when he was a rookie in Minnesota, going for 109 yards.
Speaking of his rookie season in 2013, it was a great one, and one that eventually set him up for inevitable disappointment. He became the first player in NFL history to return a kick for a 100-yard touchdown, receive a 75-yard touchdown and rush for a 50-yard touchdown in the same season. Patterson has never recorded more than 500 receiving yards in a season; his highest total came in during none other than his rookie season when he recorded 469 receiving yards.
I would never think highly of Patterson as a receiver; he simply isn’t good. Inconsistent, rather. No team can rely on him to have a real impact on the receiving game. He’s good for a high-yardage run maybe one or two times in a season if the matchup is right, but other than that, you’re smart to primarily make sure he reaches his potential as a returner in his prime years. Although, as I mentioned before, if used as a WR, it’s best to let him run. Patterson ranks third all time in rushes for a wide receiver with 20-plus rushing attempts. He has 44 carries in his career and has scored six times, not to mention his 10.32 yards-per-rush average. Tavon Austin is the only player ahead of him in that area all-time.
The moral of the story is, it’s hard to get a good read on what Patterson can or can’t bring to the table in Foxboro given his career-long inconsistencies. He’s mostly been a disappointment but can be a game-changer on special teams. He’s never missed a game in his career, and that’s something the Patriots desperately need to keep up when it comes to the return game and special teams in general. Personally, I’m just happy that I don’t have to hold my breath any longer when Amendola or Lewis are returning punts or kicks. They proved to be durable when returning, but I couldn’t play it too safe when it came to those two.
Expect the Patriots to use Patterson creatively. That’s the lone prediction I can make with this player, and that’s okay. Belichick obviously has the ability to help him grow as a wide receiver, which I could totally see happening. I refuse to rule anything out at this point. I wouldn’t be shocked if he at least tried to get Patterson involved in the punt return game despite him only returning two punts in his career. There’s no in between: Patterson will either continue to be a general bust as a player in the NFL or he’ll thrive in all aspects of his game in New England.
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