When Cordarrelle Patterson was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings, they expected him to quickly turn into a productive, consistent wide receiver. Entering his third season in the NFL, they’re still hoping he turns into one.
Mike Zimmer, heading into his second season as the team’s head coach, likes what he has seen from Patterson this offseason. Keep in mind, we’ve been hearing the same thing about the former Tennessee standout each spring and summer. We always hear these kinds of compliments when it comes to young players. Their coaches aren’t going to burn them in May and June.
He’s really done well. He’s running routes good; he’s working hard. So we just need him to continue to do those things and continue to keep getting consistent and keep improving. I’ve been impressed with the things that he’s done.
In two seasons with the Vikings, Patterson has a total of 78 receptions for 853 yards. Not very impressive, and he actually took a step back last season, getting less looks, receptions and yards. Teddy Bridgewater was an upgrade compared to the mess of 2013, but Patterson wasn’t a big part of the 7-9 team that exceeded expectations.
Now, it’s going to be Mike Wallace who starts the season as the #1 guy. Charles Johnson was pretty much as productive as Patterson was last year. The promising talent has his work cut out for him in 2015, but unless he makes a certain leap in ability, he might fall down to the #3 slot in the receivers pecking order, with less and less credit and faith in his potential remaining.