Vikings wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson scored nine touchdowns during his rookie season, earning himself an instant rep as a player who was a threat to score almost any time the ball was in his hands.
Patterson has been working on his route running with offensive coordinator Norv Turner this offseason in order to make himself into a complete receiver who can impact the game in a variety of ways, but that isn’t stopping him from keeping a focus on making the big plays as well. Patterson scored on catches, runs and kick returns last season and he hopes to continue those ways while becoming one of the top playmakers in the entire league.
“I’m going to be a top-5 playmaker,” Patterson said, via NFL.com. “I’m a playmaker, I like to make plays. Like I tell them, just get the ball in my hands I feel like I’m special with it. I just like to do special things with the ball.”
If Patterson’s work on route running has the desired effect, he should be in position to make even more big plays this season. Last year, he averaged just 10.4 yards per catch overall because he made a lot of catches close to the line of scrimmage, but Turner should be able to put him in more positions to hurt the defense as Patterson’s technical skills progress. That should be a boon to Matt Cassel, Teddy Bridgewater or anyone else playing quarterback in Minnesota.