Last week, Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman said that he was excited about the future with wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson and that he thought Patterson had grown up a lot this offseason.
On Monday, Patterson said he knew that there probably won’t be any more offseasons when the Vikings talk hopefully about his ability to break through and turn his athletic ability into consistent on-field production. Patterson, who worked out in San Francisco before reporting to the Vikings’ offseason program, said Monday that his third year has to be a big year.
“This year is going to make me or break me, and I hope I step up and have a good role in this offense,” Patterson said, via the Pioneer Press. “This whole offseason, I spent a lot of time just thinking to myself, ‘How can I get better?’ I just want to let my game speak for itself. I just focused on the little things that really matter, and I hope this year will be way better than last year. … Growing up, I was always athletic and could just do anything. I’m in the NFL now, so I just have to focus on my craft and just work at route running, getting in and getting out of breaks and stuff like that.”
With Mike Wallace and Charles Johnon on the roster, the Vikings won’t be looking to Patterson as a starter this season. They won’t be looking to him for much of anything else if the route running and overall technical skills don’t get crisper and they could provide themselves with other options to play behind the starters during a draft deep in wideouts.