Cordarrelle Patterson is working harder this year than he ever has before, but is it too little, too late?
At long last, there is maybe a faint glimmer of hope that former first-round pick Cordarrelle Patterson can finally provide the Vikings some value as a wide receiver.
Maybe.
I know it’s only minicamp, but there are positive signs regarding Patterson’s development. According to head coach Mike Zimmer, Patterson this year is working harder at his game than he ever has before.
I guess Flash wasn’t kidding around with those Instagram videos.
"“He’s not making mental errors, very few mental errors,” Zimmer said about the fourth-year receiver. “He’s running routes at the proper depth, he’s lining up in the proper place. I don’t know that it’s ever been an issue with athletic ability for him, but maybe sometimes the focus. … He said (before Tuesday’s practice), ‘I’m going to get better today.’ In the past, it maybe was not all about that.”"
How bad were Patterson’s work habits before this year? Vikings receivers coach George Stewart offered this stark assessment of Flash’s approach (via Minneapolis Star Tribune):
"“When he first got here, and he will tell you this, he had no work ethic,” wide receivers coach George Stewart said. “He thought he was working. But he didn’t know how to work.”"
This year though, Patterson knows how to work. Not having his option picked up clearly motivated him to try harder.
For three years, Vikings coaches tried to get through to Patterson and convince him that he needed to work harder at refining his skills. Turns out, all they had to do was threaten his livelihood.
Is it a little bit sad that professional pride wasn’t enough to make Patterson put his nose to the grindstone at an earlier point? Perhaps. But better late than never.
Hopefully, the newly re-dedicated, razor-focused Cordarrelle Patterson can translate some of what he’s doing in practice to the actual playing field and be a contributor on offense.
Rick Spielman certainly has his fingers crossed on this one. If Patterson gets some reps as a receiver and actually aids the Vikings cause, maybe that draft day trade in 2013 will start to look a little less like a folly.
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I’m still having a hard time seeing how Patterson will get offensive snaps with Stefon Diggs, Laquon Treadwell, Jarius Wright and Charles Johnson ahead of him on the depth chart, but maybe Norv Turner and and his helper Pat Shurmur can squeeze him in and give him a chance to produce some numbers.
Heck, Patterson might be so good at focusing now that the Vikings will have no choice but to make him a featured offensive weapon.
I’m not getting my hopes up, but at least the man is trying. I’ll give him that.