Could Cordarrelle Patterson return to the Vikings in 2019?

The 2013 first-round draft pick of the Minnesota Vikings is a free-agent this offseason and bringing him back may be something the team should consider.

After his rookie season with the Minnesota Vikings, it appeared as though the team struck gold with their selection of wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

During his first year with the Vikings, Patterson made a total of nine trips to the end zone and led the league in kick return average. For his production in 2013, the Minnesota rookie wide receiver earned a Pro Bowl invite and he was selected as a First-Team All-Pro.

Unfortunately, the Vikings were unable to figure out a good way to utilize Patterson in their offense over the next three seasons and the team let him hit free agency in 2017.

Since leaving Minnesota, the wide receiver has spent his past two years as a member of the Oakland Raiders and New England Patriots. But now, Patterson is preparing to hit the free-agent market once again this offseason.

Bringing their 2013 first-round draft pick back in 2019 may be something that the Vikings should actually consider.

Not only could he add another unpredictable element to Minnesota’s offense next season, but he would automatically improve their production on kick returns. Something the Vikings have struggled with since Patterson left in 2017.

Signing him is probably not going to be too expensive either and that is that is very important for Minnesota since they don’t have a ton of money to spend this offseason.

Back in November, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said that he felt the team could have done a better job in using Patterson in their offense during his tenure with the franchise.

Could Zimmer and Minnesota be tempted to bring the wide receiver back for 2019 and see if things would turn out differently this time?