As the dust settled from the 2025 NFL Draft, the hyperbole and exaggerated narratives have begun running rampant, and one of those takes has been directly tied to a former Minnesota Vikings All-Pro.
Cordarrelle Patterson originally came to the Vikings as a first-round pick back in 2013 and would earn All-Pro First Team honors twice in his four seasons with the team.
Going on to earn those honors twice more with other teams after his exit from Minnesota, it's safe to say Patterson will be known as the best return man of the past decade-plus. And, already, a Green Bay Packers rookie is drawing comparisons to the all-time great.
Green Bay Packers rookie WR Savion Williams is getting an early comparison to former Minnesota Vikings WR/KR Cordarrelle Patterson
The Packers finally took a wide receiver in the first round when they selected Matthew Golden out of Texas, but it wasn't even their top-drafted rookie who drew such a wild comparison.
The Ringer's Todd McShay recently gave his two cents on Packers third-round selection, Savion Williams, out of TCU.
“He reminded me, and I know the comp is Cordarrelle Patterson and a lot of times it’s kind of lazy, but this one’s kind of accurate.”
To call this lazy and kind of accurate is just plain silly. I don't care how good Williams looks on tape, you cannot even begin to compare him to an all-time NFL return specialist like Patterson. What's even more hilarious is that McShay would go on to somewhat backtrack.
“I don’t get the sense that he’s a deep studier of tape and tendencies. There will be routes where he’s tripping and falling on the ground getting in and out of breaks."
Sure, Patterson was never the best wide receiver. But, he's adapted well and that's why he's still in the league today.
Williams clearly has a ways to go to develop. Although he's a talented rookie, let's pipe down on the ridiculous comparisons. For the same reason, Kansas City Chiefs fans would flip out if you compared a rookie to the likes of Dante Hall, let's take a step back and let the kid play a season or two before we really start jumping to such absurd conclusions.
This one's just plain bad. Vikings fans won't soon forget it.