Patriots Gridiron News: Cordarrelle Patterson is an All-Pro playmaker

Cordarrelle Patterson was named Second-Team All-Pro as a returner, but he has emerged as an important playmaker for the New England Patriots in 2018.

Following an offseason trade with the Oakland Raiders that brought Cordarrelle Patterson to the New England Patriots, Bill Belichick promised the former first round pick that the team will make him the player he is meant to be.

How Patterson was used this season is not what many fans envisioned, but with his ability to do multiple things when on the field, one of the NFL’s most feared kickoff returners has found ways to impact the game in other ways.

Just call him a playmaker because that’s exactly how Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has found ways to exploit his speed on the field.  Cordarrelle Patterson did make his presence known on special teams with a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.  Overall, his 663 kick return yards did earn him Associated Press second-team All-Pro honors.

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But, let’s talk about Patterson the playmaker.

During the early part of the season when the team was void of wide receivers, Tom Brady did connect with Cordarrelle Patterson the wide receiver.  His 21 receptions for 247 yards and three touchdowns was nothing to write home about, but his size and speed was showcased in a couple of those touchdown passes.

The particular one that comes to mind occurred early in the season against the Miami Dolphins.  Patterson juked two defenders for a 55-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady showcasing that he is a capable deep threat who can separate from defenders in the open field.

With the addition of Josh Gordon and a shortage of running backs, the New England Patriots then got creative with Cordarrelle Patterson.  Utilizing him as a running back in an early season game against the Buffalo Bills, the Patriots showed that they aren’t afraid to hand the ball off to the speedy playmaker.  Back then, due to the shortage of running backs, they really had no choice.

"“There’s a statement for that: Creativity comes out of need,” Patriots running backs coach Ivan Fears said following the Week 8 game against Buffalo. “We needed help.  And the solutions were, the answers were not too many.  There were not too many choices, and there was one looking right at us.  And he was willing.”"

Then Cordarrelle Patterson the running back was born.  With a 61-yard rushing performance in Week 9 against the Green Bay Packers, it became apparent that the man Tom Brady nicknamed “The Experiment” morphed into multi-dimensional player who would be used all over the field on offense.

A playoff threat?

We’ve seen Cordarrelle Patterson impact the game in three different ways for the New England Patriots during the regular season, so expect offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to get clever during the playoffs.

In fact, you can probably count on a gadget play involving Patterson somewhere in the playoff when the team needs an offensive jolt.

There will be a number of jet sweeps as that has become a play the team runs regularly, but don’t be surprised if that results in a little trickery somewhere down the line.

Also, don’t be surprised if the wide receiver in Cordarrelle Patterson is utilized more against certain matchups.  Patterson has the speed and size to pick up some of the void left by Josh Gordon.  If Tom Brady can find chemistry with him on some of those slant plays, he is more than capable of breaking a short pass into a huge gain.

All in all, Patterson is the type of player the New England Patriots covet.  His willingness to be versatile as well as multiple has turned him into an All-Pro playmaker.  He isn’t a player who does one thing great (except kickoff returns), but he can do a few things good.

In that respect, Bill Belichick and the Patriots absolutely have made Cordarrelle Patterson the player he is meant to be.

Now, he just may become the X-factor in the playoffs both catching and running the ball.