Cordarrelle Patterson Emerging as Potent Weapon for Norv Turner, Vikings Offense

One of the biggest ongoing stories out of Minnesota is the continued emergence of second-year receiver Cordarrelle Patterson. His big showing in the season's opening game in St. Louis has pundits raving about his ability to create big plays.

Where did all of this come from?

Just two years ago, he was playing his first game of Football Bowl Subdivision football at the University of Tennessee as a prized junior college recruit.

After 1,086 offensive yards and an early declaration for the draft, he became a first-round pick for the Vikings. It cost Minnesota a pretty penny to move up in the draft and get him as well.

His intelligence was questioned by draft analysts during his season at Tennessee and before the draft. His low Wonderlic score and other anonymous reports played into the story. Then Minnesota was reserved in its usage of him to open the 2013 season, which fit that same narrative.

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While the receiver position isn’t rocket science, an adjustment period had to be expected for Patterson. He only had a single season of FBS experience after all, so he’s still learning what kind of effort and commitment it takes to play football for a living.

Despite that learning curve and marginalized usage as a rookie, Patterson was still an electrifying player.

Now he’s entered his second season with increased expectations both from others and for himself. Similar playmaking skills are expected from him as a runner, returner and on short throws. On top of that, progress as a traditional receiver must come.

Early signs from both the preseason and Week 1 point in the right direction for Patterson.

He looks sharper as a route-runner with more urgency off the line of scrimmage and crispness at the top of his routes. He’s also doing a better job of extending his hands to catch the football instead of letting it into his body.

With average quarterback play, there aren’t a lot of completions to go around through one week, so Patterson’s receiving numbers weren’t impressive in St. Louis. He only caught three passes for 26 yards.

In fact, he only had six offensive touches. What he did with them (128 total yards, one touchdown) changed the game, though.

Offensive coordinator Norv Turner first got him involved with a pair of speed sweeps. Each was schematically similar.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

The two tight ends each have reach blocks. They’re the ones who make this happen from a blocking standpoint. Their blocks are made easier because the Rams’ front is forced to pause for a second to respect the possibility of either Patterson or Adrian Peterson being given the ball.

As soon as Patterson receives the handoff, he’s looking to make his cut and direct his momentum up the field. It's Kyle Rudolph’s block that he’s reading on the outside.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Because the cornerback floats to the outside to contain it, a seam opens for Patterson to run through. His incredible athletic ability makes this too easy. Patterson broke off gains of 12 and 23 yards, respectively, on the two sweeps.

Despite their simplicity, the deception in these plays is what made them so successful.

The players Minnesota can’t really account for are linebackers. The problem for them is that they have to freeze to respect Peterson, and they’ll never chase down Patterson in the open field. Wrinkles like this speed sweep will have future Vikings opponents using precious practice time to prepare for Patterson.

Even scarier for future defenses is that this play wasn’t the home run play in St. Louis. That was a toss to Patterson from the backfield that went 67 yards to the house. Nail met coffin.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Key blocks include the pull and kick of the contain player from right guard Brandon Fusco, the lead block from Matt Asiata and the seal from Kyle Rudolph, all of which were successful in springing Patterson.

With a lead block to follow and space to build up his speed on the toss, this play isn’t all that different a concept for Patterson than a kick return. That’s called letting a player do what he does best.

Patterson did it very well too.

A lot of backs can hit that well-blocked hole and make a big gain. Few can do what Patterson does in the open field. That’s what makes him so special. He gets into the open field and instinctively runs to space with the type of acceleration, elusiveness and change-of-direction skills rarely found in a man of his size (6'2", 220 lbs).

He’s the whole package athletically.

As indicated by NFL Director of NFC Football Communications Randall Liu, these long runs are becoming a pattern too:

"

.@Vikings Cordarrelle Patterson is 1st @NFL WR since at least 1970 merger w/ 35+ yard rush TD in 3 consecutive games

— Randall Liu (@RLiuNFL) September 7, 2014"

Even better, this might just be the beginning for Patterson. His biggest exploits are still happening on the ground, where he just has a natural feel for the game.

As he continues to grow into route running against NFL cornerbacks, there’s no telling where it ends. He has the speed to win over the top. He has the size and catch radius to go up and win the ball in the air. He has the run-after-catch ability to find the end zone after any underneath reception.

When Minnesota traded Percy Harvin to Seattle last March, the future at the receiver position looked bleak at best.

Now it has one of the most explosive receivers in the league in Patterson. His usage will only grow. His skill set will only further develop. Finally, he’s only 23 years old. He’s just scratching the surface of his potential.

Vikings fans can move on from Harvin.