By Nick Brinkerhoff
There used to be an old Geico commercial in the 2010’s where Pinnochio was a motivational speaker. He tried to uplift people by raving about their potential, but of course, the only problem was Pinnochio’s nose, growing with each and every lie told.
That was also true for anyone talking about Atlanta Falcons running back Cordarrelle Patterson until 2021. The former Minnesota Vikings draft pick was mostly an unknown, what could he become? Patterson played mostly on special teams and held down a role as a gadget player on offense, but nothing more.
Scouts gushed about Patterson, saying he was a raw prospect but one with potential to become a number one receiver on a team. Pinnochio’s nose grew once more.
Patterson’s NFL career became similar to the Flappy Bird app craze in the 2010’s, an afterthought. So much for the next great thing.
But then, much like every great story ever created, Patterson kept trying. He bounced around from team to team, doing whatever they needed until it eventually stuck. If you throw enough against the wall, eventually it will.
And it did. In 2021. With the Dirty Birds of Atlanta.
Is this the new Cordarrelle Patterson?
In league circles, Patterson came into last season as a JAG, and no I am not talking about the 1990’s television series. Just another guy.
There was no fanfare when he signed. He was supposed to be the backup to offseason addition, running back Mike Davis, who filled in nicely for the Panthers Christian McCaffrey the season before.
But Patterson seized the job, starting 13 games for the Falcons new head coach Arthur Smith. He finished with 1,166 all purpose yards and 11 touchdowns, both career highs.
The breakout season gave the Falcons an unlikely star contributor on offense, something they’ll need in 2022. With receiver Calvin Ridley suspended for the season for gambling on games, and longtime quarterback Matt Ryan departing, Patterson will be relied upon to be a difference maker.
His versatility creates matchup issues for any defense, but the question everyone wants to know is whether regression is imminent.
Over the last four games of last season, Patterson was less effective and only eclipsed 30 yards of total offense once. It’s fair to question whether the workload wore him down over the course of the season, especially for a guy that carried the ball 153 times, by far the most in any one season during his nine year career.
To put it in perspective, in the eight previous years Patterson carried the ball 167 times.
It’s expected that with other additions, the workload on the former Tennessee Volunteer star will lessen, but that is not always a bad thing. After a breakout season, teams will begin to pay more attention to number 84, opening up the rest of the offense.
For new quarterback Marcus Mariota, that is exactly what he needs. The Falcons have both a dual threat quarterback and running back, combined with one of the best tight end prospects we’ve seen, and size at the receiver position.
Team Owner Arthur Blank’s team has needed a rebuild since the clock hit triple zeroes on the famous 28-3 game. Yet the boss and co-founder of Home Depot has refused to acknowledge the need for reinforcements as the foundation of the franchise began to crack.
Unfortunately for Blank, he was left with a Fixer-Upper, but Chip and Joanna weren’t coming to save him. Armed with some new tools while rebuilding on the fly, maybe the Falcons are finally realizing what needed to be done all along.
They have what seems to be a capable coach, some budding stars on offense, and a defense good enough to get by while they await a new franchise quarterback. It’s not great, but it definitely could be worse. At least they should score plenty of points.
But for Atlanta, it all starts with Cordarrelle Patterson.