Minnesota Vikings: Cordarrelle Patterson’s New Work Ethic
Cordarrelle Patterson admitted to Chris Tomasson of the Twin Cities Pioneer Press that sometimes his approach to improving his craft was lackadaisical. Can his newfound work ethic guide him to a more prosperous role within the offense?
For the Minnesota Vikings sake, they need to almost depend on the notion that there will be a better “Flash” this season.
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Number 84 was a mega hit in his rookie season. The explosive plays came in bulk, the return game for Minnesota never looked better; and on top of it all, the Vikings looked as if they had found exactly what they were hoping for after they traded a boatload of picks to the New England Patriots to move back into the first round to select him in the 2012 draft.
The 2012 draft was a spectacle to watch unfold if you were a fan of the purple and gold. First it was Sharrif Floyd out of the University of Florida with the 23rd pick, secondly it was Xavier Rhodes out of Florida State with the 25th pick, and as everyone was probably packing it in and calling it a night, Rick Spielman jumps right back into the mix and drafts the much-needed receiver with Cordarrelle Patterson.
Three picks in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft, two fifth year options picked up as of today, one stranded receiver left to figure out what may potentially become of his career. Will C.P. ever be more than a flash in a pan kick returner for this new regime? Or can Patterson pick up the missing pieces and earn himself a new deal with the team that drafted him? Per Mike Zimmer and Rick Spielman, Patterson is aiming to accomplish the latter.
C.P. himself reflected on the mindset that stalled him from the get go; being a first round pick, thinking the selection in his own right gave him the right of passage to the Vikings roster:
"“Sometimes you can be here and feel like you have to be on the team,” Patterson explained. “You feel like, ‘Yeah, I’m a first-round pick, I’m on the team.’ Things like that, sometimes they make you not work hard, they make you don’t want to do things, make you be lazy.”"
This off-season Patterson took the initiative to get in better shape, to work on his routes day in and day out, and to build chemistry with a quarterback still yearning for a go-to guy.
Patterson has put his off-season progress on full display through social media, the grind has been real, but the work put in will be even sweeter if Patterson can finally put the negative gossip behind him and become the receiver the Vikings had hoped for. With that, this offense may reach bounds it hasn’t seen since 2009.
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Has Patterson put in the work? Check. Has No. 84 figured out the depths of his routes and minimized mental mistakes on the field? Per Zimmer, check. Has Patterson finally matured into the gifted wide receiver we all know he could be? We hope so.