Mike Zimmer thinks the Vikings ‘could have done a better job’ with Cordarrelle Patterson
Patterson spent four seasons with the Vikings.
The Minnesota Vikings are making the trek to Gillette Stadium this Sunday and for Cordarrelle Patterson, there will be a few familiar faces.
The Patriots wide receiver was initially drafted by the Vikings in the first round of the 2013 draft and played with them until 2017, when he signed a two-year contract with the Oakland Raiders before eventually being traded to the Patriots.
Over his four seasons with the Vikings— three of which were spent playing under current head coach Mike Zimmer, who was hired in 2014— Patterson played 64 games and had 1,316 receiving yards, 333 rushing yards, and scored 11 touchdowns.
Comparatively, the Patriots are using him more on the ground and in different sets. In 11 games with New England, Patterson has 120 receiving yards, 156 rushing yards, and three touchdowns.
“They’re doing really good with him,” Zimmer said of the Patriots’ use of Patterson. “Everybody knew Cordarrelle was an outstanding athlete, strong runner, great when he had the ball in his hands. We probably could have done a better job when we had him, after watching them.”
Zimmer also called the Patriots “the best play-action team in the NFL,” accrediting Tom Brady as the trigger man and head coach Bill Belichick as the brains behind it all.
“I think they’re getting the ball in [Patterson’s] hands quite a bit,” Zimmer said. “He’s an exceptional hard runner that can make a lot of big plays. He can make guys miss. He gets a lot of yards after contact. And then, whether it’s throwing him the ball or handing him the ball or rocket sweeps or whatever it is, I just think – everybody’s known how talented he was. We obviously knew how talented he was here as well, but we didn’t get him the ball enough maybe in a lot of those ways that they’re using him.
“Honestly, since I’ve been watching him on tape, I’m going to put that in the back of mind if we ever get a guy like this again, or a guy like that again, that we can use him in much better ways.”
