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After a slow start, due primarily to not seeing many offensive snaps, Minnesota Vikings’ wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson emerged as a force for fantasy football owners late in his rookie season. Over the final five games of 2013, Patterson scored six touchdowns (three receiving, three rushing) and from Week 14-17 he had 15 receptions for 215 yards along with 129 rushing yards.
The arrival of Norv Turner as offensive coordinator has fantasy owners optimistic about Patterson’s potential this year, and for the most part that is well-warranted. But here is why I’m selling Patterson from a fantasy perspective right now.
Patterson set a season-high with 141 receiving yards against the Baltimore Ravens, but that was his only game with more than 60 receiving yards and was bolstered by a 79-yard catch-and-run in a snowstorm. Big plays are always nice, but fantasy owners can’t bank on them consistently as a driving force for a player’s value.
Turner will definitely bring a more imaginative offense to Minnesota, with more opportunities to go around in the passing game. That said, Adrian Peterson is still the centerpiece of the offense for at least one more year and everyone else’s week-to-week production may be inconsistent as a result.
Patterson had two kickoff return touchdowns last year, and also added significant value in fantasy leagues that count return yardage with 1,393 kickoff return yards. Vikings’ head coach Mike Zimmer suggested in late July that Patterson will remain the team’s kickoff returner, but with a bigger offensive role in store it would make sense to reduce his exposure to hits as a kick returner.
Patterson is worth drafting as a WR2, and his average draft position late in the fourth round is reasonable based on the upside he offers. But there are wide receivers I can get a bit later that I’d rather have, and I’m confident there will be someone in every fantasy draft room that makes a big bet on Patterson’s potential and reaches for him too early. Based on that I’m selling Patterson’s fantasy stock for 2014 right now, even if I miss out on a few weeks of big production.
Brad Berreman is a Senior Writer at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter or connect on Google +.
