Player: RB Cordarrelle Patterson
Stock Value: Purchased
Reasoning: While I list him as a running back, the Steelers are signing Cordarrelle Patterson as a kick returner. The 12th-year veteran is an All-Pro returner with nine career kick return scores. With the NFL changing the kick return rules to encourage more returns, he could prove even more valuable.
Over the past three seasons, Cordarrelle Patterson’s kick return workload plummeted from 18 to 7. He returned 35 kicks in 2020 during his one season with the Chicago Bears, accumulating over 1,000 return yards.
The league continued to make it easier and easier for teams to avoid returns, which is what it wanted. However, owners have now approved a proposal to radically reform the play, encouraging more returns while ostensibly making it safer. There is no coincidence behind the fact that the Steelers signed Patterson to a two-year, $6 million contract soon after.
Make no mistake, Patterson isn’t worth $3 million a year without the new rule, which should see more returns leaguewide. But if they can get a couple dozen returns from him, he can make his mark on this team. And make no mistake, he’s not just a return man.
In the most recent stage of his career, Patterson switched positions to play running back. He switched in earnest over the past three seasons in Atlanta—where he played under head coach Arthur Smith, who is now his offensive coordinator with the Steelers.
Over the past three years, Patterson has recorded 347 rushing attempts for 1,494 yards and 14 touchdowns, averaging 4.3 yards per attempt. He has also caught 82 passes for another 708 yards and six more touchdowns. This is a guy who has scored 20 touchdowns over the past three seasons on offense, so don’t pigeonhole him.
And remember, his new offensive coordinator is the guy who called his plays for the past three years. Smith will find ways to use him creatively even if the Steelers already have a stout backfield. Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren will get the vast majority of carries, but Patterson and his speed offer something different.
But you’d be a fool to ignore his 7,989 career kick return yards, and a 29.3-yard career return average. At 33 years old, he’s not at the height of his powers any longer, but he could find more success under the new rules that emphasize strength as much as elusiveness near the catch point, with enough speed left once he breaks away.
As the season progresses, Steelers players’ stocks rise and fall. The nature of the evaluation differs with the time of year, with in-season considerations being more often short-term. Considerations in the offseason often have broader implications, particularly when players lose their jobs, or the team signs someone. This time of year is full of transactions, whether minor or major.
A bad game, a new contract, an injury, a promotion—any number of things affect a player’s value. Think of it as a stock on the market, based on speculation. You’ll feel better about a player after a good game, or worse after a bad one. Some stock updates are minor, while others are likely to be quite drastic, so bear in mind the degree. I’ll do my best to explain the nature of that in the reasoning section of each column.
