Did the Pittsburgh Steelers pay $6 million over two years for a kick returner in Cordarrelle Patterson? He won’t tell you directly, but his teammates seem to imply they see him as more than that. No doubt the Steelers primarily signed him to take advantage of the new kickoff rules. But he has always been an offensive contributor as well.
“Oh man, Cordarrelle. He’s a kick returner, he’s very great in that”, RB Jaylen Warren said of Patterson this past week via the team’s website. “As far as the offense, I’m sure we could put him anywhere and he does his thing”.
A 12th-year veteran, Cordarrelle Patterson has logged 3,685 offensive snaps over the course of his career. He played 1,032 of those snaps over the past three seasons as a member of the Atlanta Falcons. Arthur Smith was his head coach there during all of that time—and is now the Steelers’ offensive coordinator.
Patterson fully transitioned from wide receiver to running back in Atlanta under Smith. During his three seasons as a Falcon, he rushed for 1,494 yards on 347 attempts with 14 touchdowns. In 2022, he rushed for 695 yards with eight touchdowns, but he took a backseat to Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier in 2023.
The Steelers already have Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren at running back, but that doesn’t mean they won’t find room for Patterson. He still recorded 50 carries last season, for example, and caught nine passes.
For his part, Patterson isn’t saying much about a potential offensive role beyond the fact that he is ready for one. But his teammates are intrigued by the 6-2, 220-pounder who, even at 33 years old, can run past you.
“I saw him walk in, I’m like, ‘Man, I did not know he was that big’”, T Broderick Jones said of Patterson. “He’s huge for a utility player like him. That’s a great asset for us to have on the offensive side of the ball”.
We still have a lot to learn about how Arthur Smith is going to put this offense together, and he is still learning about the pieces that he has to work with. One thing that we do know is that he manages to find plenty of touches down the depth chart. Even in two-back systems, there are 50-plus more touches to go around.
Patterson himself was that third, 50-touch player just last season for Smith behind Robinson and Allgeier. Caleb Hartley, as the third running back, rushed 76 times the year before that. In 2021, Wayne Gallman, Qadree Ollison, and Keith Smith combined for over 50 carries.
Of course, it was a different story in Tennessee when he had Derrick Henry rushing nearly 700 times over a two-year period. Yet Jeremy McNichols, D’Onta Foreman, and Darrynton Evans still managed nearly 100 touches between them in 2019. Unless the Steelers keep another back like Daijun Edwards, I fully expect Patterson to have a role in Smith’s offense.
