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There is a ton of quality wide receivers in this year’s fantasy football draft. For the first time in years, there are seriously 25 reliable week-to-week options. Among the mid-round sleepers, one guy that projects to breakout this season is Minnesota Vikings WR Cordarrelle Patterson.
Patterson caught 45 balls in his rookie season for 469 yards and four touchdowns. His 10.4 YPC doesn’t seem too impressive, but the wideout did plenty of vertical damage. He had seven catches over 20 yards, including a beautiful 79-yard TD. He will now be the number one wideout in Minnesota’s offense, so fantasy fans can expect to see a drastic uptick across the board in his receiving numbers.
The wideout had an impact in the running game as well. Patterson racked up 158 yards on the ground and scored twice. Minnesota is dedicated to getting him the ball anyway possible and he will once again be featured in the team’s running attack. He won’t get too many carries, but his pure speed and decisiveness will keep him active in the rushing attack.
Patterson also racked up 1.393 return yards on 43 kickoffs. He scored two 100-yard touchdowns in his rookie season, including a 109-yarder against the Green Bay Packers in Week 8. CP should score at least one return touchdown again this season and his ability to add points in the return game will give him a boost in fantasy as well.
With all the aging veteran wideouts around the league, Patterson is a breathe of fresh air. He won’t have the name recognition of some of the other wideouts sitting there in the third or fourth round, but the speedster has all the potential in the world. He will be an absolute steal as a WR3 and will be worth watching closely in drafts this summer.
Adam McGill is the Senior Fantasy Sports Writer at Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @adammcgill83, like him on Facebook, or add him to you networks on Google here or here.
