X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

Tape Tells All: Analyzing Cordarrelle Patterson's Week 3 Performance

Cordarrelle Patterson - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Justin Carter breaks down the performance of Cordarrelle Patterson in Week 3 and evaluates the fantasy football upside of Patterson going forward in the 2022 NFL season.

Welcome back to Tape Tells All, the weekly series where I look at film and data for something that happened in the NFL this week.

Today, I want to look at a player who set a new career-high in rushing yards in Week 3: Atlanta Falcons running back Cordarrelle Patterson.

In Week 3, Patterson had 17 carries, finishing with 141 yards and a touchdown. The former wide receiver has become a full-time running back, to the point where he had 49 carries this season and just four receptions. Who would have thought Patterson would be more impactful in standard scoring than in PPR?

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

 

Background Information

Cordarrelle Patterson was drafted in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. At the time, he was a wide receiver and a return specialist. As a rookie, he returned two kicks for touchdowns, including a 109-yarder. He also had 45 receptions that season, and saw 12 carries and three rushing scores.

For much of Patterson's career, he's received carries in the run game, but early on, it was on gadget plays. It wasn't until 2018 that we started to see him used as a running back, when he saw 42 carries with New England. But the nest year, he was back to wide receiver with the Bears.

2020 was where the change solidified. The Bears needed a running back, so Patterson filled in, setting a career-high with 64 carries. In 2021, he moved to the Falcons, where he became the starting running back, with 153 carries for 618 yards and six touchdowns.

This year, Patterson has continued in that role. Through three games, he has 49 carries for 302 yards, but just seven targets. The Falcons have taken his move to running back as seriously as possible, using him pretty exclusively in that role.

And he's doing well with that role! Patterson has a pair of 100-plus yard games already, with two rushing touchdowns this season. He looks like one of the NFL's best running backs so far. But will it keep up? Let's dive into some film and numbers from Week 3 and try to get a sense of what we should think about Patterson.

 

The Cordarrelle Patterson Game Tape

The Seattle Seahawks just had no answer for Patterson on Sunday.

Patterson gets a lot of credit for his kick return ability throughout his career. Being a good kick returner depends on a lot of things, but one of those things is vision. With the other team barreling toward you, you've got to be able to survey what's happening and make some quick moves to find space.

And that's what he's doing as a runner. On the play above, he senses a defender coming at his around the line of scrimmage and hops over him, then makes a quick cut. The block that he was expecting failed, so Patterson ends up coming face to face with a Seahawks defender. He bodies him—the end result is that Patterson goes down, but it shows how tough a runner is that he was able to knock the defender down and that Patterson only went to the ground because that defender managed to grab his leg as he fell.

This play is even more impressive from the broadcast camera:

Impressive stuff from Patterson. But that wasn't his only impressive moment.

Patterson just runs so seamlessly. The idea of putting someone with Patterson's speed in the backfield is a really good idea in theory, but there are so many ways that it could go wrong. A converted receiver might have fumbling issues because he's touching the ball more and is being hit by lineman/linebackers more often than he's used to. He might have vision issues, because he's looking at the field in a different way. He might have trouble getting past the line, because he's used to playing a more vertical game.

But Patterson is unique. All the years of being used on the occasional run play has helped him understand what's needed in that phase of the game. It's like Deebo Samuel—he's used as a runner enough that I now believe he could be really good as a full-time back, just like Patterson.

Again, vision. The offensive line opens a hole and Patterson scoots through that hole, and once he's through, he's off to the races. Patterson is just as dangerous as a Christian McCaffrey or Saquon Barkley once he's in space. The concern with him has been if he'll be able to get into that space.

Per the NFL's Next Gen Stats, Patterson ranks fifth in efficiency, which measures the distance a player travels on run plays. What that means is that Patterson hasn't spent a lot of time running horizontally—he isn't searching for holes; he sees the hole quickly and gets running north-south, increasing the likelihood that he can get into the open field faster and make positive plays.

 

Cordarrelle Patterson Fantasy Football Impact

So, how did Week 3 change the way I view Patterson in fantasy?

I'm officially all in on Patterson now, to the point where I view him as a borderline RB1 going forward. I know that might seem a little extreme, but 66% of Patterson's game so far have been what I would call a "very very good game." That's a nice hit rate, right?

Beyond that, it's hard to see the touches going away. Patterson has 49 carries this season, while backup running back Tyler Allgeier has 16. And the Falcons aren't throwing the football, as their 79 attempts rank as the second-lowest mark in the NFL, ahead of only the Bears.

So, let me get this straight: the Falcons don't throw the ball much, and Cordarrelle Patterson has a bell-cow role at running back. Hmm. That's a pretty perfect situation for him. I mean...Patterson isn't on the field for every snap or anything, but his snap rate has been in the 60% range every week, and he's getting significantly more work than anyone else in the run game, and producing more on those touches.

Cordarrelle Patterson is a fantasy RB1. I could still be wrong about that, but at this point, I'm putting my foot down and saying it. There could be a major shift in that at some point though, as the Falcons could eventually decide to start rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder, something that would materially change the circumstances in Atlanta. Would they throw more with Ridder? Would that cut into what Patterson does? Would they throw to Patterson more, potentially increasing his ceiling? I don't know!

But right now, Ridder isn't the QB. It's Mariota. And as long as it remains Mariota, I expect the Falcons to lean heavily on Patterson. Mariota is a solid game manager. Atlanta doesn't want to put too much on his plate.



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!

More Fantasy Football Analysis




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Anthony Santander

Hoping to Hit Soon
Luis Robert Jr.

Returning in Short Order
Alex Bregman

Could Return Later This Week
Ketel Marte

Day-to-Day with Groin Tightness
Ty Gibbs

Finishes Second at Chicago and Advances in In-Season Challenge
Alex Bowman

Defeats Bubba Wallace in In-Season Challenge, but Not Without Controversy
Alex Bowman

Bubba Wallace Wrecked by Alex Bowman Again, Putting Playoffs in Doubt
Michael McDowell

Throttle Failure Ends Michael McDowell's Chances to Win at Chicago
Austin Hill

Earns First NASCAR Cup Series Top Ten at Chicago
Tyler Reddick

Scores a Strong Third-Place Run at Chicago
Kyle Busch

Matches his Best Career Finish At Chicago on Sunday
Denny Hamlin

Fights his Way to a Top-5 Finish at Chicago
William Byron

has his Worst Weekend of the Season at Chicago
Hunter Greene

Suffers Setback on Monday
Philadelphia 76ers

Kyle Lowry Staying With 76ers
Kyle Anderson

Lands in Utah
Kevin Love

Traded to Jazz in 3-Team Swap
Norman Powell

Traded to Miami
John Collins

Dealt to Clippers
J.J. Spaun

Finishes Tied For 14 at Travelers Championship
Xander Schauffele

Finishes Tied For 61 at Travelers Championship
Collin Morikawa

Finishes Tied For Eighth at Rocket Mortgage Classic
Robert MacIntyre

Finishes Tied For 17 at Travelers Championship
Si Woo Kim

Finishes Tied For 11 at John Deere Classic
Viktor Hovland

Withdraws From Travelers Championship
Tommy Fleetwood

Finishes Tied For Second at Travelers Championship
Brian Campbell

Wins John Deere Classic
Bronny James Jr.

Scores 10 Points
Harrison Ingram

Limited on Sunday
Golden State Warriors

Isaiah Mobley Drops 16 Points
Ryan Rollins

Staying with Bucks
T.J. Watt

Pittsburgh Still Not Close on New Contract
Terry McLaurin

Still Not Pleased with Contract Situation
Sonny Milano

on Track to Be Ready for Training Camp
Yu Darvish

to Make Season Debut on Monday
MLB

Nationals Fire Dave Martinez, Mike Rizzo
Jakub Dobes

Signs Two-Year Deal with Canadiens
KaVontae Turpin

Arrested on Two Charges
Cole Ragans

to Begin Throwing on Monday
Theo Johnson

Prioritizing his Health this Offseason
Andrés Giménez

Andres Gimenez Hits 10-Day Injured List
Jermaine Burton

Continues to Show Growth
NHL

Hendrix Lapierre Signs One-Year Deal with Capitals
Carson Hocevar

Should DFS Players Consider Carson Hocevar for Chicago Lineups?
Tye Kartye

Kraken Re-Sign Tye Kartye for Two Years
Ross Chastain

May be A Decent DFS Option for Chicago Lineups
Dmitri Voronkov

Signs Two-Year, $8.35 Million Extension with Blue Jackets
Ryan Preece

Should DFS Players Roster Ryan Preece at Chicago?
Austin Dillon

Is Too Great of A Risk to Add to Chicago Lineups
Zane Smith

Is A Value Play Worth Rostering At Chicago
Austin Hill

is A Favorable Value Option for Chicago DFS Lineups
Ty Dillon

Is Ty Dillon A Decent Driver to Add For NASCAR DFS At Chicago?
William Byron

Qualifying Crash Makes William Byron a Likely DFS Must-Have
Alex Bowman

Should Finish Well, but Probably Costs Too Much for Serious DFS Consideration
Joey Logano

Has Been Relatively Mediocre on Road Courses Lately
Ryan Blaney

Doesn't Really Fit Neatly into Optimal DFS Lineups
Austin Cindric

Remains an Overrated Road Racer
Cam Ward

"Not Expecting" to be handed Starting Job
Chase Claypool

Eager to Get Back on the Field
Wyatt Langford

Activated, Playing on Saturday
Jay Huff

on the Move to Indiana
Cam Whitmore

Wizards Acquire Cam Whitmore from the Rockets
LaJohntay Wester

Stands out on Special Teams
Clarke Schmidt

Likely to Undergo Tommy John Surgery
Nolan Arenado

Scratched from Saturday's Lineup
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Starting on Saturday
Corbin Carroll

Activated from 10-Day Injured List
Cincinnati Bengals

Shemar Stewart, Bengals Continue Contract Talks, No Progress Made
Giannis Antetokounmpo

Potential Giannis Antetokounmpo Trade may not Happen Until "August, September"
Ha-Seong Kim

Removed Early During Season Debut
ARI

Christian Fischer Retires From NHL at 28
NHL

Spencer Martin Moves to Russia
WAS

Anthony Beauvillier Re-Signs With Capitals for Two Years
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Sitting Out With Foot Issue
Isaiah Neyor

Impresses at Minicamp
Jock Landale

Waived by Rockets
Bo Bichette

Back in Blue Jays Lineup
Jonas Valančiūnas

Jonas Valanciunas Considering Returning to Europe
Miles Sanders

Works With Starters During Mandatory Minicamp
Jabari Walker

Signs Two-Way Deal With Sixers
Chimere Dike

Titans Could Move Chimere Dike Inside
Keandre Lambert-Smith

KeAndre Lambert-Smith not Guaranteed Roster Spot
Anthony Bradford

Working Hard to Win Back Starting Job
Byron Young

Still Improving?
Cody Simon

Jonathan Gannon has Been Impressed With Cody Simon
SirVocea Dennis

has Impressive Offseason
Trevor Penning

Could Still Have a Role in New Orleans
Jonathan Kuminga

Warriors Decline Recent Offer for Jonathan Kuminga
Moritz Wagner

Magic Agree to One-Year Deal
Clarke Schmidt

Placed on Injured List
José Soriano

Jose Soriano Throws Gem Against Braves
Robbie Ray

Earns Ninth Win in Complete Game
T.J. Watt

Likely to Reset the Edge-Rush Market
George Springer

Blasts Two Homers, Drives in Four
Bradley Beal

Suns Discussing Potential Buyout
Jaxson Hayes

Staying with the Lakers
NBA

Damian Lillard "Open" to Signing With a Team This Offseason
Pittsburgh Steelers

Omar Khan, Steelers Agree to Three-Year Contract
SJ

Sharks Claim Nick Leddy Off Waivers
SJ

Sharks Sign Dmitry Orlov to Two-Year, $13 Million Contract
CAR

Nikolaj Ehlers Joins Hurricanes on Six-Year Contract
Chau Smith-Wade

Having Stellar Offseason
Ace Bailey

Inks Rookie Contract With Jazz
COL

Brent Burns Inks One-Year Deal with Avalanche
STL

Blues Land Pius Suter on Two-Year Deal
Morgan Frost

Agrees to Two-Year Extension with Flames
WPG

Gustav Nyquist Moves to Winnipeg
Cody Glass

Devils Re-Sign Cody Glass to Two-Year Deal
PIT

Anthony Mantha Joins Penguins
Emil Heineman

Signs Two-Year Deal with Islanders
Simon Holmstrom

Re-Signs with Islanders for Two Years
UTA

Nate Schmidt Signs Three-Year Deal with Mammoth
UTA

Brandon Tanev Moves to Utah on Three-Year Contract
Bud Cauley

in Great Form Ahead of John Deere Classic
Christiaan Bezuidenhout

a Player to Avoid at John Deere Classic
Jake Knapp

Riding Momentum Ahead of John Deere Classic
PGA

Sungjae Im Looking for Consistency at John Deere Classic
Ryan Gerard

a Solid Option at John Deere Classic
Rickie Fowler

Looking to Rebound at John Deere Classic
Cameron Champ

a Volatile Option at John Deere Classic
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF