Cordarrelle Patterson (WR/RB, ATL) - Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues

ROSTERED: 3% of Leagues

ANALYSIS: We always hear NFL franchises gush over "Swiss Army Knife" players, from the Percy/Tavon/Denard/Bowden mold, to the nutty recent obsession with finding "our Taysom Hill" ten years after not wanting Tim Tebow. These experiments don't always work, but once in a while, a beautiful manifestation of mad science known as a  "Cordarrelle Patterson" is unleashed. Patterson, now in his ninth NFL season, is a Super Bowl Champion (LIII), four-time Pro Bowler, three-time Second-Team All-Pro, four-time First-Team All-Pro, member of the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team, and tied the all-time NFL records for longest play (109 yards) and career kickoff return touchdowns (eight). Despite the HOF accolades, Patterson's awkward positioning always leaves him battling the entire offense for greater shares of the running and passing game. Fortunately, he chose to make his mark from the get-go in year one as a Falcon, catching both passes thrown at him for 13 yards and taking seven carries for a team-leading 54 yards while RB1 Mike Davis managed only 49 yards on 15 carries (and three receptions, 23 yards).

With most of his game dependent on explosiveness now at age 30, can he physically continue to do what makes him so special while competing with the budding stars and youngsters of Atlanta? I'm confident that he can, maybe even better in some ways. His scrimmage yardage from 2020 (364 yards, one RRTD) wasn't close to the best marks from early in his career when he was about 98% WR, but with 21 receptions and 64 carries for the Bears last season, his total number of touches on the year (85) was a career-best by a margin of 22. If you're still skeptical of what's left in his tank: last season in Chicago, he surpassed 1,000 yards gained on kickoff returns in a season for just the third time in his career, complete with a 104-yard touchdown, giving him 7,143 yards and eight touchdowns for his career on kickoff returns. In managing any Fantasy Sport, I am a big believer in the benefits of dual-position eligibility, especially with a guy like Patterson who was made to be plugged in and set loose. Even with Matt Ryan's age, the talented Atlanta pass-catchers, the presence of Davis and Wayne Gallman Jr. in the backfield, and the natural challenges that come with his style, this seems like a fantastic setup for Cordarrelle Patterson to improve on his unique craft by jumping on all opportunities for production as they fill in the cracks, whether it be via the ground, air, or return.

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