Given that Cordarrelle Patterson is one of the most unique players in football, it’s no surprise he has added something uncommon to the Bears’ running game.
The move from wide receiver to running back, which he also played for the Patriots in 2018, been smooth for Patterson and he has 44 yards on 11 carries. It’s a modest contribution statistically, but his bruising running style — he’s the size of a tight end at 6-foot-2, 238 pounds — is an ideal complement to David Montgomery and Tarik Cohen.
“He brings that combination of speed and power every time he touches the football — you feel that,” coach Matt Nagy said. You all see it when he plants that foot in the ground on some of those runs and he hits that hole really fast.”
Nagy often seemed uncertain how to use Patterson last season.
He has a career average of 7.3 yards per carry and gave the Bears 6.6 yards per touch in 2019, but his role was small and unclear. He had seven games of fewer than 10 snaps on offense and totaled 17 carries and 17 passing targets (11 catches).
Patterson lamented, “Twenty-eight touches is not enough,” for a player with his abilities, and Nagy agreed. He is already halfway to that number heading into the game at Atlanta on Sunday and is enjoying his new role.
“It’s fun, man,” Patterson said. “I just love getting the ball and just running. I remember last week, one of the big boys from the Giants tried to tackle me and he said, ‘You run hard, bro. You’re hard to tackle.’ That’s what I’m going for, man. I’m just trying to run through a wall if I can.”
