When the Chicago Bears signed Cordarrelle Patterson in free agency, they knew that they were adding a dynamic weapon that could be used in a variety of ways.
Whether that’s as a receiver or running back on offense or a returner on special teams, Patterson’s versatility makes him the kind of weapon that Bears coach Matt Nagy craved for his offense.
While we haven’t see the full extent of how Patterson will ultimately be utilized in this offense, we’ve seen flashes of the impact he can have.
“It’s pretty unique,” Nagy said, via ChicagoBears.com. “What it does as a play-caller is it allows you to be flexible with what you do. You saw last week we were able to get him on the edge. He’s a big dude that’s flying around there with a lot of speed.”
That speed was on display last week against the Denver Broncos, where Patterson broke off a 46-yard run clocking in at 22.23 miles per hour, the fastest speed recorded by an NFL ballcarrier since 2016.
That speed also makes him a threat whenever he has the ball in his hands, which is why Patterson is utilized on offense and special teams. He saw split time between offense and special teams against the Broncos, playing 15 snaps on offense and 11 on special teams.
“He’s a dynamic guy,” said offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich. “There’s a lot of stuff you’d love to do with him. But again it’s about managing his special-teams reps and the play and the volume that he gets there. You saw him make some great plays there covering. But he’s a great football player. He would love to be on the field every single snap—offense, defense, special teams, whatever.”
The scary thing is that Nagy hasn’t realized how to fully utilize Patterson just yet, which means that the best is hopefully yet to come for Patterson. Hopefully we’ll get to see more of that come Monday night against the Redskins.
