With Joe DeCamillis stepping in as the Rams’ new special teams coordinator, Los Angeles could be looking to make a change in the return game. Nsimba Webster remains on the roster, but DeCamillis emphasized the importance of finding a true weapon at punt/kick returner – someone who can make house calls on any given return.
There may not be anyone who’s been better at that in recent years than Cordarrelle Patterson. Though he has disappointed on offense, Patterson remains one of the best return specialists in the NFL. And he just so happens to be available in free agency.
Johnny Hekker seems to like the idea of bringing Patterson to L.A., posting a trio of praying-hands emojis and a ram when he quote tweeted the four-time All-Pro’s message.
🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 🐏 https://t.co/tgmDiOUTVJ
— Johnny Hekker (@JHekker) March 19, 2021
Last season, Sean McVay made his respect for Patterson very clear by calling him “a nightmare to deal with in the kick return phase.” This was at a time when Sam Sloman was failing to boot kickoffs out of the end zone, which caused McVay to emphasize the importance of not giving Patterson a chance to return kicks.
“That phase specifically is a huge point of emphasis for us and really if you’re going to prevent him from returning it, you better kick it out of the end zone,” McVay said. “Because he’ll take it out 9 yards deep and he’s made people pay.”
On the opening kickoff, Patterson returned it 28 yards to the Bears’ 30-yard line, quickly giving Chicago better field position than it would’ve had with a touchback.
The Rams have struggled to find a true replacement for Pharoh Cooper in the return game, but Patterson could be exactly what they need on special teams.
