Rookie wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson has been on the field for only 11 offensive plays for the 0-2 Minnesota Vikings so far this season, a number head coach Leslie Frazier told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune he expects to rise going forward.
Cordarrelle Patterson inattention an ‘oversight,’ coach says; fantasy owners hope so
After only 11 plays on the field in two games, Vikings coach Leslie Frazier says the team needs to get the rookie more involved. We break down the fantasy implications.
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Patterson has caught three passes on three targets for 24 yards through two games. He also has 203 return yards and a touchdown on five returns.
“It’s just an oversight on our part, a major oversight because Cordarrelle is a playmaker,” Frazier said Monday. “He should be out there. We’ve just got to get him on the field.”
Fantasy impact: Boy, fantasy owners have got to love quotes like that. "Yeah, this guy's great, and we're just screwing up enough to not use him." That's not reassuring for fantasy owners or Vikings fans. In Frazier's defense, Patterson is basically blocked by a high-performing Jerome Simpson so far, as the two play basically the same position. That said, Simpson and Greg Jennings are the team's only truly viable pass-catchers, and neither is a super-elite guy at this point in their respective careers.
It is hard to imagine Patterson will go from one or two targets a game to top-tier performance, even if Frazier means it when he says they need to ramp him up. That said, if Patterson can start getting even half a dozen catches a game, to go with what appear so far to be really strong kick-return abilities, he might be an option as a deep flex play.
