Cordarrelle Patterson ( ; born March 17, 1991), nicknamed "Flash", is an American professional football running back. As a versatile utility player, he is also a kickoff returner and occasionally a wide receiver. Patterson played college football for the Hutchinson Blue Dragons before transferring to the Tennessee Volunteers, where he earned first-team All-SEC honors.
He was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 2013 NFL draft. Patterson has also been a member of the Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, Chicago Bears, Atlanta Falcons, and Pittsburgh Steelers.
During a game against the Green Bay Packers in 2013, Patterson tied the NFL record for longest play and set the NFL record for longest kickoff return with 109 yards, the longest possible. He is considered one of the greatest return specialists in NFL history, with a league record nine kickoff return touchdowns in his career, six of which have been longer than 100 yards. On the depth chart for the 2023 season, Patterson was listed under the position "Joker".
Early life Patterson attended Northwestern High School in Rock Hill, South Carolina, where he played football, basketball, and ran track. He was coached by Jimmy Wallace. As a senior in 2008, Patterson caught 75 passes for 944 yards with 18 touchdowns, leading his team to the State Class 4A Division II championship game, and was named All-state selection. Patterson was also a three-year letterman in track & field at Northwestern High School. He spent part of 2009 beginning a post-graduate year at North Carolina Tech Preparatory Christian Academy, but did not play football, and left prior to the spring to enroll at Hutchinson Community College.
College career Hutchinson Community College
Football In 2010, Patterson transferred to Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kansas, where he played junior college football and was recognized as a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-American in 2010 and 2011. Patterson holds more than a dozen records at Hutchinson C.C., including career receiving yards (1,832), career receptions (113), career receiving touchdowns (24), career total touchdowns (36), career points (216), career kickoff return average (41.9), and career all-purpose yards (3,379).
In 2011, Patterson was a first-team All-American as a freshman, claiming the honors as a return specialist. He totaled 645 yards on 21 combined kickoff and punt returns with three touchdowns, and also recorded 52 receptions for 908 yards and nine touchdowns.
As a sophomore, Patterson earned first-team All-American honors on offense and was named the 2011 Jayhawk Conference Offensive Player of the Year after catching 61 passes for 924 yards and 15 touchdowns, carrying the ball 32 times for 379 yards and six touchdowns and averaging 48.2 yards on 10 kickoff returns with three more scores.
Track and field In addition to football, Patterson competed in track & field, where he clocked personal-bests of 10.33 seconds in the 100-meter dash and 21.19 seconds in the 200-meter dash at the Jayhawk Conference Championship. Patterson also competed in the long jump, and recorded a collegiate-best jump of 6.85 meters (22 ft, 4.5 in) at the Southwestern Invitational Championships. On May 16, the Levelland Meet saw Patterson part of a 4 × 100-meter relay team that timed 40.32 (season-best). At the Lawrence Meet, Patterson helped the sprint medley 1,600-meter unit time in at 3:28.50.
Tennessee Patterson was a highly touted recruit in 2012 coming out of Hutchinson Community College. Rated as a 5-star prospect by 247Sports.com and the top JUCO player in the country, he received scholarship offers from upper-tier Division I programs. Patterson ultimately chose to attend the University of Tennessee over LSU, Auburn, Georgia, Ole Miss, and others.
At Tennessee, Patterson played for Derek Dooley and the Tennessee Volunteers football team in 2012. He made an immediate impact with his athletic ability and offensive versatility. Primarily used as a wide receiver, Patterson also excelled as a return specialist and all-purpose running back. In the season opener, a 35–21 victory over North Carolina State in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, he had six receptions for 93 yards and a touchdown to go along with two carries for 72 yards and a touchdown. In the next game, a 51–13 victory over Georgia State, Patterson showed his versatility with three receptions for 71 yards, an 18-yard rush, and three kick returns for 108 net yards. In the following game, a 37–20 loss to the rival Florida Gators, he had eight receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown. After a limited role in the 47–26 victory over the Akron Zips, Patterson had a 46-yard rushing touchdown in a 51–44 shootout loss to the rival Georgia Bulldogs on September 29. In the 55–48 victory over Troy, he had nine receptions for 219 yards and a touchdown. On November 17, in a 41–18 loss to rival Vanderbilt, he had an 81-yard punt return for a touchdown. In the regular season finale against the Kentucky Wildcats, he had four receptions for 88 yards and a touchdown in the 37–17 victory. Despite Tennessee's disappointing 5–7 record in the 2012 season, Patterson scored at least one touchdown by reception, rush, kick return, and punt return, with 10 total touchdowns in 12 games. In 12 starts, Patterson racked up a school-record 1,858 all-purpose yards (set by Reggie Cobb in 1987) to rank first in the Southeastern Conference, tied for 18th in NCAA.
On January 9, 2013, Patterson, along with college teammates Tyler Bray, Justin Hunter, and Darrington Sentimore, announced his intention to leave college early and declare for the 2013 NFL draft.
Professional career
Minnesota Vikings 2013 season
Patterson was selected by the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL) in the first round with the 29th overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft in a draft-day trade with the New England Patriots; the Patriots received four draft picks (a second, third, fourth and seventh).
In the season-opener on September 8, Patterson caught his first NFL pass from quarterback Christian Ponder for a 10-yard gain and had two kicks returned for 54 yards. In Patterson's second career game against the Chicago Bears on September 15, he scored his first NFL career touchdown by returning the opening kickoff for a 105-yard kick return touchdown, marking the first kickoff return touchdown the Bears had allowed since September 30, 2007. For his outstanding performance on special teams during the month of September, Patterson was honored as the National Football Conference (NFC) Special Teams Player of the Month. In Week 8, Patterson returned the opening kickoff 109 yards for a touchdown, tying the NFL record for the longest play ever. After Patterson's performance against the Green Bay Packers, he was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. On November 7, Patterson caught his first touchdown pass on a two-yard reception. On December 1, Patterson ran a touchdown for 33 yards, helping the Vikings win in overtime over the Bears. Patterson's best receiving performance of the season came in Week 14 against the Baltimore Ravens with five catches for 141 yards; in that game, he scored his longest receiving touchdown when he took a bubble screen pass from Matt Cassel 79 yards to the end zone with just 45 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. In the season finale victory against the Detroit Lions on December 29, he scored the final two Vikings touchdowns at the Metrodome. The first of them came on a 50-yard run in the first quarter, and then he added an eight-yard reception with 9:19 left in the game. The rushing touchdown set a team record for the longest rushing touchdown by a Vikings receiver.
Patterson finished his rookie year with 45 receptions for 469 yards and four touchdowns while also returning 43 kicks for 1,393 yards and two touchdowns in 16 games and six starts. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team. On January 2, 2014, Patterson was selected to play in the Pro Bowl, filling in for Antonio Brown. The next day, Patterson was named as a starter on the 2013 Associated Press (AP) All-Pro team as the kick returner.
2014 season
Patterson suffered through a disappointing 2014 season under new head coach Mike Zimmer and offensive coordinator Norv Turner. The team drafted rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater in 2014, but Bridgewater and Patterson failed to create any chemistry. The second-year receiver caught only 33 passes for 384 yards and a touchdown. His return yards also plummeted. Patterson ended up losing his starting job to Charles Johnson, a practice squad player the team picked up from the Cleveland Browns. Johnson was drafted the same year as Patterson in the seventh round by the Packers. By the end of the 2014 season, Patterson went from starter to fourth on the team's depth chart.
2015 season Patterson had an opportunity to reacquire his starting position after veteran wide receiver Greg Jennings was released during the off-season. After newly signed veteran Mike Wallace established himself as the starter and rookie Stefon Diggs emerged as a premier receiver in Charles Johnson's absence, Patterson was dropped to fifth position and relegated to return duties. He received minimal play at wide receiver throughout the season, only amounting two receptions for 10 yards all season. However, Patterson had two kick return touchdowns, the first in Week 10 against the Oakland Raiders and the second in Week 13 against the Seattle Seahawks.
2016 season In 2016, Patterson struggled as a receiver but remained a successful kick returner. He was named to his second Pro Bowl and second First-team All-Pro, both as a returner. Overall, Patterson played in 16 games (eight starts) and recorded 52 receptions for 453 yards and two touchdowns while also returning 25 kicks for 792 yards and a return touchdown, which came against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 11.
Oakland Raiders
On March 13, 2017, Patterson signed a two-year, $8.5 million contract with the Raiders. He joined a position unit that contained Michael Crabtree, Amari Cooper, Seth Roberts, and Johnny Holton.
On September 10, 2017, in the season opener against the Tennessee Titans, Patterson had one rush for five yards and one reception for two yards and served as the kickoff returner in his Raiders debut. The Raiders won on the road by a score of 26–16. In the next game against the New York Jets, Patterson had three carries for 57 yards and a 43-yard touchdown to go along with a six-yard reception and 70 return yards during the 45–20 victory. During Week 6, he had a 47-yard rushing touchdown as the Raiders narrowly lost to the Los Angeles Chargers by a score of 17–16.
Patterson finished the 2017 season with 31 receptions for 309 yards to go along with 13 carries for 121 yards and two touchdowns and 19 returns for 538 yards in 16 games and two starts.
New England Patriots On March 18, 2018, the Raiders agreed to trade Patterson and a 2018 sixth-round pick to the Patriots for a 2018 fifth-round pick. The deal became official two days later.
Patterson made his Patriots debut in the season opener against the Houston Texans, recording a six-yard reception, 13 rushing yards, and 19 return yards during the 27–20 victory. Three weeks later against the Miami Dolphins, he scored his first touchdown as a Patriot on a 55-yard reception. Patterson finished the 38–7 victory with three receptions for 54 yards and the aforementioned touchdown to go along with an 11-yard carry.