On the surface signing Cordarrelle Patterson may seem like a minor move but there’s more value to Patterson than meets the eye. If you simply look at the standard numbers like yards, catches, and touchdowns one may conclude Patterson is a huge bust being a former first round pick. As a Wide Receiver that conclusion would be correct.

However, he is a three time special teams All-Pro. He specialises in those hidden yards most fans don’t take into account. In this fantasy football world we live in, if it is not quantifiable by fantasy points it’s useless. However, in a game that pretty much devalues kickoff returns nowadays, Patterson is one of the very few that makes kick returns into a weapon for his team by consistently giving his team positive field position. That’s not factoring in his ability to convert those kickoff returns into touchdowns. For perspective on how effective of a kickoff returner he really is peep this tweet by the Scores Bears beat reporter Chris Emma.

Cordarrelle Patterson, now with the Bears, is one of two players in NFL history to average 30 or more yards on career kick returns. The other? The great Gale Sayers (via @BearsPR). — Chris Emma (@CEmma670) March 14, 2019

Another thing Patterson brings is a bunch of tools in his tool box. Check out this tweet from pro football focus.

Cordarrelle Patterson's offensive snaps by alignment in 2018 Backfield: 17.9%

Wide Receiver: 52.9%

Slot Receiver: 26.2%

Tight end: 3.0%#Bears — PFF CHI Bears (@PFF_Bears) March 13, 2019

This kind of versatility has got to have offensive minds like Matt Nagy, Mark Helfrich, and Brad Childress salavating and retreating in a locked room somewhere devising plays to exploit Patterson’s abilities. Even his running plays are tricky. Out of his 42 carries as a runner 12 of them came as he lined up as a Wide Receiver. Can’t wait to see what they cook up for him.

His biggest bugaboo has been his hands. He has dropped his fair share of passes. However, he has improved in that area. Last season he had caught 21 of his 28 targets. His catch percentage was 75% and his true catch percentage was 87.5%. He had no drops last season. When Brady threw his way he had a 137.1 passer rating. If that isn’t enough versatility for you he just happens to be one of the most physical blockers from the Wide Receiver position in the NFL. Something Nagy will most assuredly use in his short game to get big chunk YAC yardage.