Cordarrelle Patterson Vows To Improve in 2014

January 23, 2014; Honolulu, HI, USA; Team Sanders punt returner

of the Minnesota Vikings (84) cleans his cleats during practice for the 2014 Pro Bowl at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Despite making the Pro-Bowl as a rookie, Cordarrelle Patterson only scratched the surface of his potential as a rookie in 2013.

And the rookie out of Tennessee is well aware of that fact, as you can see in his comments to ESPN this past week.

"This year my whole mindset is, ‘Remember everything. Do better than you did last year. I think I was kind of bad last year. This year will be way better.”"

Prior to the 2013 NFL draft, Patterson was described as “raw”, due to only playing one season of college football at the highest level.

Of course, during that one season, Patterson showed an incredible natural ability to make plays in the open field. It didn’t matter if he was lined up as a wide receiver, or taking a hand-off out of the backfield — Patterson had an incredible knack for making big plays.

He continued to show that ability in his rookie season with the Minnesota Vikings. Patterson returned two kicks for touchdowns in 2013, including a 109 yard kick-off return against Green Bay in week seven and a 105 yard kick-off return against Chicago in his second career game.

All in all, Patterson accounted for nine touchdowns as a rookie — two kick-return touchdowns, three rushing touchdowns and four receiving touchdowns.

The former Vol proved to be a more consistent receiver over the last six games of the season, as over half of his 45 receptions came during that stretch. That includes a breakout performance in week 13 in which he caught five passes for 141 yards and a late game-tying touchdown reception.

Patterson obviously has a lot of room to improve, but there’s no doubt that he’s a superstar in the making.

If the Vikings can find a consistent quarterback to get Patterson the ball, then Minnesota might have found their wide receiver of the future in Cordarrelle Patterson.