Round 1; Pick 29
It’s tough to evaluate Cordarrelle Patterson. If you just judge a receiver by what they do in the passing game, he’s way down this list. However, if you factor in what they do in the return game and on trick plays that include accumulating rushing yards just as much, he’s No. 1. We’re splitting the baby. Receiving stats matter more, but all stats are valuable.
Taking that into account, Patterson belongs high on this list. He was the last receiver to be the first Tennessee football player taken in an NFL Draft before Josh Palmer this year, and it was based on his one season in Knoxville, where he had arrived as a junior college transfer.
In 2012, Patterson was amazing. He had been 46 catches for 778 yards and five touchdowns and 25 carries for 308 yards and another three touchdowns. On special teams, Patterson averaged over 25 yards on four punt returns and over 28 yards on 24 kickoff returns, running one of each back for touchdowns to have 10 total on the year.
This allowed Patterson to be taken by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round, the first of four offensive Vols, including three pass catchers, taken in that draft. Patterson spent his first four years with Minnesota, one with the Oakland Raiders, one with the New England Patriots, where he won a Super Bowl, and the last two with the Chicago Bears. He’s now with the Atlanta Falcons.
Patters has 383 touches for 3,104 yards and 18 total touchdowns from scrimmage in his career. Then there’s special teams, where he has averaged 29.8 yards on 239 kickoff returns for his career and run eight back for touchdowns. With four First Team All-Pro honors, two Second Team All-Pro honors and four Pro Bowls, it’s safe to say he was a worthwhile first-round pick.