The Minnesota Vikings acquired a third first-round pick by trading back into day one and selecting Tennessee wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson. He was my No. 1 wide receiver in the entire draft, so this is a great value pick at a position of need. Still, giving up four draft picks to get him doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
Cordarrelle Patterson has been considered the No. 1 wide receiver in the 2013 NFL Draft since relatively early in the draft process. While he has a ton of talent, it doesn’t seem we can expect the very same type of production we saw from Julio Jones and A.J. Greene two April’s ago. Instead, we’re likely looking at a combination between Justin Blackmon and Michael Floyd from last season.
At 6’3” and 205 pounds, Patterson has a chance to be a dominating receiver on the outside. In addition, Patterson couples speed (4.42 40-yard dash) with this size to create a tremendous amount of mismatches against smaller, slower cornerbacks.
College Stats
| Year | School | Games | Receptions | Yards | TD | Rushes | Yards | TD |
| 2010 | Hutchinson CC | 11 | 52 | 908 | 9 | 7 | 19 | 0 |
| 2011 | Hutchinson CC | 12 | 61 | 924 | 15 | 32 | 379 | 6 |
| 2012 | Tennessee | 12 | 46 | 778 | 5 | 25 | 308 | 3 |
Fantasy Impact with the Minnesota Vikings
To be honest, not much. While Patterson is my top receiver in the class, don't expect him to produce like a Julio Jones or A.J. Green from a couple seasons ago as a rookie. His learning curve to the NFL is going to be huge. In addition, he doesn't exactly have the best quarterback in the world to throw the ball his way. It seems that Patterson will be no better than a decent flex guy or waiver-wire pickup when all is said and done his rookie season. Not much to see here in terms of the fantasy world. I would be surprised to see more than 40 receptions and five touchdowns.
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