Everyone and their mothers thought the Atlanta Falcons would be bad, but through two weeks there have been very few bright spots for a team and a city that is in dire need of some performance. Yes, they did put up 25 points this week against Tampa Bay, but this game was ugly in every respect for Atlanta. Matt Ryan has shown more and more signs of aging, Calvin Ridley has yet to really explode the way most analysts thought, and fourth overall pick Kyle Pitts is still acclimating to NFL defenses.
After two weeks, however, there has been a standout over this abysmal start and his name is Cordarrelle Patterson. Yes, that Cordarrelle Patterson.
Cordarrelle Patterson has been the #Falcons best offensive player over the first two games and that's not a sentence I ever expected to write
— Kevin Knight (@FalcoholicKevin) September 19, 2021
Patterson, relegated to mainly return man duty in his previous eight years in the NFL, has shined as a running back for first-year coach Arthur Smith. Atlanta signed former Carolina Panther Mike Davis in the offseason and expectations were for him to be the reliable fantasy option he was last year in Christian McCaffrey’s absence. Davis has taken a majority of snaps over Patterson through two weeks: 53 to 24 in Week 1 and 42 to 24 in Week 2, respectively.
This snap count disparity hasn’t stopped Patterson from making the most of his opportunities. He’s outscoring Davis in PPR formats 32.6 to 23.5 despite playing only HALF the snaps. Sunday in Tampa, Patterson rushed seven times for 11 yards and a touchdown and added five receptions for 58 yards and another score. These numbers aren’t eye-popping by any means, but they are optimistic for fantasy owners.
Cordarrelle Patterson today:
13 snaps in backfield
6 wide
1 in slot
1 at QB
6 rushes
5 targets
2 tuddies— Jim Sannes (@JimSannes) September 19, 2021
Patterson paced all Falcons skill players with red-zone snaps on Sunday and scored on two of his four red-zone touches.
“We hope to build off that,” said Smith. “[He is] fun to coach, and I’m glad he’s on our team.”
This activity should persist throughout the season due to his offensive versatility combined with the Falcons’ propensity for falling into an early deficit. Ryan will probably continue to air the ball out (35-46, 300 yards vs Tampa) moving forward, and Patterson has carved out a role to garner over five targets every week.
Why isn’t Cordarrelle Patterson (7%) gaining more Waiver Wire steam?
-Led Falcons in Week 1 rushing despite seeing less than half Davis att (7 vs. 15)
-4 of his 7 runs went for 10+ yards, most in NFL
– Dual WR/RB eligibility
Clear handcuff w/ benefits, what am I missing?
— Wolf of Roto Street (@RotoStreetWolf) September 15, 2021
Currently the eighth-ranked RB in ESPN PPR formats (Monday Night Football notwithstanding), Patterson has set himself up for a super productive fantasy season. Owned in only 8% of ESPN leagues, the Atlanta gadget back is readily available.
The Wolf considered him a handcuff before Week 2, but his output has streaming flex possibilities in the future. Consider Patterson for a waiver claim, or also a low-budget FAAB acquisition. The Wolf’s Rest of Season Big Board had Patterson as WR75 (-11 ECR) and expect that number to skyrocket following the conclusion of Monday Night Football.
