Hall of Fame Scout: Falcons Must Sign Top Free Agent Cordarrelle Patterson
The end of the 2021 NFL season is here, which means free agency, the NFL Draft, and decisions each team has to make about improving their rosters any way they can.
NFL.com senior analyst Gil Brandt revealed his list of free-agents-to-be that each team should keep. It's not a list of what Brandt thinks is most likely to happen, but instead, what he thinks should happen.
For the Falcons, the keeper is Cordarrelle Patterson. Writes Brandt:
Sure, Patterson's late-career breakout season -- he broke 1,000 scrimmage yards for the first time at age 30 -- might pump up his price tag. But with so much uncertainty swirling around Atlanta in the final phase of the Matt Ryan era, and with Calvin Ridley's status with the team up in the air, the Falcons might as well go in for more multi-category fun with the resurgent Patterson.
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After being thought of as a player who could shine on special teams and perform fill-in work from time to time, Patterson proved the critics wrong and became one of the best players on the team. He even made the PFF Top 101 Players from 2021 list.
With just one receiver under contract for the Falcons heading into 2022, Patterson's selection by Brandt might surprise some. Atlanta has four wideouts ready to hit the free-agent market in Tajae Sharpe, Christian Blake, Russell Gage and Olamide Zaccheaus.
But the four-time Pro Bowler showed he still has plenty left in the tank, with 153 carries for 618 yards and six touchdowns in 16 games. Brandt is probably right, and the Falcons would be wise to hang on to Patterson.
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