Cordarrelle Patterson has been working hard this offseason with a goal to become the player most analysts thought he would become following an electrifying rookie season in which he scored a combined 9 touchdowns.
But his second season with the Vikings was a bust. Patterson’s numbers decreased in every way and he found the end zone just twice all season, the first of which was an electrifying 67-yard rushing touchdown in Week 1 against the Rams.
Part of the reason he wasn’t as productive was that he failed to adjust to offensive coordinator Norv Turner’s offense. Patterson was criticized for not knowing the playbook and failing to run quality routes.
But he’s apparently now beginning to eliminate those problems.
“Cordarrelle is doing a good job in this offseason,” Zimmer told the Star Tribune’s Sid Hartman. “He has been in better shape coming in, and he is doing a better job of running routes, of competing each and every down. I look forward to him coming on and I’m a big fan of his. We’re just trying to get him to realize all the little intricacies you have to do offensively in the NFL in order to be a great player.”
Earlier this month Zimmer told reporters, according to the Pioneer Press, that Patterson needs to “continue to do those things and continue to keep getting consistent.”
Patterson credited his improved fitness level to an offseason of workouts with the same personal trainer who helped Timberwolves forward Shabazz Muhammad reshape his body between his rookie and second seasons in the NBA, the Star Tribune reported earlier in May.
