Cordarrelle Patterson is becoming a problem for opposing defenses

Cordarelle Patterson is emerging as a versatile threat in the Atlanta offense, and his pair of first-half touchdowns against Washington are prime examples of what he offers.

The Atlanta Falcons and the Washington Football Team are locked in a back-and-forth affair down in Atlanta, and the offensive star for the Falcons in the early going has been the versatile Cordarrelle Patterson.

Patterson has been a focal part of Arthur Smith’s offense this season, seeing usage as both a wide receiver and a running back. His two touchdowns in the first half against Washington provide examples of how explosive he can be from both spots on the field.

Patterson’s first touchdown came on a deep post route, where the offensive weapon managed to get behind the entire Washington secondary with ease:

The play design shows a little eye candy to Washington, with Calvin Ridley working from right-to-left on jet motion, and Matt Ryan faking a handoff to his receiver before Ridley leaks to the right flat. But the core components of this play are the deep post from Patterson and an over route from the receiver on the other side of the field. That post/over combination is a staple in many NFL offenses, so you might think Washington would be ready for it, but Patterson’s speed gets him behind the defense for the score.

His second touchdown came later in the first half, with Patterson aligned as a running back and running a quick out-breaking route to the left side. His quarterback got the ball to him quickly, and from there it was all play strength and athleticism from Patterson:

Atlanta catches Washington in man coverage here, and with Patterson crossing the formation that tasks the safety on the opposite side of the field with covering him from depth. Patterson takes advantage of the leverage on his route and the angle the safety has to take to break the first tackle, and barrels into the end zone for the score.

After last week’s win over the New York Giants, Smith heaped praise on his offensive weapon. “He’s making an impact, and it’s fun to work with guys like that. Allows you to be creative. He can handle it. We named him our player of the game on offense,” Smith said. “He’s made a huge impact. He was a game captain this past week. Just really enjoyed getting to work with CP and to see where it goes from here.”

His athleticism and versatility are giving opponent defenses fits, and giving Smith a matchup nightmare to use in the passing game. With what we are seeing from this Falcons offense, you can expect this usage to continue.