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Atlanta Falcons dual-threat running back, Cordarrelle Patterson, is a future Hall of Famer, according to former NFL wide receiver-turned-analyst, Nate Burleson.
During an episode of Good Morning Football on Nov. 21, Burleson went into detail as to exactly why Patterson belongs in the HOF, comparing and contrasting him to former Chicago Bears star kick returner, Devin Hester.
“Cordarelle Patterson belongs in the Hall of Fame. Hear me out. Here’s the thing. We all believe that Devin Hester is a Hall of Famer, right? And rightfully so. Devin Hester has five kickoff return TDs [and] 14 punt return TDs, which is crazy. He has 17 offensive TDs around 3,500 offensive total yards.
“Corderrelle Patterson is a beast. By far the best kickoff returner we have ever seen. Now he’s not much of a punt returner. I think he has a goose egg in that category. But, offensively he has 34 offensive touchdowns, and almost 5,000 yards offensively.
“Now you add in the nine kickoff returns, which this is like a thing that people don’t even do anymore. This is so retro. Who’s returning kickoffs? Cordarrelle Patterson is returning kickoffs. So, I truly believe if we are gonna sit here and say, Devin Hester––which I believe Devin Hester belongs in the Hall of Fame––you gotta put Cordarrelle Patterson here. I don’t make up a new category. He is one of the most, if not the most versatile football players to ever strap up the pads. So yeah, shout out to Cordarrelle Patterson.
Patterson Breaks NFL Record vs. Bears
Patterson had himself a day this past Sunday in Atlanta’s 27-24 win over the Chicago Bears, where he returned a kickoff 103 yards for a touchdown, marking his ninth kickoff return for a touchdown in his career. While doing so, he broke the NFL’s all-time record for kick return TDs.
Patterson’s ninth return broke the tie he had with Josh Cribbs and Leon Washington, who each had eight kick return touchdowns during their careers.
The return was also his first since 2020 when he had a 104-yard return TD against Minnesota and he is now the only player in the league to have seven touchdowns of 100-yards or more––no other player in the NFL has logged more than four, according to NFL Football Operations.
Patterson Reacts to Breaking NFL Record
Setting a new NFL benchmark was an emotional moment for Patterson, although he didn’t show it by shedding a tear.
“Honestly man, I was trying to cry but all the guys was running up on me and doing all of this and doing all of that,” Patterson said after the game. “It felt good man, I was trying to shed a tear, they wouldn’t let me.”
“Just my hungriness this year, you know, I didn’t play a lot of kick return last year and this year man, coach gave me the green light,” Patterson added. “I just have to thank Marquice [Williams] for that. He’s a hell of a special teams coach.”
His record-breaking kick return rightfully earned him Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 11.
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