Get ready for George Pickens to block for Cordarrelle Patterson on a slow-developing end-around in the Pittsburgh Steelers offense on multiple occasions this year. With failed Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith taking over the offense in Pittsburgh, look for the 10-7 Steelers to more closely resemble the 7-10 split Smith loved being a part of in Flowery Branch. His Dirty Birds were something.
According to Mark Kaboly of The Athletic, he expects the newcomer return man extraordinaire to be way more than that in this Steelers offense. Kaboly appeared on The Joe Starkey Show to explain in what kind of roles Patterson could be used in offensively this year. For a guy who is firmly on the wrong side of 30, this may not be the best course of action to take Pittsburgh over the top in the AFC.
The Steelers are paying Patterson $6 million this year to do something, so he will do something, aight.
"You're not giving him 6 million bucks to be a kick returner who, they [take] it outta the end zone once a game. He's gonna have other roles. I think he's gonna surprise some people of some of his roles."
As a fan of the Falcons, I have lived and died by the Arthur Smith experience far longer than I wanted to. I believed he could be the coach to finally untangle this underperforming franchise's Gordian knot of mid, but I was wrong. His stubbornness as a play-caller and his reluctance to give up any control led to his undoing. Smith's persnickety attitude with the local media did not help him out at all either.
Look for the Steelers to let Cordarrelle run free long before they ever decide to let Russ cook again.
Oh, don't get me wrong. I loved having CP on the Dirty Birds. He was there for Dirty Bird Nation during a time when things were especially bleak. The 2021 and 2022 Falcons had no cap space, leading to general manager Terry Fontenot to hunt for quality NFL players in the bargain bin. Patterson took advantage of every opportunity he had in Smith's offense. I will always be appreciative of his efforts.
However, the standard is still different in Pittsburgh than it is in Atlanta. The Steelers are a franchise that bases its success on winning Super Bowls. Atlanta really only hopes to raise the occasional NFC South banner. Although I think both teams could be playoff-viable this year, there is far more optimism in Atlanta than there is in Pittsburgh surrounding its offense. Smith is at the epicenter of both of them.
Right now, we can only speculate as to what roles Patterson will be involved in this offense. From my experience following along to the Falcons, look for Patterson to be a change-of-pace back in the backfield bare minimum, in addition to whatever he does in the kickoff return game. As far as putting him into the slot as a receiver, he can make plays will the ball in his hands, but he cannot run routes.
Look for Patterson to make a positive impact in Pittsburgh, but he will take touches away from others.
