The Minnesota Vikings might be reaching the end of their faith in Cordarrelle Patterson. The Vikings drafted the receiver in the first round in hopes that he would pair with Adrian Peterson and become a top playmaker for the team. That failed to happen and now patience is running thin for him to prove that he was worth the hype. Now with younger players on the rise, Patterson could be on his way out.
Patterson has faced numerous trade rumors in the past and the Vikings always maintained that he was going to improve and that they had faith in his abilities. However, in Week 4 when both Charles Johnson and Jarius Wright were banged up, Patterson still barely got onto the field to play. That was a clear sign that the team has given up on the wide receiver becoming what they wanted as trade talk rises once again.
According to Benjamin Allbright of FOX Sports, more than one team is showing interest in Patterson during the mid-season trade deadline. Normally, the NFL trade deadline sees very little action, but with the Chicago Bears dealing away Jared Allen, this year could be different. Patterson has bared been seen this year as the Vikings have replaced him with other receivers and now they might just try and drop him from the roster all together. Patterson might only be worth a late-round draft pick at best given his numbers in recent years, but at least that would give the Vikings some kind of return on investment.
The biggest threat to Patterson's future has been Stefon Diggs who is emerging as a star in his rookie year. Diggs has shown he can easily take the place of Patterson doing kick returns and still be a reliable wide receiver as well. According to Mike Wallace, Diggs has a very bright future ahead of him.
"He could be better than me," Wallace said, via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "He's young. When I came in [with Pittsburgh in 2009], I was playing well as a young guy, but I had one assignment: Beat them deep. Diggs is already running the full route treatment from Day One. When I first got here, he reminded me of Antonio [Brown]. I still stand by that, how quick he is and his motor and the routes he runs and just the way he prepares himself, man."
That type of praise is why Patterson keeps dropping on the depth chart. Johnson, Wright and Wallace make up the main trio while Diggs works in as well. The Vikings are also capitalizing off a healthy Adrian Peterson and Kyle Rudolph giving the team all of the necessary weapons needed to improve as a team. Fans should expect the Patterson trade talk to begin heating up after the bye week.