Atlanta Falcons: Cordarrelle Patterson is NFL’s most impressive RB

The Atlanta Falcons are getting huge contributions from two young playmakers and one veteran playmaker, and the veteran, Cordarrelle Patterson, plays a position that you do not often see older players flourish at.

How often have you seen running backs who have been complete superstars up until they start nearing their 30s? Todd Gurley is the perfect example, within a span of a few years he went from one of the league’s best players to being unsigned despite not even being in his 30s yet.

However, the Falcons have a rare exception with Cordarrelle Patterson who is playing his best football at age 31.

Cordarrelle Patterson is leading the Atlanta Falcons offense in 2022

The Atlanta Falcons through three weeks are ranked in the top five in rushing yards as a team and Cordarrelle Patterson is third in rushing yards, behind only Nick Chubb and Saquon Barkley.

The difference between Cordarrelle Patterson and those other two? Patterson is in his 30s while the other two are in their mid-20s.

In fact, there are only seven running backs in the entire NFL that are at least 30 years old and have at least 50 rushing yards. When using those parameters, Patterson has 302 rushing yards and the next one in line is Mark Ingram with 98 yards — there are 42 players with more rushing yards than him.

There is no other way to put it, Cordarrelle Patterson is doing something that few players have ever done.

The reason that he is able to do this is that the Atlanta Falcons are the first team that has figured out how to use him effectively. He started out as a wide receiver where he never had sustained success and then he moved to running back where the same thing happened up until Arthur Smith got ahold of him, where he is now among the elite.

We are watching greatness out of the Falcons’ backfield every Sunday, hopefully, we can keep the success going and Patterson can end the year as a top-three running back.