Houston Texans: Why Cordarrelle Patterson?

It’s no secret that the Houston Texans are shopping for another wide receiver to fill the spot of the storied Andre Johnson, who just agreed to a deal with the Indianapolis Colts.

Notice my verbiage here — I said “fill” not “replace,” there’s no way you can replace such a player of his character and God-given talent.

Because let’s face it, when No. 80 headed off into the sunset, the Texans got worse in terms of their receiving game.

Cutting him from the roster certainly means that they have a plan in place to ensure there is some sort of continuity at that position.

Besides, DeAndre Hopkins can’t do it all and he’ll need some help as teams will work to multiply their coverage on him, shutting down our passing game.

The Texans must work to find a player that has the ability to hit the ground running, learn Bill O’Brien‘s offense on-the-fly and be expected to produce sufficiently to help the team win.

Which why it puzzles me that the Texans are making a play for Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson.

According to Pete Bercich of the Vikings Radio Network, the Texans are inquiring about landing the wideout:

Rumor - Texans inquiring about Patterson in a trade. Vikes not actively shopping him, but gauging value
— PeteBercich (@PeteBercich) March 12, 2015

Although the Vikings are not actively shopping the star yet, there’s a good chance since the recent news of their acquisition of Mike Wallace from the Miami Dolphins.

It’s widely-known that Patterson has to improve on his route-running and as well as the questions in regard his football IQ.

Unless the Texans are confident they can bring him along and have him thrive in a role that best suits him and the team, I’m not sure how this helps the team.

The biggest attribute that he has going for him is his athleticism and the fact that he is in the infancy of his NFL career — which is the reason why he’s worth going after.

SportsTalk 790’s Jayson Braddock talks about the Texans potentially landing Patterson with thoughtful, spot-on analysis:

We’ve needed a return specialist for years as Keshawn Martin and Damaris Johnson haven’t been the answer to our woes.

More from House of Houston

When’s the last time we’ve had a touchdown off a punt/kickoff return?

Jacoby Jones was the last guy to do so on regular basis but Martin did have an 87-yard punt return in 2013.

You see, it has been too long and it’s possible they can mold Patterson into something that can fit for this football team.

Patterson did score two touchdowns off kickoff returns in 2013 but did not get any in 2014, a lackluster year in contrast.

Hopefully, we can pry him away by dangling with a 4th or 5th rounder.