Over/under on offensive touches for Cordarrelle Patterson

Our latest WCG Chicago Bears round table comes to a close today with a question about a player that had some buzz surrounding him last week, Cordarrelle Patterson.

Or should I say, running back, Cordarrelle Patterson?

After his first year in Chicago was spent as a wide receiver that would occasionally line up at running back (while also being an All Pro special teamer), his 2020 season looks to have him continuing his stellar third phase ways, but on offense he’ll be a running back that may occasionally line up at receiver.

This is where he belongs.

The Bears failed in getting him the ball on offense last year, and that’s something the coaching staff has already addressed. He only had 28 offensive touches last year for the Bears, which came after he set his career high of 63 offensive touches in New England during the 2018.

The Bears need to get him the ball more in 2020, but how much will they give him?

Here’s the question was posed to our guys about the Bears new running back.

Do you take the over or under if I set Cordarrelle Patterson’s offensive touches at 50?

I’ll give my take after seeing what my WCG teammates say.

EDITOR: We gave these answers before the Bears announced Patterson was to spend his time in the running backs room.

Jacob Infante: I’ll take the under, but ever so slightly. I do see Patterson taking on a bigger role on offense in 2020, particularly as a runner out of the backfield. I don’t think he’ll see more than two or three carries on average each game, and I expect him to remain as more of a gadget piece than a legitimate receiving option. I could see him topping the 50-touch mark if the Bears use him more out of the backfield, but I’ll say he finishes just short of that mark.

WhiskeyRanger: Probably the under. While I think his role will be somewhat expanded (hopefully not belligerently), there’s just too many mouths to feed on this offense for me to see Patterson used quite so much. His main contribution to the team will still be on kick returns IMO.

Erik Christopher Duerrwaechter: I absolutely do. It makes one wonder why the Bears haven’t added a veteran running back into their backfield stable yet. At least, until you re-watch Cordarrelle Patterson’s appearances in the run game. I’m convinced that Patterson is the defacto third back, and his stats supports justification to use him. For his career, he is averaging 7.6 yards per carry on 103 attempts. Much like the Bears’ issues with Tarik Cohen, the revamped coaching staff has to find better ways to use Patterson more efficiently.

Bill Zimmerman: I’ll take the over for Patterson offensive touches. We’ve heard that Patterson will be more involved in the offense this year and I think that’s because Matt Nagy feels his offense will be run more how he sees it this year as I expect Nick Foles to win the QB job.

The Bears’ offense was a mess last year. No, that wasn’t all Mitch Trubisky’s fault, but there is plenty of blame to go in the direction of Trubisky. Because the offense was so bad, the Bears struggled to handle basic offensive plays, let alone doing more unique plays and creative personnel packages. I think Foles, while he won’t be spectacular, will make sure the offense runs basic packages well enough to give Nagy the opportunities to be more creative on offense and that creativity starts with Patterson.

Jack Salo: If I had the choice, I would wait a few weeks on this question to see if the Bears spend money on a third running back, something I believe they’ll still do. That said, I’ll answer it as if the current roster, cut down to regular season size, is the roster they’re bringing to Sundays. Over. They’ll play Patterson enough between RB and WR that he sees 50 touches, although I wouldn’t hold my breath on a 29 year old return specialist breaking out on offense in Matt Nagy’s system.

Ken Mitchell: Even we play a full season, which at this point I seriously doubt, I’ll still take the under. I just don’t see Chicago running him as much as New England did, and that was a lot of his touches there.

Robert Schmitz: I’ll take the under. I expect Patterson to get more work in the backfield this year (frankly I expected more of it last year), but between Montgomery, Cohen, Robinson, and Miller, Ginn, Kmet, and Graham there are a lot of Bears that’ll be looking to touch the ball in 2020 and that’ll keep Patterson’s numbers down. If the Bears’ offense can get off the ground this year I’ll look for CPat to get 40-45 chances with the ball in his hands — he’s too dangerous to not get the ball occasionally, but he’s not consistent enough as a positional player (WR, RB, etc) to be a “foundation” player for the offense a la Robinson or Cohen. Getting 40-45 touches feels right.

Aaron Leming: I’m going to take the “over” and for one main reason. I refuse to believe that Pace feels nearly as comfortable with the running back room as he claims to. The only reason he could is if they plan on actually using Patterson more at not only running back but in this offense as a whole. Simply put, he’s an explosive player and needs the ball in his hands more regularly. Fifty touches through 16 games is only 3.125 touches-per-game. That’s nothing and something that is very attainable if Nagy gets out of his own way in terms of play calling. The hope, at least on my part, is that the new coaches added to this staff will reign Nagy in a bit more and allow him to actually call his game without getting too cute or overthinking things too much.

Robert Zeglinski: Under. It’s quite clear the Bears are setting themselves up as a run-heavy, ACE-Set team. That does not automatically mean more carries for Patterson. It means more quality touches for David Montgomery and Tarik Cohen. (And Matt Nagy is not as astute as Bill Belichick in offensive application, anyway.)

Sam Householder: Under. Again, the confidence isn’t there from me in the Bears offense as a whole to say that they’re going to be able to dip far enough into Matt Nagy’s playbook to do the types of things that will get Patterson 50+ touches this season. If Mitch is the QB all year there’s no shot, if it’s Foles, maybe, but even then I’m not sure that with all the other pieces that they’re going to be getting into the toy chest to get Patterson those kinds of touches.

Lester A. Wiltfong Jr.: I was on the get Patterson the ball train before the Bears moved him to tailback, but now that he’s learning all the nuances of the position, I’m not only taking the over, but I think he sets a new career high in touches. Patterson would seem like a guy that should be better in an outside zone scheme, and it appears that the Bears would be looking to do more of that in 2020.