Reviewing Jaret Patterson’s performance against the Bengals
Taking a closer look at how UDFA RB Jaret Patterson played against the Bengals
Undrafted free agent running back Jaret Patterson has made a strong claim for a spot on Washington’s final roster. He showed promise in Washington’s preseason opener against the Patriots, but when given the opportunity to work with the first and second team offense against the Bengals, he stole the show. Patterson finished the Bengals game with 133 all purpose yards.
On the ground, Patterson had 16 carries for 71 yards and a touchdown. In the air, Patterson added another 25 yards on three catches. Patterson even returned a kickoff for 37 yards. Every time he touched the ball he was productive. It wasn’t empty production either. With a running back, sometimes the blocking up front leads to easy yards, but Patterson displayed a natural feel for running the ball, understanding how to set up blocks and create lanes to cut into.
On this play, Patterson aligns in the shotgun to the right of quarterback Taylor Heinicke. He works an inside run to the left. Right guard Wes Schweitzer does a nice job cutting off the defensive tackle to the right side of the line while left guard Wes Martin and center Tyler Larsen work in combination on the nose tackle to generate some movement. A lane emerges early on for Patterson to work between Schweitzer and Larsen, but he understands that if he hits it immediately, he’ll lead the linebackers to that hole. So Patterson smartly presses the run to the left side, forcing the linebacker to commit outside. Once the linebacker commits, Patterson can then cut back into the lane freely with the linebacker in the wrong gap.
That natural feel to press the hole, force linebackers to commit and then cut the run back is not something that every back can do. Antonio Gibson, for example, doesn’t do this, which isn’t too surprising given he only transitioned to running back last year, but that feel is a huge positive trait for a back to have. It shows an understanding to set up blocks, but also shows great patience to allow those blocks to develop. That patience is another key part of Patterson’s game.
This time, Patterson takes the handoff on an outside zone run to the right. He presses the run to the outside but the defensive end starts to get inside of the right tackle. A lot of backs would see too much traffic inside and try to cut this run all the way back behind the left tackle at that point. Patterson had a slight moment of hesitation, like he thought about cutting it all the way back too, but noticed that left tackle Saahdiq Charles has done a great job reaching and cutting off the defensive tackle. Patterson remains patient and sticks with the run to the right side. That patience is rewarded with a lane to work with between Charles and Wes Martin at left guard.
Patience is important for a back, but too much of it is a bad thing. Patterson shows patience when he needs to, but also displayed the ability to get north and south in a hurry too.
Here we see Washington deep in the red zone. Patterson is given the ball on a first and goal from the seven. Defenses tend to fit runs quicker in the red zone because they can’t afford to be late that close to the end zone and because if the offense fakes the run, there’s less space to cover for the defenders that have to drop back into coverage. Patterson gets the ball on another outside zone to the left, but with more urgency required. He still has the patience to press his run to the left side, forcing the defense to fit up their gaps quickly, before cutting his run back behind the line. Once the cut is made, however, Patterson doesn’t waste any time getting straight up the field. The Bengals rally back to make the tackle, but not before he gets down inside the one yard line. A six yard gain inside the red zone is a huge play.
One of the big knocks on Patterson is his size. He’s listed at 5-foot-8, 195 pounds, which is very small for the NFL. But while it is a concern, it has its upsides too. Patterson does a terrific job making use of his smaller frame to attack holes that bigger backs might not be able to physically fit through.
On this play, Patterson hits the run in a gap not many running backs could fit through. As he approaches the left side of the line, he spots the defensive tackle peaking into the B gap outside the left guard, so opts to cut his run back inside the guard. The center does well to seal off the nose tackle while the backfield action with the jet sweep fake and the tight end sifting causes both linebackers to fit the run incorrectly. Patterson manages to hit a small lane between the center and left guard, bursting through the line of scrimmage. A cornerback comes into the picture from the right side to try and make a play, but Patterson makes a tremendous lateral cut to make the defender miss and get outside into the open field.
That jump cut was terrific, but the ability to fit in small gaps shouldn’t be overlooked. In short yardage situations, it can be very helpful to have a back that is hard for defenders to locate and that can find the smallest gap to hit.
On second and goal from the one, Washington gave Patterson a chance to punch the ball in and finish the drive with a touchdown. He makes a slight mistake cutting his run back early, perhaps overly eager to get into the end zone. However, he keeps his feet moving and as Wes Martin begins to fall forward, Patterson spots a small gap to burst into. He quickly attacks the hole and gets into the end zone for the touchdown.
Patterson’s performance as a runner was very impressive. He showed a lot of very desirable traits that enable him to be effective despite his size. However, Washington already has three established running backs. Antonio Gibson is the lead back while J.D. McKissic is the third down back. Peyton Barber, as much as fans might dislike him, is a good short yardage back that was very effective in that role last year. Washington could make room to carry a fourth back, but he would need to be able to fill multiple roles to justify it. His ability as a runner could make him a solid option to spell Gibson on occasion and as we just saw, he could be effective in short yardage situations too.
Patterson didn’t get too many opportunities to catch the ball in college, but he’s been able to prove himself as a solid pass catcher out of the backfield in preseason. He made a particularly nice catch on a third and four pass from Taylor Heinicke.
This is a classic concept in the Air Coryell system. The tight end runs a deep out to clear out coverage while receiver Dyami Brown runs a shallow cross to vacate space behind him, Patterson works out of the backfield initially working outside before suddenly cutting back across the middle behind the shallow cross from Brown. The two other routes are designed to clear space for Patterson out of the backfield, but the Bengals read the play well and have two defenders closing quickly on Patterson. Heinicke pulls the trigger anyway and Patterson does a great job making a tough catch with a defender on top of him. He manages to fall forward and pick up the first down to finish the play and move the chains.
If Patterson can continue to be a reliable target out of the backfield in the final preseason game, as well as possibly returning some kicks on special teams, he could tick enough boxes for Washington to justify keeping him on the final roster as the fourth running back. He performance against the Bengals was a very strong message to the team that he could fill various roles and still be an effective contributor this season if called upon. I don’t think he’s necessarily a lock to make the team at this point, but he’s certainly made it exetremely hard to cut him.
This was great Mark…with Sims getting cut. It’s almost a surety that Washington will keep 4 RBs. I do have a concern with Barber…while I never had a concern with him last year (he was an incredibly effective short yardage back)…what I have seen thus far I truly believe he has lost too much weight. I have not seen that same ability to run through and fall forward compared to last year. That is concerning.
Great callouts on Patterson's ability as a runner. On the last clip, "Patterson quick seam," I wonder if Patterson cuts inside too quickly, doing too little to sell the route to the outside and then landing too close to Brown. Additional thoughts on that play or on Patterson's route running in general?