49ers free agency: 5 surprise players Niners may add in 2021
By Peter Panacy
No. 4: 49ers spark the return game with Cordarrelle Patterson
The 49ers have a quiet hidden-gem offensive weapon in wide receiver Richie James, although he hasn’t been anywhere close to reliable in the return game. And as far as kick returns went in 2020, the Niners ranked 29th in the league with an average takeout return of just 19.3 yards.
As a result, San Francisco’s offensive starting field position suffered, the offense averaging opening drives on its own 27.4-yard line, which ranked 25th in the league.
Getting some prowess on special teams while adding to a questionable wide receiver depth chart would be a smart move here.
And while veteran wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson never quite reached his potential as a pure pass-catcher, he has been a bona fide return-specialist weapon, leading the league with 1,017 kick-return yards last year with the Chicago Bears.
That should be enough to at least convince the 49ers to show some interest. But the bigger kicker is Patterson showed some “positionless” football prowess before, particularly in 2018 when he’d frequently line up as a running back in the backfield against nickel and dime defenses.
Sounds like an addition head coach Kyle Shanahan would like to have.