After spending my first week at Cardinals Camp, I am officially a fan of Ben Patrick.
When he was drafted, I liked the pick because I had read that he might go late in the 5th but most teams had him on the board as a 6th rounder. The Cardinals got him in the 7th round. I love value picks.
So far at camp, he catches just about everything. Since he was smart enough to be accepted at Duke (he went there before transferring before his Senior year), it seems like he has the offense under control. He always seems to be in the right spot and he’s catching everything.
The problem is size. He’s small for a tight end and slow for a wideout. Football, however, is becoming more and more like basketball. You hear people go small in basketball all the time in an attempt to run a big team out of the gym. Patrick’s size could be an advantage if he can use it against a defense’s weakness.
So far in camp, the linebackers of the Cards can’t guard him. His route running has dramatically improved. He’s eliminated almost all of the wasted motion from last year. I also haven’t seen him drop a catch-able ball, while making some tough catches and one spectacular catch.
What I haven’t seen, yet, is if he has the ability to use his body against safeties and corners. I hope it doesn’t drive you crazy how many KC Chief mentions I make but it’s a major point of reference for me because I learned so much about the game from former players and current coaches who were in the organization and allowed me to be very close to the team. A few years ago, the Chiefs drafted Kris Wilson. I’m hoping this won’t be Ben Patrick’s fate.
Wilson was supposed to be this “tweener” (too fast for LB’s, too strong for CB’s) that would be able to take advantage of his speed and really cause havoc for the defensive front seven. The Chiefs were going to move him all over the line and cause all the LB’s fits on how to guard him in pass patterns. In week 2 of the season, the Chiefs opponent just put their safety on Wilson. Wilson’s career was basically done. He wasn’t physical enough. He didn’t take advantage of the match-up size wise despite being bigger than most DB’s. Instead of physically manhandling the safety at the line, Wilson just ran his route but never had the speed to get away from a safety.
One thing the Cards have that the Chiefs never did while I lived in KC is a pair of great receivers. This might nullify my fear of a defense guarding Patrick with a big corner or a safety because no one will ever worry about Ben Patrick before they have Boldin and Fitzgerald taken care of. With the skill of those two on the outside, I think you’ll be hearing a lot from Patrick.
He might start the season well and then, if one of the receivers gets hurt, suddenly he becomes worthless. He’ll need others to create the mismatch for him. He’s not enough of a threat on his own but I think he’s a great piece.
If he can be physical with safeties and out-run LB’s, I’m going to look pretty smart. If not…
Comments? Email Us!
Recent Comments