EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — Cordarrelle Patterson pushed himself and then pushed 'send.'
The video traveled from California where Patterson had just captured another part of his workouts with "Hell's Trainer" Frank Matrisciano and arrived on Adam Thielen's cell phone.
Thielen, a Minnesota native, shot one — and then more — back to his good friend, locker room neighbor and teammate since 2013. They were able to push each other despite being thousands of miles apart.
"Each day I'm working out, I'm texting him and showing him pictures and videos of stuff I'm doing, just motivating each other, and he's doing the same," Patterson said. "That's the kind of stuff you need, with guys like that, him and Stefon Diggs and all of those guys in that locker room.
"We compete against each other to try to get one another better," Patterson added. "We don't compete to try to be better than one another. We want each other to have success in life. No guys in that locker room are selfish."
Thielen, who opened the ETS Thielen gym in Lakeville with his longtime trainer Ryan Englebert this offseason, had worked out in person with Patterson before, and said both players took pride in challenging each other.
"He was telling me how hard he was working, and I said, 'All right, let's see it then,' " Thielen recalled. "He started sending me videos, and I sent some back to him, just kind of checking up on each other and making sure that we're both getting after it and making sure we're getting better.
"There's a couple of workouts that we do that aren't easy," Thielen said. "We call them 'Fourth Quarter Fridays.' I always sent him that one."
Thielen said he wasn't surprised by what he was seeing in workouts that Patterson was doing under Matrisciano's guidance for the first time since before his rookie 2013 season when he was tabbed in the first round of the NFL Draft.
"Impressed, I guess is the word, proud of him," said Thielen, who earned a practice squad spot in 2013 and made the active roster in 2014. "The dude was busting his tail. Sometimes I'd be like, 'Geez, I better get out there with him,' because some of the stuff he was doing looked like it was beneficial and a pretty good idea.
"It just shows the importance of offseason workouts and what you need to do in the offseason," Thielen said. "When you come in the best and strongest you've been, the fastest you've been, if you can come in like that every year, it shows that you can be successful and good things will happen down the field."
Thielen has career highs of 56 catches for 758 yards and three touchdowns this season, and Patterson needs two catches for a new career high.
Patterson said the recommitment was in response to "kind of a bigger wake-up call."
Patterson posted 45 receptions for 469 yards and four scores, rushed 12 times for 158 yards and three more scores as a rookie. He also led the NFL with a kickoff return average of 34.2.
After rushing for 102 yards, including a 67-yard touchdown in the 2014 season opener, his role in the offense decreased. He finished his second season with 33 catches for 384 yards and one touchdown, along with 10 carries for 117 yards.
In 2015, he had just two receptions for 10 yards and two carries for 15 but again led the NFL in kickoff return average (31.8) for the second time in three seasons, thanks to a pivotal 93-yard touchdown at Oakland and a longer but less impactful 101-yarder against Seattle.
"It was really hard, but at the end of the day, it's all God's plan. You can't really control what God has planned for you," Patterson said. "You've got to wake up every morning, pray and keep it going.
"Those two years it was rough not playing, but other than that, it's just being out there," Patterson added. "It's a blessing for me, a wake-up call. You can't ever let anyone see you down. That's why I'm smiling each and every chance I get. I want everyone to know he was a happy guy."
This year, in an evolving offense that's been affected by critical injuries, Patterson has 44 catches for 352 yards and two touchdowns, along with seven carries for 43 yards.
"There's no question about his athletic skillset and his ability to make plays. It's great," Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman said. "You have to be patient in this business, and some guys get it at different times. Cordarrelle is really wanting to show everybody what type of player he is."
Spielman credited Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer, receivers coach George Stewart and the offensive staff for the work they've done with Patterson as well as his effort this offseason.
"You just can't rely on your athletic ability to play in this league," Spielman said. "You can make plays off of it, but in order to be a true wide receiver and professional football player, you have to do all of the little things. He did that the whole offseason and came in with a chip on his shoulder. I'm excited to see that it's producing results for him."
In addition to the uptick on offense, Patterson has continued to be dynamic on kickoff returns. His average return of 31.7 ranks first in the NFL by 4.2 yards.
If Patterson maintains that average, it would give him three of the six best yearlong kickoff return averages since the NFL merger in 1970. His 32.4 yards per return in 2013 ranks fourth in that span, and 31.8 a season ago ranks fifth. Former Colt Jim Duncan averaged 35.4 yards per return in 1970.
Patterson returned the opening kickoff of the second half of Minnesota's game against Arizona 104 yards for a touchdown, tying Percy Harvin's Vikings record of five kickoff return touchdowns. It also gave him an NFL record of four scoring plays of more than 100 yards.
Last week, he returned a kickoff 53 yards to set up a field goal. It added to his franchise record of 13 kickoff returns of more than 50 yards. It's the result of talent and teamwork.
"The other day, he didn't get touched until he crossed the 50, and our guys did a great job of blocking for him," Special Teams Coordinator Mike Priefer said. "He's so explosive and sets his return so well that they don't know where he's going, and when he finally hits that seam, to me, he's the best in the NFL.
"He's a very hard man to tackle, but nobody showed up until—the guy we were actually doubling actually got pushed so far back that he ended up spinning off the double to make the play at the 48," Priefer explained. "I was proud of the way the guys reacted. We blocked it well, and he did a great job of hitting the seam."
A more hidden element to Patterson's play — his work when lining up as a gunner on special teams this season — also has been a positive for the Vikings and noticed by fans. Patterson led all NFC players in fan voting for a special teams role that is separate from return specialist on the 2017 Pro Bowl ballot. Coaches and players votes also count one-third apiece toward the all-star event.
Patterson has the size and strength to beat a double team as a gunner and the speed to pressure punt returners into fair catching the football.
The Vikings punt coverage team has forced 25 fair catches this season and pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line 31 times. When opponents have returned punts this season, they've averaged 7.0 yards, which ranks ninth in the league.
Patterson viewed the new role as another way to help the team when the suggestion was proffered by Priefer.
"I want to make a play, and if you're in front of me, I've just got to do the best I can do," Patterson said. "Anything I can do for this organization, I'm going to do it. It really doesn't matter what it is. I'm going to go out with my best ability and make a play. That's just something that's been in my mind since I was little growing up. You never know who is watching."
