3 MAC players who could find their way to Cleveland Browns in 2021

Jaret Patterson, Running back, Buffalo Bulls

You may not have heard of Jaret Patterson of the Buffalo Bulls, but he accounted for an amazing 2008 yards from scrimmage last season, and is definitely a sleeper pick at running back for 2021.  At 5-foot-9 and195 pounds, he’s an undersized, elusive runner, but at least at the college level he runs well between the tackles also.  Walter Football ranks him as the fourth-best running back among 2021 NFL prospects, while Sports Illustrated leaves him off the list of the top 20.

You can say he is piling up all of his yards against smaller, less athletic competition than he will find in the NFL, and that is true. But the defense keys on him every play in college, and that is not going to be the case in the pros. Even running teams like the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens have diversified attacks and defenses cannot key on the tailback for long.

By 2021, Kareem Hunt may or may not be with the Browns, since he will be eligible for free agency. Thus there may be a role for a guy like Patterson. These days, it seems like the NFL general managers are content to leave 1,000-yard backs hanging until Round 3 of the draft or later, so Patterson might well be a draft-day steal on day three.

Patterson at least can be a situational tailback like Dontrell Hilliard, and despite his small size, there’s no sign that he is in any way frail.

He may not be as good as backs like Matt Breida, Duke Johnson, or Dion Lewis, but on the other hand those three players — and many others — were not denied success in the NFL by their lack of size.