“I think Patrick can be a superior possession receiver over Reynolds.” See what @MileHighReport had to say about new Lions WR Tim Patrick.
On Tuesday evening, just hours after roster cutdowns had hit the transaction wire, the Detroit Lions added former Denver Broncos’ receiver Tim Patrick to the team’s practice squad —with “the idea that he will work his way on to the active roster” according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
It was no secret the Lions were in the market for an X-receiver at the conclusion of the preseason, so it didn’t come as much of a surprise that Detroit picked up Patrick once the Broncos reportedly failed to find a trading partner .
We reached out to Mile High Report to got some perspective and insight from Tim Lynch , the site’s Managing Editor, into what kind of player the Lions are getting in Tim Patrick.
When Tim Patrick earned a reserve/future contract in January of 2018 with the Broncos, what sort of situation did he walk into, and what set of circumstances led Denver to giving him a shot ahead of that upcoming season?
“As you know, so many players get those types of contracts. None of us fans really knew the type of player we were getting in Tim Patrick. He was signed and waived several times as a rookie, but once he caught on with Denver, he just kept working on his game. That he has survived through four different head coaches in his time in Denver is a testament to his own personal development. It can’t be easy to rise from barely able to make the roster to an NFL starter under those circumstances.”
Patrick has suffered a couple of incredibly unfortunate injuries in consecutive seasons and hasn’t seen an NFL field since 2021. He was healthy for training camp this year and played quite a bit, so what kind effects did you see the injuries having on his game, and why do you think the Broncos ended up going in a different direction?
“What happened to Patrick is so unfortunate. He was coming off back-to-back seasons as a solid No. 2 receiving threat. He catches anything thrown his way and finds ways to get open consistently. Despite some rather suspect quarterback play in 2020 and 2021, he racked up 104 receptions for 1,476 yards and 11 touchdowns those two seasons. Going down in training camp with a season-ending injury happens, but having it happen two years in a row is often career-ending in a lot of ways. To see him come back in the preseason and play like the Tim Patrick of old was super encouraging. Denver is clearly looking to get much younger on their roster and they decided to let Patrick move on. In the end, it might be good for him to get on a playoff-caliber roster.”
The Lions were in desperate search of a player to fill the X-receiver role vacated by Josh Reynolds—ever heard of him?
“Ironically, I think it was rookie seventh-round pick Devaughn Vele’s emergence in training camp that signaled the end of Tim Patrick’s time in Denver. I think Patrick can be a superior possession receiver over Reynolds. Patrick is bigger and his hands are elite in my opinion. The guy will catch everything. Patrick is at that wide receiver age wall, though, but hopefully he’s got enough left in the tank to put those two lost years behind him.
On the field and in his route tree, how do you see Patrick taking advantage of being the big-bodied, 6-foot-4 X-receiver the Lions were looking for all camp—and do you see Patrick still being capable of being a difference maker at this point in his career?
You reminded me of a highlight video I saw a few years back on Tim Patrick’s game. You’ll like him the most on shallow crossing routes or other middle of the field type routes. He’ll take the big hit to make those catches, but one underrated ability he had that made him such a solid starter for Denver was the ability to come down with the jump balls. Courtland Sutton does the same thing, so perhaps they took some notes together or something. Patrick has a bit of a big play ability to his game – or had, we obviously only had a limited number of snaps from the preseason to see if he still had any deep threat to his game left in those legs.
When news broke that Denver was moving on from Patrick, Vic Lombardi feared the Broncos may regret moving on from him , citing his tireless work ethic and ability to show up in the clutch. Do you agree with that, and if so, what sort of stories could you share that stand as evidence of those traits?
Tim Patrick is a fan favorite. He knows Broncos Country and he knew how to play off the energy from fans in games. A lot of players today treat football as work or just a business, but some really get into it with the fans. Patrick was one of those guys and I’m going to miss his Mile High Salutes after touchdowns.
Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson passed along the “no block, no rock” edict to Jameson Williams, and that’s really emblematic of a coaching staff that has an expectation for their wideouts to understand there’s more to the position than just getting targets—and if you’re not making plays.
We’ve heard a bit about Patrick’s blocking ability, but could you speak to how effective he is in that phase, and maybe how well he’ll fit into that kind of culture in the WR room?
Sean Payton has much of that same mentality. The run game is going to be a major factor in this Broncos offense moving forward as well. Having covered this team every year for 15+ years now, I can say that the wide receiver blocking on this team has been kind of pathetic. Nothing annoyed me as a fan more than to see a wide receiver quit on a block and allow what could have been a huge run play to be stopped for a five yard gain instead. Why that was happening, I don’t know. It was likely due to poor coaching staffs (think Nathaniel Hackett) and a losing culture. However, the one guy who never quit on a block was Tim Patrick. It must be that knowledge in the back of his head that his NFL dream almost ended as a rookie and he just never quits working. I have an affinity for players with chips on their shoulders like that, so I’ll be rooting for Patrick to succeed with the Detroit Lions this year.