Patterson adapting to NFL virtually as a rookie

By Ashley Bastock / The Blade
Sat, 23 May 2020 15:00:00 GMT

In a normal year, former Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson would have already moved to Kansas City and gone through both rookie minicamp and OTAs after signing with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent earlier this month.

But 2020 is anything but normal due to the coronavirus pandemic. After a virtual NFL draft in April, rookies have to adjust to new teams virtually as well.

“It's been tough,” Patterson told The Blade in a recent phone interview. “Some of the training facilities have started to open up, so I'm going to be able to start going there. But I've just been figuring out ways to get better.”

A normal day for Patterson, who is staying in his family home in San Antonio, consists of running on a nearby trail, lifting free weights in his garage, and attending virtual team meetings. To unwind in the little down time he does have, he’ll play a round of golf when he can.

In fact, in the middle of his interview with The Blade, he paused to take a tee shot ("That was probably the best shot I've ever hit," he quipped once he returned).

“By the time 2 or 3 o'clock rolls around, we'll have position meetings on the WebEx app,” Patterson said. “So, we've just been going over the basics of the playbook the past two weeks. Just getting to know the guys over the camera.”

Patterson said strength and conditioning coaches check in with all rookies twice a week and send them workouts. But the biggest challenge physically, especially as a quarterback, is not being able to meet and throw with teammates in person.

“It would obviously be better there [Kansas City] being able to throw with the guys and get the chemistry down with my teammates and just being in that weight room and getting to know the strength coaches,” he said. “But I think it also tests what kind of person you are, whether you're going to just take this time off and not workout or stay ready when your name is called. That's what I'm doing.”

Patterson’s path to the NFL was neither easy or expected.

After going undrafted, he had to wait a week before signing as a free agent. That was after a year in which he was named the team MVP at Michigan. In 2019, he threw for 3,061 yards, becoming just the third player in program history to surpass the 3,000-yard mark in a single year.

But the season wasn’t perfect, and compared to the year prior, his passer rating and completion percentage both dropped (149.8 to 139.4; 64.6 to 56.2). Early in the season, he battled with injuries, and after Michigan’s game against Penn State, he said that was the first time he felt “100 percent healthy.”

Patterson started in both 2018 and 2019 for Michigan after transferring from Ole Miss and earning immediate eligibility. In his two years in Ann Arbor, he threw for 5,661 yards, 45 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions.

“It was a bit stressful during the draft process just because I didn't think I wasn't going to get picked up,” Patterson said. “But obviously I think I'm in a really good position going into a great organization. I'm just very thankful and very grateful to be able to have that opportunity.”

When it came time to sign as an undrafted free agent, talks with the Chiefs began heating up once they released Kyle Shurmur on April 27, according to Patterson’s agent Bryan Ehrlich of Priority Athletes.

The move left them with three quarterbacks on the roster, all of whom Patterson knew.

He and Patrick Mahomes, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, have been friends since they were younger because of the quarterback camps circuit. Jordan Ta’amu and Patterson played together at Ole Miss. After Patterson was injured as a sophomore in 2017, Ta’amu started the remaining five games of that season. And while Patterson never played with Chad Henne, a former Michigan quarterback from 2004 to 2007, that’s who Patterson, a Toledo native, grew up watching as a Michigan fan.

That familiarity also helps in team meetings. Patterson describes himself as a “big notetaker,” and said as far as learning a brand new offensive system, doing things virtually has its benefits.

“I observe at first, and I'll jot down verbatim everything that my quarterbacks coach says on a play call,” he said. “I'll jot it down on a sheet of paper and study it myself. I just think it's better that way. There's a lot less distractions. I'll go lock myself in a room for two hours and kind of get everything down.

“And then the cool thing about the virtual meetings is that there's so much time. Where normally I would have been up at the facility right away getting thrown into the fire. It gives me some time to sit back, sit and watch, and hear, and learn in all these meetings from guys like Pat Mahomes and Chad Henne who have been around the block. That way when we go through all the plays and we're watching film we kind of listen to them, how they talk, and how they see things. So that's really beneficial for me.”

Former Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner, now a radio analyst, told Sports Illustrated he believes Patterson landed in a perfect spot.

“He’s going to the most quarterback-friendly situation he could have because there is no pressure to perform and be the starter,” Gardner said. “He gets to learn from the best quarterback in football right now in Patrick Mahomes, and he also probably has the best play-caller and the best groomer of quarterbacks in [head coach] Andy Reid. I think Shea went to the perfect staff who is going to try and help him develop.”

While going undrafted was unexpected, Patterson has no regrets about his time in college.

Previously, Ehrlich said coach Jim Harbaugh remained involved as Patterson was waiting for an NFL opportunity. Patterson described his time at Michigan as being “everything I could ask for and more.”

“It was a childhood dream, and I'm so thankful I had that opportunity as well and met so many great people along the way,” he said. “I was lucky enough to be coached by the best coach in the country, coach Harbaugh, and have great relationships with my brothers there. I'm a Michigan man for life.”

link