NFL Mock Draft 2013: Vikings Select WR Cordarrelle Patterson

Everyone knows the Minnesota Vikings' first option on offense will always be to feed the ball to Adrian Peterson for as long as he wears the purple and gold. But if a day comes when a team can actually contain Peterson, it would do Minnesota to have some other reliable weapons on offense, and they could use their first pick in this April's draft to find one.

CBS Sports' Rob Rang seems to think that is the direction the Vikings will go, projecting them to select WR Cordarrelle Patterson out of Tennessee.

The MVP-caliber play of running back Adrian Peterson helped hide the fact that other than Percy Harvin (who led the team in catches despite playing in just nine games), the Vikings have few receivers who scare opposing defenses. Patterson, a JUCO transfer with just half a season of FBS experience, has flashed breath-taking athleticism as a receiver, runner and returner for the Vols.

Patterson elected to leave Tennessee a year early, after a junior season in which he averaged 16.9 yards a reception.