Jim Souhan: Time to unleash Patterson, McKinnon

Sunday against Atlanta, the two players chosen by the Vikings in the first round of the 2014 draft will wear helmets bearing green dots, befitting signal-callers, or de facto leaders.

With Chad Greenway injured, linebacker Anthony Barr will relay defensive signals after hearing them in his helmet's wireless device. With Matt Cassel out for the season, Teddy Bridgewater will play quarterback and receive offensive calls.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer hasn't hesitated to elevate Barr and Bridgewater, even though Barr was considered raw coming out of UCLA and Bridgewater's stock fell leading up to the draft. If this season turns into an extended training camp following the suspension of Adrian Peterson and two double-digit losses the past two weeks, at least Barr and Bridgewater will gain experience.

Sunday, the Vikings coaches should do more than hand rookies helmets bearing green dots. It's time to give a couple of other young players the green light.

Without the suspended Peterson and injured tight end Kyle Rudolph, the Vikings offense has only two superior athletes remaining.

Neither is being used enough.

Cordarrelle Patterson might be the best athlete on the team even when Peterson is active. Patterson is big, powerful, fast and agile, and has excellent hands. In the season opener, he touched the ball. He produced 128 yards and a touchdown.

In Game 2, he didn't carry the ball. He was targeted on seven pass plays and caught four for 56 yards.

In Game 3, he touched the ball five times from scrimmage and produced 54 yards.

Last season, Bill Musgrave essentially fired himself by midseason because he didn't capitalize on Patterson's talent.

Now Norv Turner, a revered offensive coordinator, is using Patterson similarly.

Maybe Patterson isn't a refined route-runner. But he is the best player on a hamstrung offense. He needs to receive the ball out of the backfield, and on short, simple pass plays, and he should also be used as a deep threat, because the Vikings don't have another, especially after the release of receiver Jerome Simpson.

Jerick McKinnon is, like Patterson, a spectacular athlete.

Nike developed a metric called SPARQ to summarize an athlete's athletic ability. McKinnon's SPARQ score was 147.5 coming out of Georgia Southern. That's one of the best scores turned in by a running back in the past 16 years.

Patterson has no athletic peers among Vikings receivers. With Peterson gone, McKinnon has no athletic peers among Vikings running backs.

The past two weeks, Vikings coaches have relied on journeyman backup running back Matt Asiata. Asiata is reliable in pass-blocking and is a capable receiver. He is a well-below-average athlete.

Asiata is the kind of player coaches value because he makes few mistakes. Given the Vikings' circumstances — at 1-2 in the midst of a brutal six-week season-opening stretch, with a roster depleted by injuries and disciplinary measures — Turner will soon have to turn to Patterson and McKinnon to make big plays.

McKinnon has done little with his chances so far. He has carried five times for 7 yards, and caught four passes for 14 yards. On the field, he has yet to hint at his explosive athletic ability.

Sunday would be a good time to give him more opportunities. The Vikings are playing at home against a team that, before the Falcons destroyed Tampa Bay 56-14 on Sept. 18, looked average defensively. McKinnon won't have to deal with crowd noise, and he's had plenty of time to learn the offense.

Running back is the rare position at which rookies can succeed. It's time to find out if McKinnon knows enough to run to daylight.

This might be a lost season for the Vikings. If they get to the end of the season without having developed Patterson and McKinnon, along with Barr and Bridgewater, they will have done the 2015 team a disservice.

This is the rare time when building for the future requires the same mind-set as trying to win this season. If the Vikings regularly give Patterson and McKinnon the ball, the only complaints they'll hear will be from opposing defensive coordinators.

Jim Souhan can be heard weekdays at noon and Sundays from 10 to noon on 1500 ESPN. Twitter: @SouhanStrib. jsouhan@startribune.com