He is best known for catching a touchdown pass late in the second quarter of Super Bowl XXXVI from quarterback Tom Brady as a member of the New England Patriots.

Patten was signed by the Albany Firebirds of the Arena Football League (AFL) as a street free agent in 1996.

Patten was also a member of the New York Giants, Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints, Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots.

Patten played football at Lower Richland High School in Hopkins, South Carolina, where he caught passes from future Major League Baseball player Pokey Reese.

In 1995, his senior season, Patten recorded 59 catches for 881 yards and was named to the All-Southern Conference team.

[4] After spending the rest of the 1996 season out of football, Patten was signed by the New York Giants on March 24, 1997.

He started 14 games at wide receiver for the Patriots in 2001, setting a then-career-high with 51 catches for 749 yards.

[8] Patten caught a touchdown pass from Drew Bledsoe in the AFC Championship Game at Pittsburgh and then caught a score from Tom Brady in the Patriots' Super Bowl XXXVI win over the St. Louis Rams in February 2002, earning his first Super Bowl ring.

[13] A few weeks after his release from Washington, Patten signed a one-year deal with the New Orleans Saints.

"[19] David Patten had returned to Western Carolina University to complete his degree in social work and, at the time of his death in 2021, he was entering his ninth season as an assistant coach for the Catamounts.

[20][21] On September 2, 2021, Patten died in a three-vehicle accident in Columbia, South Carolina, aged 47.