2012 NFL Free Agents: Brandon Lloyd Would Make Patriots Super Bowl Favorites

Free agent wide receiver Brandon Lloyd is reportedly close to signing a contract with the New England Patriots, according to the Boston Globe.

Adding Lloyd to an already elite passing attack led by star quarterback Tom Brady would make the Patriots the favorites to win Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans next season.

New England's lack of wide receiver depth was painfully obvious in the Super Bowl loss to the Giants in February, as the injury to star tight end Rob Gronkowski forced the team's receivers to have to step up, which they were unable to do.

Out of the 27 receptions the Patriots had against the Giants, only 11 were from receivers, including seven of them from Wes Welker, who is always going to catch a ton of passes from Brady.

Finding a true No. 1 receiver was a top priority for head coach Bill Belichick this offseason, and it appears he's found his man.

Lloyd has tremendous hands and can excel as a deep threat and 10-20 yards down the field. He also has good speed and runs fantastic routes.

He will significantly upgrade the level of talent in the Patriots receiving corps, which could lose veteran Deion Branch to free agency this offseason.

With Lloyd in the fold, the Patriots offense would be nearly unstoppable. With offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels now running the offense again in New England, Lloyd will flourish in the Patriots passing game.

With McDaniels as his head coach with the Denver Broncos during the 2010 season, Lloyd had the best season of his career. He caught 77 passes for 1,448 yards and 11 touchdowns that season in Denver with quarterback Kyle Orton throwing him the ball.

In an offense with Brady at quarterback and many other offensive stars that demand opposing defense's attention, Lloyd could easily match or best his impressive stats from 2010.

The Patriots could have gone after Pittsburgh Steelers restricted free agent receiver Mike Wallace, and they still may, but New England would be be forced to give Pittsburgh a first-round pick as compensation if they were successful in signing Wallace.

Wallace is a bit better than Lloyd, but the difference in talent between the two is not worth a first-round pick, especially when the Patriots have two first-round picks that they can use to improve the defense with.

The Patriots had to bolster their depth at wide receiver this offseason, and if Lloyd signs, they will have addressed this need in a tremendous way.

If Lloyd joins the NFL's best passing game, the Patriots would become the clear favorites to win the Super Bowl next season, even if star quarterback Peyton Manning signs with the San Francisco 49ers.

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Nicholas Goss is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report, follow him on Twitter.