2015 Patriots Free Agency: An Early Guide to the Market

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has a reason to smile. Let's all stop to savor this moment because it probably won't last long.

While the Patriots have some time to savor the victory, the Super Bowl has already put them behind 30 other teams in terms of preparing for the offseason. There are a lot of big decisions ahead, and there's only a little more than a month before the 2014 league year ends and ushers in a new year with the kickoff of free agency.

As we speak, the Patriots are roughly $4.5 million in the hole on the 2015 salary cap, according to Over the Cap. They'll have to create some cap space before they can make any free-agent signings.

But when they do, here are some of the positions they'll be looking at and some of the names available on the market.

Cornerback

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The Patriots' free-agency dilemma begins with a very important decision: whether or not to pick up the $12 million option on the contract of cornerback Darrelle Revis. If the Patriots opt not to pay him that money, he will become a free agent, and the Patriots will once again have a gaping hole at cornerback. There's also the possibility that Revis could re-sign with the Patriots on a different contract in order to remain with the team.

If he doesn't, they'll have to search elsewhere. 

Best Fit: Walter Thurmond

The Patriots have gone to the well for a former Seattle Seahawks cornerback before, and in forming the "Legion of Belichick," they could do it again with Walter Thurmond. Thurmond signed a one-year deal with the New York Giants in 2014, but his season came to a swift end when he suffered a torn pectoral muscle.

He has already said that he loves the city of New York and is "willing to come back" to the Giants, according to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post.

His size isn't ideal at 5'11" and 190 pounds, but his versatility between man and zone coverage makes him a good candidate to join a Patriots defense that is changing schemes from week to week in order to best combat its opponent. Thurmond's injury could make him a bargain option, and if he's going to be persuaded out of New York, it could very well be the Super Bowl champions who make it happen.

Second-Best Fit: Antonio Cromartie

Can you imagine a secondary with two physically imposing cornerbacks like Antonio Cromartie and Brandon Browner on the perimeter. Both stand over 6'0" and play a bump-and-run style of coverage. 

Cromartie is the prototype big-bodied defender to match up with a team's X-receiver. His size (6'2", 210 lbs) and long arms are best suited for man coverage, though he has experience in zone and the skill set to excel in that area as well. 

At 30 years old, Cromartie would not be more than a stopgap solution at cornerback. But the Patriots have gone that route in the past, and they could do it again.

Defensive End

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The Patriots have two talented defensive ends in Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich, but they seem to run into the same problems each year. Those two players are playing entirely too many snaps. For the second straight year, Ninkovich played more than 1,000 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. Jones may have finished close to or above that 1,000-snap plateau if he hadn't missed six games with a hip injury.

One thing to keep in mind about the Patriots' need for a defensive end is their scheme versatility. These players need to be adaptable to a 3-4 or a 4-3 scheme, and the Patriots were showing more 3-4 tendencies early in the year before injuries to Jones and linebacker Jerod Mayo forced them to change things up a bit. 

Best Fit: Jerry Hughes

The Patriots could be the anti-Robin Hood here by stealing from the poor to give to the rich. Jerry Hughes has been a force on the Buffalo Bills defensive line, notching 10 sacks in each of his two seasons with the team. 

Hughes could fit in a defense that would ask him to carry out a number of assignments. In 2013, Bills defensive coordinator Mike Pettine used Hughes in a versatile scheme that asked him to drop into coverage 108 times, per PFF. In 2014, the defensive coordinator was Jim Schwartz, and he put Hughes in the Wide 9 alignment and had him pin his ears back to go after the quarterback time after time.

Second-Best Fit: Brooks Reed

Brooks Reed may look like Clay Matthews, but he may never be the kind of defender who logs 10 sacks or more on a consistent basis. What he can do, however, is provide a versatile presence on the edge as either a pass-rusher or a coverage linebacker.

Reed burst onto the scene as a rookie for the Houston Texans, notching 31 tackles, six sacks and a forced fumble. Since then, he has not notched more than three sacks in a season, but with J.J. Watt dominating as a one-man wrecking crew, Reed hasn't had much of an opportunity to generate sacks of his own.

Defensive Tackle

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With first-round pick Dominique Easley in the fold, the Patriots have at least one defensive tackle with a boatload of potential. Will he realize that potential? The answer to that question depends on whether he can avoid injuries better than he did in his first season, when he was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury in Week 14.

The Patriots also have nose tackle Sealver Siliga on the roster, and he continues to show his potential nearly every time he takes the field. He suffered a setback with a foot injury that sidelined him for 10 weeks, but his return helped spark the resurgence of the Patriots run defense.

Even with those two under contract, the Patriots have to be thinking about the future with Vince Wilfork, who has one year left on his contract and is 33 years old already.

Best Fit: Jared Odrick

There are few things in life Belichick enjoys more than poaching talent from a division rival. He's done it with the likes of Wes Welker and Antowain Smith in the past, and Jared Odrick would be a great addition to that list. His talents as a penetrating defensive tackle would give the Patriots a great option to plug in as a 5-technique defensive end in the 3-4 or as a pass-rushing defensive tackle in the 4-3.

Odrick has notched fewer and fewer sacks each season, going from six in 2011 to just one in 2015. The Miami Dolphins would be foolish to let him go, though, considering their lack of depth at defensive tackle. But if they do, the Patriots would be foolish not to explore the possibility.

Second-Best Fit: Damon Harrison

New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles would have to be crazy to let Damon Harrison get away, but if they do, the Patriots have to consider him an option as a nose tackle for the future.

The 6'4", 350-pound defensive tackle is considered a key cog on the Jets defensive line, which is considered one of the best in football. He's not a standout pass-rusher by any stretch of the imagination, but his ability to plug the gaps in the middle of the line as a run-stuffing defensive tackle would make him a great option to fill Wilfork's role in future years.

Guard

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The Patriots' interior offensive line went through a lot of flux this season after Jordan Devey and Marcus Cannon began the season as starters on the inside. But that group was rotating from series to series early in the season as the Patriots tried to find the combination that worked best.

They had hoped to groom young players into bigger roles but ended up with a veteran group at the guard spots in Dan Connolly and Ryan Wendell with rookie Bryan Stork at center. The three performed well. But Connolly is set to hit the open market, and Ryan Wendell has only one year left on his contract. So the Patriots may begin looking to the future.

Best Fit: Orlando Franklin

Orlando Franklin began his NFL career as a right tackle but moved to left guard in 2014 after years of showing a ton of run-blocking toughness but not a lot of agility to block defenders in a phone booth. 

Franklin has also been incredibly durable, missing only one game in his four-year career. The Denver Broncos may want to keep him around, but with a lot of their own free agents to pay (including wide receiver Demaryius Thomas and tight end Julius Thomas), they may not have enough money to throw at everyone.

Second-Best Fit: Clint Boling

The Cincinnati Bengals left guard has been a starter ever since he entered the league as a fourth-round pick in 2011, and although he's had a couple of seasons cut short by injuries, he's been a dominant player when he's been on the field.

The Patriots will like his versatility—he has played various spots on the offensive line, including right tackle and right guard. He also has a level of toughness that could boost the Patriots on inside runs, where they have struggled at times.

Wide Receiver

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Brandon LaFell and Julian Edelman are a great foundation for the Patriots passing attack and serve as perfect complements to tight end Rob Gronkowski. With so much pass-catching talent in the fold, perhaps it's a bit of a nitpick to say that the Patriots need another wide receiver.

But that being said, with the concern around the development of young receiver Aaron Dobson and with some uncertainty around the long-term future of Danny Amendola, it's not out of the question for the Patriots to once again be active on the open market for wide receivers.

Best Fit: Eddie Royal

It's been an interesting journey for Eddie Royal, from a dominant rookie campaign to a four-year stretch of mediocrity and back to two more years of solid play. The 5'10", 185-pound receiver has the right skill set to be a versatile Z receiver for the Patriots, a lot like what the team had hoped Amendola could be. 

In the past two seasons combined, Royal has notched 109 receptions for 1,409 yards (12.9 yards per catch) and 15 touchdowns. If he can bring that kind of production to New England, the Patriots offense could be moving at an historic rate next season.

Second-Best Fit: Brandon Lloyd

This one may seem crazy, if only because Lloyd has already been with the team once for a year in 2012 and was not brought back despite putting up 74 catches, 911 yards and four touchdowns. He came out of a brief retirement in 2014 to play for the San Francisco 49ers and notched only 14 catches for 294 yards and a single touchdown all year in 14 games.

His personality was not quite a fit the first time around, but things change. His knowledge of the Patriots offense, his chemistry with Tom Brady and his ability to get open on the outside would all be valuable to the team's offense.