New England reportedly flirted with acquiring Carolina Panthers WR Steve Smith last offseason, and in hindsight, should have. Bill Belichick did not miss a chance to get a crafty veteran this time around, signing Brandon Lloyd to a deal on St. Patrick’s Day. OK, so why is the Lloyd signing notable? Lloyd will be reunited with Josh McDaniels, who coached him last season in St. Louis, and in Denver before that. Lloyd’s productivity was hampered when the Broncos went with Tim Tebow at quarterback, and a relocation to St. Louis took some getting used to. Yet he still caught 70 passes for 966 yards in 15 starts. In 2010, Lloyd led ALL receivers with 1,448 yards. He’s more of a playmaker than the serviceable Deion Branch, and will make teams pay for giving the Patriots’ tight ends too much attention inside the seams. All that, and he costs New England less per year than Pierre Garcon or Josh Morgan command in Washington … or Laurent Robinson in Jacksonville, for that matter. Besides Lloyd, New England got Anthony Gonzalez to provide depth in the receiving corps, safety Steve Gregory, guard Robert Gallery, defensive end Trevor Scott and tight end Daniel Fells (just what the Pats need – another tight end). Re-signing center Dan Connolly was a nice move, too.