Why the New England Patriots Need to Go After Mike Wallace

With Adam Schefter reporting that Wes Welker was going to test the Free Agency and Greg Bedard claiming that Brandon Lloyd has an inconsistent attitude and is likely to get released, the gaping hole that is the New England Patriots wide receiving corps has been shoved into the limelight.

Their depth chart, if they don't have retain Wes Welker, Deion Branch, and Brandon Lloyd, would feature Matthew Slater at number one, Kamar Aiken at number two, and Julian Edelman in the slot (if he re-signs). All I hear about when it comes to the Patriots offseason moves are the defensive holes; however, we are going to end up getting stuck with Doug Gabriel and Reche Caldwell like it is 2006 if the Patriots are not careful. So I propose the Patriots do two things:



#1: Sign either Wes Welker or Danny Amendola

The Patriots need to give Tom Brady a slot wide receiver. Welker was targeted 174 times last season, so my preference would be to sign Welker, but I also understand that Welker and the Patriots organization have had awkward contract negotiations in the past. If Welker wants to ruin his legacy, take $10 million extra, never win a championship, and realize that he was no good without Brady passing it to him, fine. The Patriots can then move on and prove that Welker is replaceable and sign Danny Amendola, who is already accustomed to a Josh McDaniels offense and has a similar skill set to Welker.

#2: SIGN MIKE WALLACE

When Tom Brady has had a good receiving corps, he has proved that he is the greatest quarterback in the history of football for a single season. With Randy Moss to stretch the field, Brady threw him 23 TD's. Now imagine what Brady could do with a healthy Rob Gronkowski, a versatile Aaron Hernandez, a slot receiver like Welker or Amendola, and a deep threat like Mike Wallace. Just give the Patriots the Vince Lombardi Trophy.