How Brandon LaFell Went from Afterthought Signing to Super Bowl X-Factor | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

"Mellow is the man who knows what he's been missing. Many many men can't see the open road." —Led Zeppelin

Year after year, the New England Patriots search for an X-factor at the X receiver position. Ever since shipping Randy Moss to the Minnesota Vikings in the middle of the 2010 season, the Patriots have lacked a physical, boundary presence who can get downfield, separate from press man coverage, make a contested catch and help the Patriots both spread and stretch the field.

Chad Ochocinco, Brandon Lloyd and Kenbrell Thompkins are just a few of the names who weren't able to provide a sustained threat on the perimeter in New England.

Enter Brandon LaFell, one of the Patriots' biggest external free-agent signings of the 2014 offseason. The fifth-year receiver had spent the first four years of his career with the Carolina Panthers, catching passes from Jimmy Clausen, Matt Moore and Cam Newton. He welcomed the opportunity to run routes for a Super Bowl contender and catch passes from a legend and future Hall of Fame inductee in Tom Brady.

Newton has developed into an outstanding quarterback in his own right, but when you're working with Brady and head coach Bill Belichick, you're pretty much eating at Smith & Wollensky while everyone else is at the kids table at Golden Corral.

"I learned I've got to come out here to practice and give it my all every day," LaFell told Bleacher Report. "I can't take any days off. On the game field, I've got to be exactly where Tom wants me to be or I won't get the ball. Sometimes, you've got to go out there and do the dirty work that you really don't like to do—blocking bigger guys and stuff like that. You've got to do it, and you've got to be selfless on this scene. Because one game, you might get all the balls, the next game you don't. But at the end of the day, it's all about winning here.

"Everybody in the NFL wants to win. That's no different. We just win more here."

LaFell is a crucial component to the Patriots offense, a perfect complement to Edelman in the slot and Rob Gronkowski at tight end. But it wasn't always a lock that LaFell would be a fit, or even that he would be the one trying to fit.

'On We Sweep With Threshing Oar, Our Only Goal Will Be the Eastern Shore'

This story really begins in April 2013. The Patriots extended a one-year, $2.5 million offer sheet to restricted free-agent wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Given the option to re-sign Sanders or take a third-round pick to watch him walk away, Pittsburgh general manager Kevin Colbert opted to match the Patriots' offer.

Fast-forward 11 months, and the Patriots were once again presented with an opportunity to pursue Sanders' services. Only this time, Sanders was an unrestricted free agent, able to sign with any team that made him an offer.

That team was not the Patriots. But why? 

The tread on Sanders' tires was already perceived to be paper thin by the time he hit the open market. Sanders has dealt with many injuries in his career, mostly to his feet. He had three surgeries on his left foot in 2011, and dealt with more foot injuries late in the 2013 season. 

The Patriots went with LaFell—the more durable player—at a lower cost.

A look at the pure stats will tell you that the Patriots made the wrong choice, but this can't be analyzed in a vacuum. At 5'11" and 180 pounds, Sanders is not quite the physical presence of a 6'3", 210-pound LaFell. 

"I've got some of the little pygmies out there like Julian [Edelman] and Danny [Amendola], and it's nice to have a little bigger guy out there from time to time who has a bigger catch radius," Brady said about LaFell during training camp. "Hopefully Danny and Julian don't get mad at me for saying that. They won't. They know I'm joking."

Even if he was only ribbing his teammates, Brady was on to something. The Patriots have been missing a big-bodied presence on the outside, and LaFell was the guy to provide it. This season, 36 of LaFell's 83 receptions (43.4 percent) have been outside the numbers on either side of the field, according to Pro Football Focus. Sanders has logged 46 of his 108 receptions (42.6 percent) outside the numbers. 

'And When I'm Out I See You Walking, Why Don't Your Eyes See Me?'

We've already established that by comparison, LaFell's numbers were not as impressive this season as Sanders'. At the start of the season, it was shaping up to look even worse than it ended up. LaFell went 0-for-6 catching footballs thrown in his direction in the first two games of the regular season. By that time, Sanders was already putting together a strong resumé, with 14 receptions on 18 targets and 185 yards. 

It appeared as though LaFell was a glorified, overpaid blocker.

"I'm frustrated as hell, man," LaFell told Ben Volin of The Boston Globe. "I want to catch passes like every other guy in here, like every receiver around the league. But the game plan is not for me to catch, it's to block. So that's what I've got to do."

His early-season production ran counter to Belichick's preseason proclamation that LaFell had a chance to "carve out a role for himself," and that "it might be a big one." 

LaFell's role began to grow in the second half of September, as Brady started to look his way on a more consistent basis. His emergence went largely unnoticed, though, because the Patriots offense still was playing poorly. 

"Individually, I felt [like the Chiefs game was a turning point]," LaFell said. "I felt like I got more snaps, that was my first game where I didn't rotate. I got a lot of targets and I made more plays than I did in the first three games. It just started building from there."

And from there, it was only a matter of time before his contributions were noticed in meaningful games.

'Always Smiling, Never Sad, So Fine'

It wasn't as if LaFell started waking up on the other side of the bed. His emergence did not take place overnight, even if it seemed that way.

Within a month after his breakout game against the Chiefs, LaFell was firmly entrenched in Brady's circle of trust, receiving more than his fair share of targets. 

One way in which the Patriots got LaFell involved was on play-action passes, with LaFell running crossing patterns on the back side of the formation. Many times, LaFell found himself the target and recipient of the first pass. 

His involvement in those roles spawned a few hashtags and nicknames. But his production spawned a new look for the Patriots' offense, a look that involves a physical receiver who could force opponents to respect the boundary of the field, rather than focusing all of their resources on taking away threats like Edelman and Gronkowski over the middle.

Week after week, LaFell continued to improve and grow within the offense, culminating with a huge, 11-catch, 124-yard, one-touchdown performance against the Chicago Bears on Oct. 26. It seemed LaFell had finally caught on. 

And then, Belichick reminded everyone that he had been emerging for a while.

"He's been doing it all year. I think we saw it in Kansas City," he said in the postgame press conference. "Big target, tough kid—really tough—plays hard, hard to tackle. I think we've seen a lot of examples of [his ability] this year; saw it in preseason, see it in practice."

And now, we see it every week on game day. In the first four games of the season, LaFell averaged 2.5 receptions per game, 41.3 yards per game and had just one touchdown. Since then (14 games), his averages are 5.2 catches and 62.7 yards per game with seven total touchdowns.

He continued to build chemistry and rapport with Brady, and has caught at least four passes in 12 of the last 13 games. 

But more important than the numbers is the physical presence LaFell provides for the Patriots. 

'We Are Gonna Dance and Sing in Celebration, We Are in the Promised Land'

The NFL game book for Brady's fourth-quarter touchdown pass to LaFell against the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round reads like an homage to Brady's playoff career:

(5:21) (No Huddle, Shotgun) T.Brady pass deep left to B.LaFell for 23 yards, TOUCHDOWN. NE 12-Brady 46th career postseason pass TD, most all-time. NE 12-Brady 367 pass yds, new franchise postseason game record (Brady 363 in 2011 Divisional Playoff vs Denver). NE 12-Brady 33 completions, new franchise postseason game record.

In actuality, it was the culmination of a year's worth of work, paying off at the most crucial time.

Brady went with a back shoulder throw to LaFell, which the receiver was able to trap with one arm while his other arm was being barred by Ravens cornerback Rashaan Melvin.

"Yeah it was man-to-man coverage and Jojo [LaFell] got a great release, so it made it easy on me," Brady said. "He made a great catch. The guy looked like he had his other—his right arm kind of arm-barred and he caught it with his left and was able to get his right hand on it, so it was a great play. We needed it. It was the first time we really got ahead in the game. So it was a big play."

It was the kind of throw and catch that the Patriots have needed more of in the past five years while they've searched for the missing component to their offense—that all-important X receiver.

And now, LaFell has an opportunity to show how valuable he is to the Patriots offense one more time by helping them win the Super Bowl. This will be arguably the biggest test of LaFell's Patriots career, as he'll line up against one of the best secondaries in football and one of the best individual players in the game in Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman.

This will mark LaFell's biggest challenge yet, on the biggest stage yet. If he can help the Patriots win their fourth Super Bowl, his Patriots legacy will be cemented. And to think it all started with scrutiny that the Patriots took the "cheaper" option. 

"Take it easy baby, let them say what they will. Will your tongue wag so much when I send you the bill?"

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.