Nov 18, 2012; Foxboro, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver Brandon Lloyd (85) makes a reception against the Indianapolis Colts during the third quarter at Gillette Stadium. The New England Patriots won 59-24. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

(This is another entry into Musket Fire’s ‘Positional Breakdown’ feature.)

Wide Receivers:

Under Contract for 2013:

Brandon Lloyd, Matthew Slater, Kamar Aiken

Brandon Lloyd:

Lloyd was brought in by the Patriots to bring an outside the numbers presence that had not been there since Randy Moss. While a lot of people say Lloyd did not have a good season, I disagree. He did have a very inconsistent year but he did make a lot of plays outside of the numbers that helped take some pressure off of Wes Welker and the TE’s. He did receive mostly one on one coverage throughout the year and I think he did a good job for the most part of taking advantage of that. He finished with 74 catches for 911 yards and 4 TD’s. That is pretty good production considering you are on the same offense that has Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez, and Rob Gronkowski (granted the TE’s were not healthy for the whole season). Lloyd is a very good outside receiver but he can not bear the burden alone, and that is why the Pats need to get another vertical threat to help out Lloyd.

Matthew Slater:

Slater is really only a receiver for depth chart purposes. He is an exclusive special teamer, he rarely if ever plays at receiver for the Patriots. He is a very fast guy so occasionally he will run a ‘go’ route for them to try and get a quick score or something of that matter. Slater is a very good special teamer, but he is not a real threat at receiver.

Kamar Aiken: 

Aiken came on at the end of the year more for depth issues, and if the Pats do not add some receivers they will have to keep Aiken because they are really short on receivers. Aiken is a prospect that can be developed eventually but as of right now will probably not make much of an impact.

2013 Outlook:

The main thing the Patriots need to do for 2013 is resign Wes Welker. He is the second most important part of the Pats offense (behind Brady). Without him Tom Brady does not have his security blanket he has had over the last 5 seasons. Welker is almost impossible to cover one on one over the middle, he is also one of the toughest and most durable guys in the NFL. The Pats also should try and resign Julian Edelman, he is very athletic and makes a huge impact in special teams as well as on offense. The last thing the Patriots need to do in the offseason is get another vertical threat to help Brandon Lloyd outside of the numbers. They may go to the draft to assess this need or maybe they will turn to free agency. Dwayne Bowe may be someone the Pats should go after to help make their offense oven more lethal. Bottom line is, the Patriots need to add some receivers for next season because they are extremely thin there as of right now.

Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Tackle Mark Zusevics, cornerback Marquice Cole, rookie backup safety Nate Ebner, rookie project DE Jake Bequette, newly re-added depth wide receiver Kamar Aiken, solid rookie starting cornerback Alfonzo Dennard, and the always versatile interior offensive lineman Nick McDonald are the seven inactive for the Patriots today.

Not on the list? Brandon Spikes and Rob Gronkowski. Some projected that Spikes would be inactive after being nicked up coming into the game and missing the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars last week, but the Patriots star middle linebacker is back. The Pats need him in order to bully the opposing running game and take advantage of a weak interior.

Gronkowski was expected to play per reports from Tom E. Curran and Ian Rappoport, and it was Albert Breer who tweeted this morning that Gronk was medically cleared to play and would indeed play after missing more than a month with a broken forearm. I hope Gronk only plays for a bit to shake off the rust, because there is no sense in getting him injured again leading into the playoffs. His health is of paramount importance as one of the best players in the game.

The inactives are not surprising, with Dennard being the only starter who is inactive. We’ll miss him and possibly the depth lost with Cole’s absence, but the Pats look healthy and ready to lock up a win on a cold, snowy day at Gillette. If the Patriots win, then they will finish undefeated in divisional play for the second time in franchise history and the first since the near-undefeated year of 2007.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.

Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports

The team also made two practice squad signings by promoting wide receiver Kamar Aiken and defensive back Malcolm Williams. Both players have had live game experience at points in their career, and they have both been on the 53-man roster this season. Aiken was promoted from the practice squad just last week before being demoted afterwards in order to clear some space for Cunningham.

Brace cleared space for Cunningham, which allowed Aiken to re-join the team. Williams gives the team extra depth in the secondary after being promoted, and the practice squad now has two empty slots. It will be interesting to see who fills those up.

Aiken and Williams may or may not be active today, but they will both be on special teams if they do actually get playing time. Williams has recorded a tackle this year on special teams and can succeed in that regard, but I’m not so sure about Aiken. The main thing is that both players are depth players at positions that traditionally need quite a bit of depth, and the Patriots especially need the depth that Aiken provides due to the lack of bodies at the wide receiver position.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.