Although the Patriots weren't active at all in the early stages of free agency, they were Friday night as the team reportedly made three signings.
The team acquired defensive end Adrian Clayborn, running back Jeremy Hill and offensive tackle Matt Tobin.
Clayborn is the biggest name of them all, as he was arguably the best edge rusher available.
The 6-foot-3, 281-pounder turns 30 in July and is coming off his best season as a member of the Falcons. He finished with 9.5 sacks, although it's worth noting six came in one game against the Cowboys. He spent the first four years of his career with the Buccaneers and the last three in Atlanta. He didn't play against the Patriots in Super Bowl LI, as he was injured.
While he can get after the passer, his strength is setting the edge, similar to what James Harrison was able to do in his brief time with the Patriots last season. This was a major issue for the team last year, so Clayborn certainly will make the front-seven better. He can play all three downs, which is something the Patriots didn't really have last year from any of their edge rushers.
Hill isn't like many other Patriots running backs of the past, as he isn't very elusive, but he can certainly help.
The 25-year-old spent his first four years in the league with the Bengals. Hill is a duel-threat back, as he can run in between the tackles and catch passes out of the backfield. Hill played in just seven games last season after going on injured reserve with an ankle injury. In his four years in the league he's run for over 2,800 yards, including 1,124 yards and nine touchdowns as a rookie. He's also hauled in 67 passes for 484 yards.
It would seem Hill will be competing with Mike Gillislee for playing time with Hill having an advantage because of his ability to catch passes out of the backfield and being more than just a runner.
Tobin has only started 21 NFL games in his career, but given the Patriots' situation at left tackle with Nate Solder moving on, the Patriots will take anything they can get at this point.
It's too early to tell exactly what Tobin's role will be, but we see the team adding another left tackle either via free agency or the draft and he will be more of a depth player. LaAdrian Waddle remains available, or the team could use one of its top picks on the position. They also have 2017 third-round pick Tony Garcia on the roster, but he lost 40 pounds last year due to blood clots in his lungs, so he cannot really be counted on for much this season.
Friday's moves were exactly how the Patriots operate in free agency -- wait for the dust to settle after the initial waves and then pounce on good deals.