Because of that, it was a no-brainer that Lloyd would head to New England this offseason. The Patriots needed a bigger threat from an outside receiver, and Lloyd wanted to keep his career on the upswing.
McDaniels explained Friday why the pair has been so successful together.
"Brandon is a really likeable person, first of all," McDaniels said. "He's a smart player. He's been dependable. He's been durable. I think you take it year by year, and I had an opportunity to form a relationship with him as a coach and a player, and he's a guy that kind of took to our system and gave us an opportunity to do some really good things. The players are really the people that deserve the credit. It's not our system. They really are the ones that make it successful. He's had some success in it, and we'll hope that he can continue that."
Lloyd was an average producer at best from 2003-08 when he split time between the 49ers, Redskins and Bears, but he got acquainted with McDaniels when the two arrived in Denver in 2009. McDaniels was the head coach with the Broncos until he was fired in late 2010.
The two had their first reunion in 2011. McDaniels was the Rams' offensive coordinator when they acquired Lloyd early in the season.
Lloyd played 25 games for McDaniels through parts of those three seasons, and the numbers are staggering. In those games, Lloyd had 119 receptions (4.8 per game) for 1,953 yards (78.1) and 14 touchdowns (0.56).
But in the other 87 games of Lloyd's career (including the conclusion of 2010 and the beginning of 2011, when the two got split up), he has 192 catches (2.2 per game) for 2,831 yards (32.6) and 17 touchdowns (.20).
In terms of averages, Lloyd's production more than doubled across the board when he's been with McDaniels, who has an obvious ability to get the best out of the explosive receiver.
"He understands what we ask of the receiver position," McDaniels said. "He's brought a skill set on the outside, on the perimeter that has definitely been helpful to the offenses that I've had a part in here in the last few years. How he fits in and what we end up doing with him along with the other receiving corps, we'll kind of find out as we go through the spring and the summer. But I'm excited to have an opportunity to coach him again."
Have a question for Jeff Howe? Send it to him via Twitter at @jeffphowe or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.
