Unless you have been hiding under a rock for the last couple weeks, I am pretty sure you know exactly what is going on outside of Boston as it relates to the New England Patriots. 

First, Rob Gronkowski underwent a fifth surgery in less than a calendar year, this time on his back. The talented tight end had already gone through four surguries on his injured arm prior to going under the knife for a lingering issue with his back. Gronkowski had previously dealt with back issues in college. 

The best-case scenario for Gronkowski's recovery time puts him back on the field just a couple days after New England takes on the Buffalo Bills in Week 1. 

Meanwhile, in more disturbing news; former Patriots' tight end Aaron Hernandez is sitting in jail awaiting trial for a ton of different charges, included first-degree murder. Without getting into too much detail, Hernandez will never play in a Pats' uniform again. 

Just like that, quarterback Tom Brady appears to be without two of his favorite targets for some time. While Gronkowski may return prior to the start of the year, it's more likely he'll have to sit out a couple weeks of the regular season. In fact, New England could decide to put Gronk on the PUP, which would force him to miss six games. 

This doesn't even take into account the loss of Wes Welker to the Denver Broncos in free agency and the release of Brandon Lloyd, who is unlikely to return to New England this upcoming season. 

Those four players represented 74 percent of Brady's completions last season. That's just plain ridiculous.

Considering that Brady has a history of succeeding with less-than-stellar talent around him, there has to be someone on New England's offense to, at the very least, help fill some of the void. But who? 

New England did add former St. Louis Rams wide receiver Danny Amendola on a five-year, $28.5 million contract in free agency this offseason. Amendola was the Rams most consistent wide receivers in two of the last three seasons, missing all but one game back in 2011 due to injury. 

In the last two seasons that Amendola was relatively healthy (played in 27 of 32 games), he recorded 148 receptions for 1,355 yards and six touchdowns. During that span, Amendola caught 71 percent of the passes thrown in his direction and averaged 5.5 receptions per outing. 

Injuries, however, are a concern. While Amendola did play in 11 games last season, he was hampered and slowed down in a number of other outings. This comes on the heels of him missing 15 games due to injury two seasons ago. 

If healthy, Amendola is a ridiculous under-the-radar PPR guy. His average receptions per game coupled with both his reception percentage and the fact that he is playing with a better quarterback leads me to believe he is primed for a Wes Welker-lite season. 

If, back to that word again, Amendola plays in all 16 games; there is no reason to believe he can't put up over 110 receptions for 1,000 yards and between seven and eight scores. That makes him a solid PPR option. As it is, his ADP isn't where you'd expect simply due to those injury issues. 

New England added two young receivers in the draft in the form of Josh Boyce and Aaron Dobson. Neither were considered top-tier prospects, but are coming off extremely productive college careers. 

Boyce, a TCU product, recorded 127 receptions and 16 touchdowns in his final two college seasons. He's more of a slot guy, who can come in and produce relatively rearly due to above-average route-running ability and soft hands. 

Dobson is more of an outside threat with a relatively large learning curve. As his receptions total went up at Marshall, Dobson's average per reception total decreased. That's a sign of someone who matured, but wasn't able to break the long plays after a spectacular freshman campaign. 

This is one of the primary reasons that Dobson's fantasy impact won't be too great early in his career. He isn't going to receive the necessary targets to make an impact and is more of a possession receiver at this point. 

One player to look at as it relates to incresed production is running back Shane Vereen. As the best receiving option of a trio that includes Stevan Ridley and LeGarrette Blount, Vereen should find himself in a good position to make an impact in both standard and PPR leagues. Add into account the fact that the CAL product is a stellar pass blocker and he'll likely see the field more in 2013. 

Vereen caught 74 passes in three college seasons and actually put up 149 receiving yards in limited action with New England this past season. There is no reason to believe that Vereen cannot tally 40 receptions for 450 yards through the air, while adding another 500-600 yards on the ground. That makes him a decent FLEX option. 

New England might not possess a great deal of talent on the offensive side of the ball heading into the 2013 season, but its quarterback has a history of working wonders with scrubs. Brady seems to elevate the play of his receivers more than any quarterback in the league. 

The makeshift cast of questionable options I listed above should be impacted a great deal by Brady's presence on the field. 

As it is, expect Amendola and Vereen to be impacted the most by the makeover that is sure to take place this upcoming fall.