Though they were clearly interested and go outbid.
Again, there was interest. Hartline said the Patriots were a "close second" to the Browns, indicating that the Pats offered him a lower contract than the Browns did.
Illogical since the Pats didn't have the draft resources to do this without a trade up. You have no idea where those players were on BB's board.
Unexpected due to character issues.
Belichick himself was reported to have watched Coates closely at Auburn's pro day and Conley had a personal workout. I guess this is maybe so that they can sign with the 2014 world champs in the future or maybe not.
This is called a strawman. Nobody is asking for the next Randy Moss. People are simply looking at the WR position, the history of injuries with the personnel, and the fact that this is a physical sport coupled with the depth (or lack thereof) behind the starters, and correctly pointing out that there is a need here. It really doesn't take a Sherlock Holmes to piece this all together. The Patriots made a contract offer to Stevie Johnson, they probably made one to Hartline (based on his words), and they worked out Agholor, Conley, Crowder, Kennedy, and Parker and Belichick was reportedly keeping a close eye on Coates at Auburn's pro day. How much more proof do you need that they consider depth at the position a need?