FOXBORO — Eight months ago today, Bill Belichick forced the Bills to cave with his head-turning decision to blow away Chris Hogan with a big-money offer sheet.

The restricted free agent never played for more than the league minimum in his first five seasons with the Bills, but the Patriots hit Hogan with a three-year, $12,006,240 contract that included a whopping $7.5 million guaranteed.

Hogan had 87 career catches for 959 yards and six touchdowns. The Bills, on March 11, emailed Hogan’s agency, the Patriots and the NFL to declare they wouldn’t match the offer for “Hogan, Chris: Monmouth University.”

And to date, the signing has been an unmitigated success.

So how did the Patriots know Hogan would be a perfect fit? How did they identify a seldom-used wide receiver as a candidate for such a strong offer? Their background work and recruitment of Hogan was just as impressive as their investment.

“I think I’m just taking advantage of all the opportunities I’ve been getting on the field,” Hogan said. “I think these guys being able to trust me, being out there a lot, has all really helped.”

Phase I

Shortly after the 2015 season ended, the Patriots pegged Hogan as a priority, and Hogan’s camp shared a reciprocal feeling as they drew closer to the March 9 dawn of free agency. When the Pats cut wideout Brandon LaFell on March 2, Hogan’s team recognized the potential for their dream to turn into a reality.

Hogan had 13 catches for 181 yards and a touchdown in his final four games against the Pats, but they studied far more than his statistical output. The Pats’ scouting department recognized a detailed route runner and dedicated run blocker who finished every play. His pure speed showed up on special teams, particularly in coverage, but Hogan also burned Pats safety Patrick Chung for a 42-yard catch last season, which was his longest allowed in 2015. The Pats also liked Hogan’s toughness to play through torn wrist ligaments for a month.

The only drawback was minor. The cash-strapped Bills tendered their restricted free agent on March 7, so they could keep him by matching any offer.

“Our personnel department did a great job of identifying that,” Patriots receivers coach Chad O’Shea said. “Obviously, we had a lot of exposure to him playing him in our division, but we saw a lot of things that he did so well that would fit here.”

The Patriots believed Hogan could play every receiver position within their system. Five other teams that expressed interest pigeonholed Hogan as a slot receiver, so the Pats were both creative and confident in his ability to grasp their complex playbook.

Phase II

Almost immediately after free agency opened, Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio called Hogan’s agent, Art Weiss, to schedule a visit for the following day.

Hogan arrived at Gillette Stadium on March 10, toured the facility and went over the offense with O’Shea and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. The meetings validated the mutual infatuation between Hogan and the Pats.

“It just seemed like I fit right in right away,” Hogan said. “The second I walked in the building, I knew this would be a good place for me.”

Then, Hogan had an informal conversation with Bill Belichick. They might have actually talked as much about lacrosse as football, as the former Penn State lax star was already on Belichick’s radar for the coach’s other favorite sport. Eventually, Belichick told Hogan that Caserio would handle the contract discussions, and they parted ways.

Phase III

The Bills had salary cap issues, but expressed a genuine desire to retain Hogan, if he received an offer. Hogan’s camp was also aware that in 2013 the Steelers matched the Pats’ modest, one-year, $2.5 million offer sheet for wideout Emmanuel Sanders, so Hogan’s team drove home the point to Caserio that the Bills were serious about matching an offer if within reason. With a five-day window to match, the Bills discussed the idea of restructuring other contracts.

So the Patriots came in hard with an offer that included $5,506,240 (with the same cap hit) in the first year of the deal. Hogan was shocked and ecstatic.

“When you’re a guy that is playing on a minimum salary every single year, yeah sure, you’d be surprised by something like that,” Hogan said. “I think that’s the only logical, natural reaction to something like that. I would say I was just excited about it.”

Hogan, who was scheduled to visit the Falcons a day later, immediately signed the offer sheet and remained in town. The Bills declined to match the following day, disappointed to lose Hogan to a rival.

Phase IV

Hogan has been a hit with quarterback Tom Brady since offseason workouts began in April, and he fits in well with pass-catching stalwarts Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola.

Hogan wakes up at 4 a.m. in the offseason to work out and has been known to maintain his diet down to the peanut. On the field, he doesn’t repeat mistakes and practices like a maniac to beat cornerbacks. It was hardly a shock Hogan had a team-high 22 connections with Brady during training camp. And after a two-game summer layoff, Brady capped his second preseason drive with a 33-yard touchdown pass to Hogan against the Panthers.

“I know there is a lot of confidence and trust that Tom has in him to do the right thing consistently,” O’Shea said. “To me, that’s a critical part of the offense, for Tom to have that trust that a guy is going to do the right thing consistently. Chris has proven so far that he is going to do that.”

Hogan has 19 receptions this season for 391 yards and two touchdowns, and his 20.6 yards per catch could break David Patten’s high mark (18.2 in 2004) for wideouts in the Brady era. Since Brady returned, Hogan has 11 catches for 269 yards (24.5 yards per catch) and a score.

It has all worked out exactly how the Patriots hoped when they aggressively courted Hogan in March. The experience easily lived up to Hogan’s expectations as well.

“I mean, it’s the New England Patriots,” Hogan laughed. “I played against them for four years. I knew what this organization was about. I knew how they played, and I respected them for years. When the opportunity came to come play with, not just a guy like Tom, but Gronk, Julian, Danny, all those guys in this locker room, that’s a no-brainer.”