FOXBORO -- Good news for Patriots fans: Even after three days of training camp, it’s easy to see that once you get beyond the number, there’s no comparison between Brandon Lloyd and Chad Ochocinco.

If there was any doubt, those were officially erased on Saturday afternoon. On the third day of camp, the new No. 85 went up and made a catch that the old No. 85 would have never been able to make. It happened on the first play in 7-on-7 passing drills, when quarterback Tom Brady looked deep down the right sideline for Lloyd and let fly in that direction. Defensive back Sterling Moore had great coverage on the play, and went up with Lloyd to try and knock the ball down. But Lloyd won the battle for the ball in the air, picking the ball up off Moore’s helmet.

The sequence was unlike any pass play involving Ochocinco last season: It was a well-run route where the quarterback and receiver were clearly on the same page. The receiver was confident that he was in the right place at the right time. Lloyd fought for the ball in the air, battling a defensive back for possession. And he hung on, completing the reception without an issue.

Ochocinco apologists might say that comparison is unfair: Based on his experience with Josh McDaniels in Denver and St. Louis, Lloyd has already spent time in a reasonable facsimile of the same offense New England should run this season. And Lloyd had the experience working with Brady throughout the spring session this year -- something never afforded Ochocinco, who arrived last year in late July.

But it’s clearly evident that after watching three training camp practices, Brady and Lloyd have reached a level of simpatico that the quarterback never had with Ochocinco. While Ochocinco spent the year looking terrified of doing the wrong thing, Lloyd already looks amazingly self-assured. When Lloyd catches the ball, there’s no SMACK that usually accompanies a Brady laser -- instead, Lloyd somehow simply absorbs the ball. He’s worked intermediate and deep routes, and has shown a smoothness in his route running that belies the fact that he’s less than a week into his first training camp in New England.

And while there was always the suspicion that Ochocinco never quite got the offense (one that wasn’t helped after he had to be reminded where to line up on one pass play during a spring practice session ... shortly before he was released), right now, there’s no such concern with Lloyd.

“He knows what he’s doing out there,” Brady said of Lloyd after Saturday’s practice.

For his part, Lloyd said that while he and the quarterback are “plugging away,” they don’t have that familiarity level quite yet. The two have spent a lot of their downtime at camp talking between drills, and based on their work together the first three days of camp, it’s hard to imagine what it might look like when they do make a that sort of connection -- in addition to Lloyd’s catch over Moore on Saturday, there have been no fewer than four catches that have drawn big cheers, including a masterful fingertip grab along the sidelines on Friday.

Lloyd said that it’s different with different quarterbacks, but the real connection takes place once game action begins.

“You just never know -- it just happens,” said Lloyd. “Most of the time that kind of stuff happens when you’re in the game and everybody is just on the same level. You can talk and you can discuss and practice a lot of stuff, but you really figure things out in the game time situations.”

“He wants to be a big part of this offense -- I obviously want to help him become a big part of this offense. So there’s constant communication between the two of us,” Brady said of Lloyd.

“I’ve thrown the ball to a lot of the guys really, except Brandon, so he and I have some extra work that we’ve got to put in and a lot of talk and a lot of communication. ‘Hey, if they give us this coverage, this is what we’re thinking,’ or ‘This is what I’m expecting on this particular play.’ So from the time we walk in in the morning to the time we leave tonight, those are the things we talk about.”

Of course, there is that relationship with McDaniels to help ease the transition -- the man who, by all accounts, helped transform Lloyd from a JAG into a top-shelf wide receiver who averaged 74 catches a year the last two years with Denver and St. Louis. Lloyd pledged his undying allegiance to McDaniels last season. Now together again, Lloyd’s previous working relationship with New England’s offensive coordinator has certainly allowed him to hit the ground running this summer.

“I think it helps with the other offensive players trusting me and knowing what I’m doing out there,” Lloyd said of the relationship, and added of McDaniels and his communication skills, “everybody gets it, just by the way he explains things. It’s pretty simple for the guys to understand what he means.”

He has already distanced himself from last year’s No. 85 in several ways, but that’s not to suggest Lloyd isn’t without his quirks. Through the first three days of camp, when practice is done, he’s taken off his shoes and socks before leaving the field, choosing to stroll toward the locker room in his bare feet. (“It just feels good,” he shrugged when a reporter asked him why he did it.) He Tweets, but not enough where he’s going to rile the Patriots’ old guard. And he’s recorded an album.

But in a region that tolerated -- and eventually tired -- of Ochocinco’s antics last season, Lloyd remains worlds’ away from last year’s No. 85. When Ochocinco met the media for the first time at camp last year, he cracked jokes, talked about being in “heaven” and asked the media for a group hug. On Saturday, Lloyd met with reporters for the first time this summer, and gave a simple, frank assessment as to where things stood.

“We’re plugging away,” Lloyd said of the first week in camp with his new team. “It’s still too early to really tell, but we’re doing our best. We’re doing what we’re coached to do. And eventually, we’ll start hitting on all cylinders.”