IMO Hogan was a perfect fit for NE. He has a high football IQ. (I have seen more than one "great" WR Crash and burn here for not having that.) runs great routes and catches almost everything thrown to him.
HOGAN IS BY NO MEANS A #1 WR and is at best an average #2 option, but he is a GREAT 3rd option who can get open deep to open thing up for Edelman, Mitchell, Amondola underneath.
People are right that Brady makes him better because his throws are on target and ALLOW YAC, so many QBS throws make it so YAC is all but impossible.