INDIANAPOLIS — With over $120 million in cap space and needs strewn throughout the roster, the Patriots are ready to spend in free agency.

That was head coach Mike Vrabel’s message to reporters Tuesday morning at the NFL Scouting Combine.

“We want to target players we feel like are going to help us, that are going to be outstanding players and are going to be outstanding additions to the locker room and the community, and if that all fits and the compensation fits — but I’m confident we’ll be aggressive,” Vrabel said. “We’ve started some of those discussions internally, and I think having different plans and having an Option A, an Option B, I mean things are going to change, everybody’s looking at the same players, so we have to be ready to pivot and adjust and have a vision for each player I would say at each level.

“There’s going to be this high level that things are going to get done very quickly. That’ll transition then to maybe just some midrange dollars, and then obviously you look at opportunity, so free agency gets broken down into compensation and then it gets broken down into opportunity, and I feel like we’re in a position to offer both, as far as compensation and opportunity for some of these players.”

The Patriots’ top needs as they enter the offseason are at wide receiver, offensive tackle, defensive end and defensive tackle. But they also must continue to add players at running back, tight end, guard, linebacker and cornerback.

Vrabel is aware that if the Patriots are targeting a top-end player, then they’ll need to potentially overpay when the free agency open tampering period begins March 10 at noon.

“I’m sure, like, I like to shop like everybody else,” Vrabel said. “And so when you go and there’s only one of a certain car, maybe you have to pay a little bit more for that one car, because there’s only one of them. When you start to get into a range where you feel like there’s an area where players are comparable, and you like three or four players in a certain area for a certain role, you may not have to overspend, but it’s free agency. I think that everybody overspends sometimes in free agency.”

There’s a lack of high-end talent available in free agency at wide receiver, where Tee Higgins is the top option. So, that’s one area where the Patriots might have to overpay. The next best players available include Stefon Diggs, Chris Godwin, Amari Cooper, Darius Slayton and Marquise Brown.

Defensive tackle is a position with more depth in free agency with players like Milton Williams, Osa Odighizuwa, Levi Onwuzurike and B.J. Hill all set to hit the open market, barring a re-signing prior to the official start of free agency on March 12.

Offensive tackles fits somewhere in the middle with Ronnie Stanley as the top option but Alaric Jackson, Cam Robinson and Dan Moore Jr. not falling too far behind in value.

Vrabel was asked how he can make New England an attractive destination beyond money. He acknowledged that the highest bid is what typically seals the deal.

“When I went to Houston my first time coaching in the NFL, I was working from Bill O’Brien and they had this field that was in trays, 6 foot by 6 foot. And I said, ‘Why do you guys have grass in a dome?’ And they said, ‘Well, we think it would be good for free agency.’ And I said, ‘The only thing free agents care about is green – and it’s not grass.’ So that’s a good place to start.

“You’ve got to be able to pay them according to the market and what somebody else is willing to pay them. I think you talk about our program and what we want to do and the people we have in our building and the vision that we have for it and how we’re going to use them. Players we’ve developed in the past. ‘Here’s what we’ve done, here’s what we will do, here’s where we see you fitting in.’ And if that works for you, then let’s make it happen and it’s good for both sides.”

Vrabel was asked about the fit of current players on the roster for what new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and defensive coordinator Terrell Williams will want to run and said, “I think what the roster looks like today is going to be vastly different than what it looks like in the end of August.”

Ideally, the Patriots would go into the draft without major glaring needs so they can select the best players available. But Vrabel also noted the team had begun meeting with defensive linemen on Monday and was impressed with the group, which includes potential top pick, Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter.