With the spring sessions now complete, a clearer picture of the 2012 Patriots is starting to materialize. With that in mind, here are 10 things we learned about the Patriots over the last month, a stretch that has included rookie minicamp, organized team activities and mandatory, full-squad minicamp.

It was a weird spring for New England’s tight ends. While none of the starters appeared to be working through serious injury this spring, both Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez weren’t on the field at various times (Gronkowski worked off to the side in the sessions that were open to the media, while Hernandez was missing for one practice). Complicating matters was the fact that Daniel Fells (presumably the third tight end this year) wasn’t on the field at all, while rookie Brad Herman went down with an Achilles’ injury and was placed on injured reserve. Veteran Bo Scaife showed up late in the spring and was thrown into the mix, but he appeared to struggle with his conditioning. There’s no reason to think that Gronkowski and Hernandez won’t be able to go when the bell rings, but the rest of the group had issues when it came to staying on the field, which made getting a sense of where the position was a little tough.

There is a sense of near-giddiness about the current group of receivers. Chad O’Shea isn’t a man given to hyperbole, so to hear New England’s receivers’ coach says the group of receivers on the Patriots’ roster is “professional, and as good a group as I’ve ever been around” means something. Several times over the course of the spring, the receivers all spoke about the level of maturity and professionalism in the receivers’ room. While the coaching staff will be forced to make some hard personnel decisions between now and the start of the regular season, at first glance, it appears this group of wide receivers -- including Brandon Lloyd, Wes Welker and Jabar Gaffney -- will be able to approach the numbers set by the 2007 group.

Right now, it’s running back by committee. Joseph Addai, Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen all received plenty of reps with the starting offense over the course of the spring, and it appears they will all head into training camp (with Danny Woodhead and perhaps Brandon Bolden) as part of a collective at the position. While one player could eventually emerge, based on what we saw this spring, the Patriots will not start the season with a singular feature back (like BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Corey Dillon or Antowain Smith had done in years past), instead selecting personnel for different situations based on matchups and health. (Two more things as they pertain to running back: One, opposing scouts, teammates and coaches continue to rave about Addai as a great pickup for the Patriots. And two, this spring, all the running backs pretty much referred to Kevin Faulk as a teammate and player in the past tense -- not out of malice, but simply reflecting the current reality of the situation.)

Justin Francis is the early favorite to be the annual UDFA to make the final 53-man roster. It was tough to spot -- the defensive line spent most of their time as far away from the media as possible, working in a remote part of the practice field -- but what we saw of Justin Francis was almost all good. He showed some versatility, working at several different spots, and didn’t look overwhelmed when he spent time with what appeared to be a reasonable facsimile of the starting defense. A college pal of Stephen Belichick, if he continues trending upward throughout the summer, it will be hard to get him through to the practice squad.

Donte Stallworth is a smart guy. Whether he volunteered for the gig or was part of the open auditions the Patriots appeared to be having at kick returner this spring, the idea of Stallworth as a returner could help his chances when it comes to landing a spot on a crowded depth chart at wide receiver. Stallworth hasn’t returned kicks during the regular season since 2003.

Dont’a Hightower will be the first rookie to make a real impact. This is not to say there weren’t positive moments for the rest of the rookie class, particularly Jake Bequette and Chandler Jones. But Hightower flashed fairly consistently over the course of the spring, working at multiple positions and looking very secure while doing so. It’s early, but our bet is that the linebacker out of Alabama will be the most impactful Patriots rookie in 2012.

When it comes to offseason prep work, the younger guys are much closer to being game ready at this time of year than they were last year. The 2011 lockout impeded the development of several young players, and not just last year’s rookies. It’s a group that includes running back Shane Vereen (heading into his second year) and linebacker Jermaine Cunnigham, a member of the 2010 draft class), the latter of whom was singled out by Belichick as having had a “great offseason.” A full year in the program -- including the spring practice sessions, camps and access to the facility -- should help those who have stumbled over the last year get back on track.

Questions remain about the interior of offensive line, as well as right tackle. While we can all pretty much presume that Brian Waters will return at right guard (for one more year) and Nate Solder is the left tackle of the future, there is some uncertainty about some other spots on the offensive line. Left guard Logan Mankins (knee) and right tackle Sebastian Vollmer (back) were moving very gingerly while working off to the side throughout the spring. (Subsequently, Robert Gallery was at left guard for much of the spring with the starters.) Based on his history, you have to figure that Mankins will be able to return sooner rather than later, but Vollmer’s back issues -- which he’s suffered with, on and off, since college -- could be a bit thornier. Marcus Cannon was taking a lot of reps with the starters at right tackle in Vollmer’s absence, and could be the one to take over the spot in Vollmer struggles with injury again. Dan Koppen is the starter at center, while Dan Connolly, Ryan Wendell and Gallery appear to be the choices as backups in the interior.

It looks like Devin McCourty will at least open at cornerback. He was there on a pretty consistent basis throughout the spring, and appears likely to open there when camp begins next month. But there are some other possible moving parts in the secondary, particularly Ras-I Dowling. If Dowling is able to go on a regular basis, that would create a domino effect in the New England secondary, one that could conceivably allow the Patriots to use McCourty at safety if needed.

The quarterback remains the constant. For the first time in his professional career, Tom Brady went through a series of spring practice sessions without another player who knew what it was like to play in Foxboro Stadium, as Matt Light and Faulk were not in attendance. (Light retired, while the future of Faulk, currently a free agent, is still up in the air.) If Faulk does decide to retire, Brady will attempt something this season that I don’t believe has ever happened -- win a Super Bowl with an entirely different set of teammates than the one who played alongside him in Super Bowl XXXVI.  As he stands on the cusp of his 12th year as a starting quarterback, Brady remains master and commander of the New England offense. While new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was very hands on throughout the spring sessions, there was no doubt who was running the show. This remains Brady’s team. As wide receiver Deion Branch said, “This is his team. He’s the franchise. Tom, however far we go, it’s because of the quarterback.”