Last week, we presented 10 things we learned about the Patriots this spring. Consider this -- an absurdly early look at what the 53-man roster might looks like -- a companion piece is based on notes from the spring sessions.

Quarterback (3): Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallett. No surprises here. It will be interesting to see the breakdown of the reps Hoyer and Mallett get in the preseason.

Running back (4): Joseph Addai, Stevan Ridley, Shane Vereen, Danny Woodhead. Don’t expect a traditional lead back in this group, but instead a collective effort, with Woodhead figuring in as a multidimensional threat. Kevin Faulk could always be a part of the mix (possibly if he starts the season on PUP), but his chances of making the final roster right now appear slim. If he’s not on the roster, look for Addai to take over many of his responsibilities. Brandon Bolden is a candidate for the practice squad.

Tight end (3): Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Daniel Fells. Fells figures to be the third in the mix with Gronkowski and Hernandez, although we haven’t seen him on the field at all throughout the spring. Jake Ballard will likely spend 2012 on injured reserve.

Offensive line (7): Dan Koppen, Dan Connolly, Marcus Cannon, Logan Mankins, Nate Solder, Robert Gallery, Brian Waters. Lots of moving parts here with a lot of different possibilities. With the uncertain health of both Mankins and Sebastian Vollmer, we’re going to bet that at least one of them will be nagged by persistent injury issues and start the year on PUP. (We rolled the dice here and put Vollmer on the PUP list.) We also went with Gallery over Ryan Wendell, mainly because Gallery has played both guard and tackle, which could come in handy if Vollmer is out, but that could just as easily be flipped between now and the start of the season. Donald Thomas doesn’t make our final cut, but could also be a part of the mix as well.

Wide receiver (6): Deion Branch, Brandon Lloyd, Wes Welker, Julian Edelman, Jabar Gaffney, Donte Stallworth. First five are no-brainers, with Edelman’s special teams value clinching his spot. Tough call here with the addition of Stallworth, but his work as a kick returner lands him the final spot on the roster. Not that it’s a secure spot -- he could get bumped if an extra body is needed anywhere else. (Particularly on the offensive line.) Rookie Jeremy Ebert lands on the practice squad.

Specialists (3): Zoltan Mesko, Stephen Gostkowski, Danny Aiken. Again, no surprises here.

Defensive linemen (8): Vince Wilfork, Jonathan Fanene, Gerard Warren, Brandon Deaderick, Kyle Love, Myron Pryor, Jake Bequette, Chandler Jones. Some news faces make Ron Brace expendable. In a perfect world for the Patriots, rookie Justin Francis makes it through to he practice squad, but his fate could be tied to how he performs in the preseason. Marcus Harrison is also a practice squad candidate.

Linebackers (8): Jerod Mayo, Brandon Spikes, Bobby Carpenter, Dont’a Hightower, Dane Fletcher, Trevor Scott, Rob Ninkovich, Tracy White. Bill Belichick said Jermaine Cunningham had a great offseason, but it’s not enough to save him here. Ninkovich and Scott have also lined up at defensive end, but we’re going to put them here at their primary position. (Niko Koutouvides and Jeff Tarpinian just miss the cut, but both could also be a part of the mix here.)

Defensive backs (11): Matthew Slater, Devin McCourty, Kyle Arrington, Ras-I Dowling, Sterling Moore, Will Allen, Patrick Chung, Steve Gregory, Tavon Wilson, Alfonzo Dennard, Nate Ebner. Lots of movement here, with plenty of new faces who have positional versatility that could leave some guys who have been around Foxboro for a couple of years out in the cold. The Patriots would love to have a healthy Dowling -- that would allow them to do more in the secondary and create a positive domino effect. I think they would love to be able to get Ebner through to the practice squad for a year -- if they can, that would open the door for some other moves, like the return of either Brown or Barrett -- but I don’t know if that’s possible. Marquice Cole presents very good special teams value, but just misses out. Likewise Ross Ventrone, but something tells me that Ventrone finds his way back to Gillette Stadium sooner rather than later.

A few notes: This roster doesn’t include defensive end Andre Carter, but it wouldn’t be a surprised if he made a return to Foxboro sometime this year. In addition, the numbers simply precluded us from including any of the fullbacks on the roster -- Eric Kettani, Spencer Larsen and Tony Fiammetta. If the Patriots do end up going with one, it would likely be Larsen because of his positional versatility (he’s played both offense and defense in the NFL).