FOXBOROUGH – It felt like the first day of school at Gillette Stadium on Tuesday. Veterans reported to training camp as first year head coach Jerod Mayo met the media early on in the day. Mayo spoke for just over 20 minutes, answering questions from a packed room of reporters and TV cameras. Mayo’s press conferences will have a much different tone and he has already been far more open…

With rookies already in Foxborough and veterans reporting on Tuesday, we begin to wind down our preseason positional previews. Here’s a look at the defensive line, which will play a big part in determining just how good this defense is… Under contract: Keion White, Deatrich Wise Jr., Davon Godchaux, Dan Ekuale, Jeremiah Pharms, Christian Barmore. Armon Watts, Sam Roberts, Trysten Hill, Will Bradley-King, John Morgan III, Jotham Russell. Positional breakdown: There’s…

Continuing with the LB’s, here’s a look at what the Pats currently have for outside guys… Under Contract: Matthew Judon, Anfernee Jennings, Joshua Uche, Raekwon McMillan, Christian Ellis, Steele Chambers, Oshane Ximines, Jontrey Hunter Position breakdown: It’s a crowded room, so behind Matthew Judon, Josh Uche, Anfernee Jennings and Raekwon McMillan, it’ll be quite a camp battle to see who can earn a spot or at least stay on the…

Rolling along with our position previews before camp starts Wednesday by taking a look at both the inside and outside backers for the Pats. It’ll be two separate pieces, so let’s start with the guys inside first… Under Contact: Ja’Whaun Bentley, Jahlani Tavai, Sione Takitaki, Joe Giles-Harris Positional breakdown: Fans may not realize it, but your new veteran linebacker leaders are now Ja’Whaun Bentley and Jahlani Tavai. Bentley is entering…

Our next positional preview is at safety, where the Pats might sneaky have the best duo in the league. There’s also plenty of questions behind the Top 2 guys… Under contract: Jabrill Peppers, Kyle Dugger, Dell Pettus, Joshua Bledsoe, Marte Mapu, Jaylinn Hawkins, Brendan Schooler Positional breakdown: The re-signing of Kyle Dugger was obviously important, but Jabrill Peppers is entering the last year of his deal and needs a new contract….

Football season is officially here. Ok, so technically not for another week when training camp officially starts, but Patriots rookies report on Friday and the first practice open to the public is Wednesday the 24th. To gear up for an intriguing, new era under the Krafts, Eliot Wolf and Jerod Mayo, we’ll be breaking down each position group, alternating with defense and offense. We start out with the corners… Under…

Getty Images One of the guys that showed flashes during minicamp was former LSU wide receiver Kayshon Boutte. The problem was, we didn’t know if he’d even be in the league back in April. Well, now we do. Adam Schefter reported early on Tuesday (with a follow up from Mike Reiss) that Boutte has had underaged gambling and computer fraud charges dropped against him in the state of Louisiana. Boutte…