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  4. title => "Disrespected on draft day, Harmon knew he could reach this point"
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  6. article_body => "<p>HOUSTON --&nbsp;So few people saw Duron Harmon as a viable NFL player that when the Patriots drafted him in the third round of the 2013 draft, neither ESPN nor the NFL Network had highlights to show.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>SUPER BOWL LI: TUESDAY REPORT<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnne.com\/new-england-patriots\/mothers-illness-a-weight-for-new-england-patriots-qb-tom-brady-to-bear-this-season?int\" target=\"_blank\">Mother's illness has been a weight for Brady to bear this season<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnne.com\/new-england-patriots\/brady-personal-legacy-would-never-be-part-my-vocabulary?int\" target=\"_blank\">Brady: 'Personal legacy' would never be part of my vocabulary<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnne.com\/new-england-patriots\/patrick-chung-could-win-second-super-bowl-since-returning-to-new-england-patriots?int\" target=\"_blank\">Patrick Chung has made a ring-ing return to New England after a miserable year in Philadelphia<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnne.com\/new-england-patriots\/heading-into-super-bowl-li-vs-atlanta-falcons-new-england-patriiots-bill-belichick-coaching-beats-working?int\" target=\"_blank\">Belichick on his career: 'It beats working'<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnne.com\/new-england-patriots\/sanu-i-am-here-because-my-football-talents-not-because-i-am-muslim?int\" target=\"_blank\">Sanu: I'm here because of my football talents, not because I'm Muslim<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnne.com\/new-england-patriots\/martellus-bennett-would-play-under-franchise-tag-but-knows-super-bowl-li-vs-atlanta-falcons-could-be-final-game-with-new-england-patriots?int\" target=\"_blank\">This may be Martellus Bennett's last game with the Patriots<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnne.com\/new-england-patriots\/10-takeaways-super-bowl-opening-night?int\" target=\"_blank\">Bean: Ten takeaways from Super Bowl Opening Night<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnne.com\/video\/trent-dilfer-still-apologizing-saying-tom-brady-wasnt-good-2014?int\" target=\"_blank\">Dilfer still apologizing for 'Patriots and Brady aren't good anymore' comment in 2014<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnne.com\/video\/tom-brady-rich-toucher-rich-are-you-drugs?int\" target=\"_blank\">Brady to Rich (from Toucher &amp; Rich): Are you on drugs?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnne.com\/new-england-patriots\/boomer-esiason-beat-patriots-you-have-have-great-d-line?int\" target=\"_blank\">Esiason: To beat Patriots, you need a great defensive line<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you\u2019ve watched the draft before, you know that\u2019s saying something. They\u2019ve got video ready to go for kickers, punters, big-name guys, potential undrafted free agents, everyone. Except for a safety out of Rutgers, apparently.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Yet as he prepares to play in his second Super Bowl, Harmon said that he always felt he would be a capable NFL player. Going to the Patriots, he says, was an added bonus that\u2019s made his career that much more enjoyable.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel like I always could play in this league. It\u2019s always about you and it\u2019s always about you continuing to try and get better,\u201d Harmon said Tuesday. \u201cI feel like that\u2019s my attitude since I was young, so I feel like I would have been an NFL player, but I would say just being under Coach Belichick, he\u2019s made me a much better football player.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At the time of his selection, Harmon had a good sense of humor about the lack of footage. He knew the lower projection that was placed on him, and when his pick was announced, he laughed when his mother asked where there wasn\u2019t any footage of him.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Looking back now, Harmon still laughs, but he says he took the funny moment as a slight, a reminder that people didn\u2019t think he was an NFL player.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDefinitely,\u201d he said when asked if he was offended, \u201cbecause at the time I felt like I was a good player and I felt like I was good enough to be drafted where I was taken, so it\u2019s just like, it sucked, but at the same time you can\u2019t do nothing about it, so I just did what I\u2019d known best to do, which was work. I would say being here, being around guys that continue to put in that work, continue to grind, it just made me be a lot better because I fit in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sunday will provide Harmon the opportunity to play in the Super Bowl for the second time in his four-year career. He says he owes a lot to the man who spent that draft pick on him.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve never been challenged the way he\u2019s challenged me,\u201d Harmon said of Belichick. \u201cI\u2019ve never been coached the way he\u2019s coached me. He just expects excellence, and just having that on you all the time, it can either break you or it can make you a better player. I really feel like it\u2019s continuing to just help me be a better player. The player I am has a lot to do with coach Belichick.\u201d<\/p>\n"
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Patriots

Patriots

HOUSTON -- So few people saw Duron Harmon as a viable NFL player that when the Patriots drafted him in the third round of the 2013 draft, neither ESPN nor the NFL Network had highlights to show. 

SUPER BOWL LI: TUESDAY REPORT

If you’ve watched the draft before, you know that’s saying something. They’ve got video ready to go for kickers, punters, big-name guys, potential undrafted free agents, everyone. Except for a safety out of Rutgers, apparently. 

Yet as he prepares to play in his second Super Bowl, Harmon said that he always felt he would be a capable NFL player. Going to the Patriots, he says, was an added bonus that’s made his career that much more enjoyable. 

“I feel like I always could play in this league. It’s always about you and it’s always about you continuing to try and get better,” Harmon said Tuesday. “I feel like that’s my attitude since I was young, so I feel like I would have been an NFL player, but I would say just being under Coach Belichick, he’s made me a much better football player.”

At the time of his selection, Harmon had a good sense of humor about the lack of footage. He knew the lower projection that was placed on him, and when his pick was announced, he laughed when his mother asked where there wasn’t any footage of him. 

Looking back now, Harmon still laughs, but he says he took the funny moment as a slight, a reminder that people didn’t think he was an NFL player. 

 

“Definitely,” he said when asked if he was offended, “because at the time I felt like I was a good player and I felt like I was good enough to be drafted where I was taken, so it’s just like, it sucked, but at the same time you can’t do nothing about it, so I just did what I’d known best to do, which was work. I would say being here, being around guys that continue to put in that work, continue to grind, it just made me be a lot better because I fit in.”

Sunday will provide Harmon the opportunity to play in the Super Bowl for the second time in his four-year career. He says he owes a lot to the man who spent that draft pick on him. 

“I’ve never been challenged the way he’s challenged me,” Harmon said of Belichick. “I’ve never been coached the way he’s coached me. He just expects excellence, and just having that on you all the time, it can either break you or it can make you a better player. I really feel like it’s continuing to just help me be a better player. The player I am has a lot to do with coach Belichick.”