Danno

Vonn Bell and Roman Harper ask each other the same question every day.

"Where we at right now?" says Bell, a rookie safety with the New Orleans Saints.

"We're living the dream," Harper answers.

"We're in paradise," Bell responds.

Harper and Bell are at different points in their career, but they share a fun-loving attitude and desire to be great at football.

When the Saints drafted Bell in the second round of the draft in April, Harper wasn't even on the team. After Harper re-signed with New Orleans in June, it didn't take long for the duo to click.

"I'm like his little brother," Bell said. "I'm around him every day, pick his brain every day and try to learn everything he did with how much success he had. I'm just trying to match that and be successful in this league, too."

The relationship grew quickly when Bell and Harper became teammates, but that's not when it started. The two safeties met in Boca Raton, Fla., when they were training, Bell for the combine and Harper for his hopeful 11th NFL season.

Harper also received a nudge from Carolina Panthers safety Kurt Coleman to help Bell adapt to the NFL. Harper and Coleman were teammates on the Panthers in 2014 and 2015, and Coleman was looking out for a fellow Ohio State standout.

"He reminds me a lot of myself when I was younger — his attitude, his personality, his work ethic, his want to be great," Harper said of Bell. "When I was his age, the things that I was doing, he does a lot of the same things."

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"I don't think words or nothing can describe how thankful I am of him because he does numbers," Bell said. "He gives me what the coaches think and he gives it to me from a player's perspective."

That kind of leadership is big reason why the Saints re-signed Harper this year.

"There's some wisdom that I think he impacts young players with, not just in his position group either (but) throughout the roster," coach Sean Payton said.

Harper has had handshakes with several teammates during his time with the Saints, but "me and Vonn added some more sauce to it."

"This game is all about relationships, man," Harper said. "And any time you can build relationships with younger guys and things like that, not only does it make me feel younger and it keeps me in the loop of what's going down, but I'm also helping these guys continue to grow and understand.

"I tell them all the time, 'I'm not (your) coach, so I'm not going to teach you Xs and Os. But, I'll definitely teach you the game.'"

Whatever Bell gleaned from Harper has clearly helped. The rookie didn't start Week 1, but he's started eight of the past nine games and is likely a top-five candidate for defensive rookie of the year.

Bell ranks third on the Saints with 51 tackles. He also has one tackle for loss, a half sack, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, a half sack and two passes defensed. In many ways, he's offering the same versatility as a playmaker that Harper provided during long run as a starter during his initial eight-year run with New Orleans, and the Saints obviously hope Bell can reach the peaks of Harper, who twice eclipsed 100 tackles and had 7.5 sacks in 2011 and six forced fumbles in 2010.

A few weeks ago, Bell said that "Coach Rome" deserves credit for the majority of what he's accomplished as a rookie. Harper, meanwhile, said it's a pleasure to take Bell under his wing, and he hopes the rookie sees that having the enthusiastic approach on and off the field can lead to a long, successful career.


Saints' Roman Harper, Vonn Bell living the dream with big brother-little brother bond | NOLA.com