FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- At night, after the practices and walk-throughs are over and the meetings concluded, Duron Harmon and Richie Grant retire to the apartments behind the practice field at the Atlanta Falcons' training complex.

Before lights go out, the two get together. They talk. They study. Grant asks questions. Then he quietly listens as Harmon offers advice on just about everything.

“Pretty much any and every thing he tells me,” Grant said. “It don’t matter what it is. Like how to eat my food, I don’t care. Any time he tells me, like, ‘Listen, you’ve been in the league for a long time, I’m trying to do the same thing.’

“Whatever he do, I try to mock that as a little brother.”

For two weeks, the safeties have lived there during the rigors of training camp. Players have the option of going home at night after practice. Many have. Harmon, the veteran, with his third team in three seasons after beginning his career with a winning franchise in New England, hasn't. Neither has Grant, the rookie, unfamiliar with everything in the NFL and what it takes to be a pro.

This goes beyond reading coverages and lining up against receivers and running backs. It delves into topics like family life to professional conversation beyond football to how Harmon has handled fatherhood with four kids.

It’s the man with eight years of experience behind him prepping the guy who is going to be the future at the position for the Falcons. It’s the man who came in under similar circumstances in New England -- Harmon was a third-round pick from Rutgers in 2013 -- as Grant, a second-round pick from UCF. Not the allure of a first-round pick but taken high enough where he’d be expected to contribute.

Like Harmon in New England, Grant may have a rotational role at first in Atlanta. He’s either the third or fourth safety behind starters Harmon and Erik Harris, and potentially Jaylinn Hawkins. Grant could have a spot in certain packages early in coordinator Dean Pees’ defense, but he should have time to acclimate himself to playing in the NFL.

That’s something Harmon is trying to assist with and something Harmon is trying to get used to.

“It’s different,” Harmon said. “I think last year prepared me for it. … Sometimes in life, you have to go through certain things to appreciate other things. I’m happy where I’m at. I’m happy to be, you know, the old guy in the room.

“It’s freaking nuts, but I’m appreciating it more because there was an old guy for me to help me get to where I’m at now.”

Devin McCourty and Steve Gregory helped play those roles for Harmon with the Patriots that he’s playing now for Grant. And what Harmon did last year in Detroit -- the first time he’d been out of the northeast in his college or pro career -- working with Will Harris and Georgia native Tracy Walker. He was often the sounding board for them, the player who could offer comfort during a trying season.

It was a learning experience for Harmon, too. He’d never dealt with an unsuccessful team as a pro, dealt with a midseason firing of the coach (Matt Patricia) and general manager (Bob Quinn) who brought him in. After the season, it was his first real foray into free agency.

So while he was learning, he also knew he’d be heading into a situation in 2021 where he would have to be the mentor. Where he’d have to help. Grant is the star pupil -- although others have also gone to Harmon for advice, including J.R. Pace, who worked with Harmon post-practice Tuesday.

And Harmon knows what he wants to tell them, too. He explains his preparation, things he has learned from his time in the league. He goes through where he lines up for the snap, what to look for, where to look, how to watch film. Things McCourty taught him. In post-practice on-field work, they’ll work on things Harmon might have seen during practice that might have looked OK to the layman but were off to the seasoned veteran.

Grant has taken all of it.

“Even outside of football, like wife and kids, I want that some day,” Grant said. “So literally just everything, they living their life now, that’s what I want.

“They are giving advice, and I’m soaking it up.”