Rodney Harrison says New England Patriots need a ‘hard-hitting safety’

The New England Patriots have been in three straight AFC championship games.

They defeated the Baltimore Ravens to advance to the Super Bowl in 2012, but lost another heartbreaker to the New York Giants. A year later, they lost to the Ravens and this year, they were defeated by the Denver Broncos.

The Patriots obviously aren’t far away from another championship, but with Tom Brady getting older, their window may not be open much longer.

Former Patriots’ safety and current NBC analyst Rodney Harrison thinks he knows what the Patriots need.

“I really believe, if they could get that physical, hard-hitting safety … I think that’s something they need to look for,” Harrison told the “Dennis & Callahan” show, a local Boston radio show on WEEI, via Mike Reiss of ESPN Boston. “Someone like [Seattle’s] Kam Chancellor, or even not that big of a safety because it’s hard to find safeties that big that can still move. But just somebody when you come across the middle you know you’re going to get whacked.”

So in other words, Harrison thinks they need a player like… him.