FOXBORO — Brandon Meriweather, preparing for his fourth professional season, seems to have taken a popular path for high-profile University of Miami safeties. Like Ed Reed and Sean Taylor before him, Meriweather entered the league in ’07 carrying the distinction of being a first-round Hurricanes safety. Keeping with tradition, he was a Pro Bowl talent at the position before long.

Brandon Meriweather is 37 career interceptions behind Ed Reed. (AP)

While a relationship with the late Taylor obviously can no longer exist, Meriweather, who works out with Reed while in Miami, says that training with the six-time All-Pro is one of the things that helps him to become a more dominant presence in the defensive backfield.

“It has its pros and its cons because I’m very competitive, so everything that he does I try to do that much better,” Meriweather said of working with Reed. “It’s great to have somebody like that to learn from in general to talk to about the good things and the bad. He’s the one who told me to watch all the bad films and watch the things I do bad. He actually told me a couple of years ago.”

Meriweather, who plans to watch the video of Drew Brees’ Week 12 throttling of the New England defense (371 yards, five TDs), said that while watching video helps, having Reed diagnose his game provides him with a perspective he can’t get with a remote control.

“When I go home [to Miami], Ed always tells me my break is too flat. I would have never got that from watching film myself. So, he always tell me a lot of different things to help my game.

“He [says] lead the AFC in picks, which is pretty hard, but that’s pretty much my goal this year to lead the AFC in picks and have a better year than I did last year.”

Meriweather’s five picks in 2009 put him four behind the four defensive backs (Darren Sharper, Charles Woodson, Jairus Byrd, Asante Samuel) with nine. He’ll need to be at the top in picks for a few years if he wants to catch up to Reed’s 46 interceptions through eight seasons.

Even with Meriweather striving to match the statistical output of his friend and mentor, he stresses that their different styles of play is what distinguishes the two safeties.

“To be honest, I don’t think [we are] very similar at all,” Meriweather said in response to the natural tendency to compare the ex-Hurricanes safeties. “I think Ed Reed is a guy who’s a roamer. I think I’m better at doing a couple different things than Ed. I think Ed’s best game is when he’s in the middle of the field and he can just sit back there and do what he want to do.

“I think, me personally, I think my best game is when I’m closer to the box and able to do what I want to do. So it’s a lot different between me and Ed. But I think things we do similar is the fact that we are good at reading and reacting. Our instincts. His are second to none. And I feel like mine ain’t too far behind that. other than that, I think our game is not too similar.”

Still, despite Reed’s flashier play as a center fielder and Meriweather’s hard-hitting style, Meriweather puts the 31-year-old high on the list of people he owes his success to.

“A lot of the things I do to make plays, I would’ve never [done] if he wouldn’t have told me to try it.”

Through 48 games (27 starts), Meriweather has 193 tackles, nine interceptions, one touchdown and five forced fumbles.