FOXBORO — Towering cornerback Brandon Browner was soundly quiet during his first camp with the Seattle Seahawks in 2011, right up until he made a pledge with fellow corner Richard Sherman.

But before that, Sherman and his teammates noticed a football hound who was dedicated to mastering a second opportunity in the NFL after a five-season stint in the Canadian Football League.

Browner dedicated his life to making the team and didn’t see the need to talk to anyone to make it happen, especially after a lockout shortened his time to learn the system.

Then, finally, the 6-foot-4 Browner piped up.

“(Browner) told me one of the things I’ll never forget,” Sherman told the Herald last week. “He said, ‘They brought us in here — we’re both big, tall and long — to put our hands on people, to stand up toe to toe every play and put our hands on people, so that’s what we need to do every time.’ And he didn’t say anything else the whole camp to me.”

Browner joined the Patriots under similar circumstances this offseason, as he teamed with Darrelle Revis in an epic upgrade at cornerback. Revis, at 5-11, gives up four inches to Sherman, so there’s a size difference with Browner’s newest All-Pro partner in quarterbacking crime. But the message was otherwise identical.

Revis and Browner were signed to be physically imposing, hands-on cornerbacks who could get the Patriots past the Broncos. Sherman knows all about that, as his Seahawks (minus Browner, who was serving a suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy) embarrassed Peyton Manning’s record-setting offense in the Super Bowl, just two weeks after the Broncos completely controlled the AFC Championship Game against the Pats. Manning’s final seven possessions included six consecutive scores and a drive that evaporated the clock. It was time to reverse the bullying.

“I do think that was a huge part of it because (the Patriots) know Denver’s receivers gave them problems with physicality a lot of times,” Sherman said. “Especially once Aqib (Talib) went out, they had trouble stopping them, and it’s a game of wills. The Broncos were able to impose their physicality on them, and I think Brandon will negate all of that, and have a countering effect, impose his will and play a tougher game.”

Browner has already made his presence known at practice, despite the fact that the collective bargaining agreement doesn’t permit contact or press coverage during organized team activities. He intercepted a deep ball from Tom Brady two weeks ago, and Browner’s 221-pound frame sticks out on every rep, blocking out the sun against most receivers. He completely engulfed the 6-1, 195-pound Kenbrell Thompkins during an out-route Thursday, which gave a glimpse of the challenges that quarterbacks face every Sunday.

Once training camp opens and Browner can add the wrestling element to his repertoire, at least at the line of scrimmage, coach Bill Belichick will get an even better look at the hulking corner’s best asset. Until then, though, Browner said the biggest challenge has been learning a new set of terminology and pre-snap checks. It’s actually a stark difference from the system in Seattle, where the cornerbacks were instructed to simply line up and play at their own discretion.

“It’s still a work in progress, man,” Browner said during a private moment after Thursday’s practice. “Stuff is still new to me, so I have some up days and down days. Some days, I feel like I’ve got it, and some days are rougher than others.”

Sherman, who still speaks to his former teammate a few times per week, isn’t concerned about Browner’s ability to pick up the scheme, but he hoped the Patriots would let him do his thing without too much interference.

“(Browner) has a very good football IQ,” Sherman said. “I think he’ll be fine picking up their checks and their reads and their defense. I think he’ll pick that up easily and won’t have any problems or issues. He’s a very instinctual player, also.

“Sometimes, putting a lot of pre-snap reads and all that kind of takes away from his instincts, and I hope they don’t do that because that’s part of our game. That’s what allowed us to be successful in Seattle — a lack of checks and the lack of reads and things like that. We just stand up there and go toe to toe.”

Of course, the Seahawks’ way worked as they established the most dominating defense in the NFL, and the Legion of Boom secondary was their chief asset. The Patriots clearly wanted Revis and Browner to link up with safety Devin McCourty to form a similarly daunting unit.

Sherman was fully onboard with the signing and believed the Pats could have the second or third best secondary in the NFL. Beyond 2014, if Revis happens to be a one-and-done rental, Sherman thought Browner could fulfil the role of being the Patriots’ No. 1 cornerback for the remainder of his three-year contract.

“I definitely think that’s the kind of player he can be, and I don’t think he’d have any problem embracing that role and coming into his own,” Sherman said. “I think he’s one of the most dynamic and underrated players in our football league.

“Man, he’s a great teammate.”