EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - Playing in the shadow of three-time Pro Bowl receiver Odell Beckham Jr. isn’t going to be a problem for Brandon Marshall.
After watching Beckham astound fans and New York Giants’ teammates with his one-hand catches and big plays in the first three weeks of training camp, the 33-year-old Marshall realizes his fellow wide receiver is in a class by himself.
A perfect example was Tuesday during the last practice open to season ticket holders. The 6-foot-5 Marshall made an outstanding one-handed catch of an Eli Manning pass in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown. Normally, it would have been considered one of the catches of camp.
Unfortunately for Marshall, it paled in comparison to the one-handed snag Beckham made the previous day.
Marshall has made other nice catches since signing with the Giants in the offseason, but there’s that guy on the other end of the line with gold cleats and colorful hair.
“Obviously they’re overlooked because we have 13 on the other side, and he makes ’SportsCenter’ top five every day,” Marshall joked. “So, you won’t see what Sterling Shepard and Evan (Engram) are doing and myself. So, we have been making some plays all around, and it’s fun because when you have a special talent like that on the other side, it brings the competition level up. So, we even challenge each other in our room. When you have one of the best players ever, he makes everybody on the team great.”
Marshall, who has 941 catches and 82 touchdowns in his career, is still learning a lot about Beckham, Manning and all his new teammates.
He’s discovered that the 24-year-old Beckham is somewhat of a coach and a player who cares about his teammates. He recalled Beckham saying a prayer for a young receiver who was hurt at practice.
“Sometimes I want to say, ’Bro, you know I’m going on 12 years in the league, why are you talking to me about where my eyes and my hands are?’” Marshall said after practice. “But the guy knows the game, he cares about his teammates, and really he’s a coach out there. He really understands the game and I appreciate him trying to get us all better.”
Marshall seems to have the greatest respect for the 36-year-old Manning, a two-time Super Bowl MVP. When Eli wants to talk offense, Marshall listens.
A route can result in a completion, but Marshall said Manning might talk to him about it because he was a step off running it.
“We may be talking about what type of cereal we’re going to have, and he may just switch the subject to some type of football,” Marshall said. “So, I really can’t answer that. Literally we just got out of the shower, we had towels on, and he was pretty much half-dressed, and he started giving me signals.”
Coach Ben McAdoo got on Marshall in practice Tuesday for not being aggressive enough on another fade pattern in the end zone.
“He’s a tremendous communicator,” McAdoo said of Marshall. “Communication is not just a one-way street. It’s a two-way street. There’s input and there’s output.”
Marshall insists there will be enough passes for all the Giants receivers because double teams will open things up for the other wideouts. He noted whether he was playing in Denver, Miami, Chicago or the Jets, all the leading receivers were able to catch between 80 and 100 passes, or even more.
“You want a dog on the other side if you’re a No. 1 one receiver because if you’re the only guy that can play, they’re going to double and triple you, and it’s going to be hard to get the ball,” said Marshall, who has caught at least 100 passes in six seasons, the last in 2015.
The Giants certainly have more than enough targets if Manning gets time to throw the ball.
NOTES: Halfway through practice, starting MLB B.J. Goodson left with a back issue. … Free agent rookie Calvin Munson replaced him. … S Landon Collins was sidelined with an illness. … QB Geno Smith and RB Wayne Gallman had to run a lap after fumbling an exchange. … DT Corbin Bryant (injury) was placed on injured reserve. … Giants signed LB Steven Daniels, who was released by the Eagles on Saturday.
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