Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola have respect for 'stud' Odell Beckham Jr.

By Sam Galanis

FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots and New York Giants are rivals, but that doesn’t mean the players don’t appreciate talent when they see it.

The Pats will be going up against one of the best wide receivers in the NFL in Giants wideout Odell Beckham Jr. on Sunday, and a couple of New England’s receivers took a moment Thursday to admire the 23-year-old’s skills.

“He’s a great player, great athlete and can do a lot of things at the receiver position,” Danny Amendola said. “Catches the ball well, can run good routes and he’s tough. Mad respect to him.”

OBJ is best known for the incredible one-handed touchdown catch he made against the Dallas Cowboys last season, and Amendola said that’s not something that happens just from practice.

“As many drills as you want to do, it doesn’t really duplicate on the field during the game just because it’s different,” Amendola said. “You never really catch the same pass twice, and that pass especially, it was a great catch.”

Beckham ranks fourth in receiving yards among wideouts with 759 yards and is tied for first with Julian Edelman and the Arizona Cardinals’ Larry Fitzgerald with seven receiving touchdowns. But at the end of the day, Edelman knows it’s not Beckham the Patriots’ receivers should be worrying about.

“He’s a stud, unbelievable ball skills, he’s tough, great run after catch,” Edelman said Thursday. “He can do it all. But I don’t play against him. I play against (defensive backs), so we’ll see about that.”

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