Tyrann Mathieu says Odell Beckham has Larry Fitzgerald hands

The Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants won’t be squaring off this afternoon (the Cardinals have a tougher matchup on tap against the Denver Broncos, while the Giants will try and roast the Atlanta Falcons defense after tearing apart the Washington Redskins pass D last week), but Cardinals star safety Tyrann Mathieu decided to kick some praise to another former LSU Tigers star. In fact, the “Honey Badger” even compared Odell Beckham Jr. to one of his current teammates: the legendary Larry Fitzgerald.

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Beckham Jr. is expected to make his long-awaited debut today against the Falcons after missing the first four weeks of the regular season (and most of August) with a hamstring injury that he kept aggravating. Although the Giants will limit him, we should be able to see some flashes of brilliance from the do-it-all first-round pick.

In an interview with the NFL Network’s Kimberly Jones, via NFL.com’s Kevin Patra, Mathieu stated that Odell Beckham Jr. has “hands like Larry Fitzgerald”, which is certainly high praise. Fitzgerald’s elite hands have been one of his many calling cards during his time in the NFL, and OBJ has incredibly sweet hands, especially when you take into account that he’s a playmaking type. His hands, underrated route-running, short-area quickness, and ability to win at the catch point can also allow him to function as a chain-mover if needed. The quickness and route-running, by the way, were two other things that Mathieu praised Beckham for.