PHOENIX _ Brandon Marshall has been on both sides of the issue of wide receiver maturity.
"I've been a problem," he said on Monday at the NFL's Annual Meeting in Arizona, "and I've also been a solution."
The Giants are hoping he can be the latter when it comes to dealing with Odell Beckham Jr. While Beckham's talents have been off the charts in his first three seasons with the Giants, the headaches also have been part of that bargain. Whether it was dangerous, misguided on-the-field duels with Josh Norman, ill-advised party trips to Miami prior to the start of the playoffs, or the hole in the wall at Lambeau Field that punctuated the 2016 season, issues often overshadow Beckham's play.
The Giants clearly feel Beckham needs to work more on developing as a person than a player at this point in his career. And that is part of the reason why Marshall is now his teammate.
Asked on Sunday whether Marshall would provide some leadership for Beckham, Giants co-owner John Mara said: "We hope so. With everybody, not just Odell. We have a young group there and he's had a lot of success for a long period of time and I think they'll respond to him."
Marshall said that has to happen at its own pace. He said he did not discuss that part of his role when he met with the Giants to sign earlier this month, but he's aware that is part of the job description.
"I have a wealth of experience and I just think organically and naturally whenever he needs _ not just him but any guy in the receiver room _ whenever they need to pull from that they'll do that in a natural, organic way," Marshall said. "We have to remember that Odell is what, 23, 24 years old? We all have our own journey."
Marshall used to be the sour apple for several teams. The Giants are his fifth organization, and he did not leave on good terms with many of them early in his career.
The Jets released him this offseason as part of their movement to younger players.
Since those early, tumultuous years, though, Marshall has evolved into a more steady locker room presence. That's why he was here at the league meetings, the only active player invited, to speak with owners and executives about the relationships between the players and front office.
And now, he'll have a hand in molding Beckham.
"He's the ultimate competitor and I want him to stay exactly where he's at," Marshall said. "Sometimes it's easy for us as football players and wide receivers to cross that line, but he'll grow. Next year he's not going to be perfect and the year after that he's not going to be perfect. Shoot, I'm 33 and every year I get better and better. I'm never perfect. I just want him to stay on the track that he's on and continue to mature.
