The New York Giants have added a big body receiver in Brandon Marshall. Eli Manning compared Marshall to a former Giants great: Plaxico Burress.
Eli Manning has thrown to a number of high-quality wide receivers during his tenure with the New York Giants. Only a select few have earned the label of elite, but those who garnered that hype helped Manning achieve extraordinary success.
If you ask Manning, recent signee Brandon Marshall could be the next in the brief line of wide receivers who help make a significant impact in the win column.
Manning has a superstar wideout in Odell Beckham Jr. and a lethal slot receiver in Sterling Shepard. Both of those players stand below 6’0″ tall, however, which created an inevitable need for size in the receiver corps.
According to Paul Schwartz of The New York Post, Manning compared the 6’4″ and 230-pound Marshall to one of the greatest receivers in Giants history: Plaxico Burress.
"“I think Plaxico was kind of the last one similar to that size,’’ Manning said. “They can be open when they’re not really open. You don’t want to get into a habit, it’s not a jump-ball but you can throw him open. He’s been in lots of offenses and he gets open a lot of different ways, very disciplined in his route-running and understanding concepts. I think he’ll be good for that receiver room and in our locker room, having that veteran presence.’’"
One can only hope that Marshall and Manning experience as much success together as Manning and Burress were able to.
Burress played four seasons with Manning and the Giants. During that time, he appeared in 57 regular season games and amassed 244 receptions for 3,681 yards and 33 touchdowns on an average of 15.1 yards per catch.
Burress had two seasons in New York with at least 1,000 receiving yards, as well as two seasons with at least 10 receiving touchdowns.
Most importantly, Burress caught the game-winning touchdown from Manning during Super Bowl XLII.
Marshall has never played in a postseason game, but he’s one of the most productive players in NFL history. He boasts career marks of 941 receptions, 12,061 receiving yards, and 82 receiving touchdowns in 167 games played.
With 59 more catches, Marshall would become the 15th player in NFL history to pull in at least 1,000 career receptions. He’s already one of 25 players in league history to amass at least 12,000 receiving yards.
Although Beckham is one of the best jump ball receivers in the NFL, Marshall’s size and strength make him a more natural target—just like Burress was.
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With Eli Manning as his quarterback, Brandon Marshall could have a Plaxico Burress type of year with the New York Giants.