Odell Beckham Jr. Comments on Ron Rivera Comparing WR to Jerry Rice

New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has had one of the greatest starts in NFL history, catching 176 passes and 24 touchdowns in his first 25 games—not to mention he made one of the greatest catches ever as a rookie in 2014.

As the Giants prepare to take on the undefeated Carolina Panthers in Week 15, Carolina head coach Ron Rivera compared Beckham on Wednesday to arguably the greatest receiver the game has ever seen, per Bill Pennington of the New York Times: “I’ve had the great fortune of watching Jerry Rice, and man, I see a lot of flashes. I played against Jerry. I see a lot of flashes in Odell’s game, and I think he’s a tremendous football player.”

Per ESPN.com (via Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk), Beckham was unsurprisingly flattered by the comparison: "To be mentioned in the same sentence as Jerry Rice is still shocking to me. That’s the direction you want to go. I’m nowhere near there, but I do appreciate the compliment.”

Here is how Beckham and the Hall of Fame San Francisco 49ers great compare through their first 25 games:

Player	Games	Receptions	Yards	TD
Jerry Rice	25	91	1,801	12
Odell Beckham Jr.	25	176	2.625	24

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Beckham has become the most prolific receiver through 25 games in NFL history:   

Obviously, Beckham's numbers are impressive, but this kind of talent needs to be sustained for years for someone to become one of the all-time greats.

Rice had 22 touchdowns his third year in the league and finished his career with 1,549 receptions and 197 touchdowns—both current NFL records.

Beckham is on pace for 105 receptions, 1,624 yards and 15 touchdowns this year. Rice had 1,600-plus yards only once in his career.

The Giants, despite being 6-7, still have a shot to win the NFC East division. If Beckham has a big game against shutdown corner Josh Norman and the Giants are able to hand Carolina its first loss, the former LSU Tigers star's status will jump.

Of course, that's much easier said than done, per Kimberly Jones of NFL.com:

No one will blame Beckham if he doesn't have a great game, but given his success, it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see him continue it.

Per Pennington, Rivera seems to be in the camp of those who expect Beckham to succeed no matter what: “He really has an opportunity to be one of those guys who you’ll start talking about."

While true, that ship has already sailed.