Michael Rothstein, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Calvin Johnson calls Odell Beckham Jr.'s catch 'crazy'

ALLEN PARK, Mich. – Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson saw Odell Beckham Jr.’s catch a couple of weeks ago and, like almost everyone else who has viewed it, couldn’t really believe it.

At full extension and less-than-one-handed, the Giants' Beckham hauled the ball in and impressed Johnson, a receiver considered the best in the game right now.

“Everybody knows the catch he made a couple weeks ago,” Johnson said. “[It] was the craziest I’ve seen ever, probably.

“…I’ve never seen a catch like that. Extension and all, that’s crazy.”

Johnson said he and some of the Detroit Lions’ receivers practice one-handed catches occasionally when they are throwing the ball around, but nothing quite like what Beckham did.

Johnson wouldn’t compare it to perhaps one of the most impressive catches of his own career – one that made his mark on the college game at Georgia Tech. Against North Carolina State as a freshman, Johnson reached back in midair off a tipped pass from quarterback Reggie Ball and to this day doesn’t know how he caught it.

He did explain to ESPN.com last year how with those catches, there is really no way to practice those situations.

“In those things, it’s more reaction,” Johnson told ESPN.com last year. “I just happened to see the ball at the last point and just stuck my hand there and was able to snag it,” Johnson said. “There’s some things I do sometimes that I’m like, ‘Phew, thank God.’ “

Still, Johnson caught it with a whole hand. Beckham caught his with his fingertips.

“He stuck that one,” Johnson said. “That’s tough. They are different catches, but on this level, it’s pretty impressive.”

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