Dave Birkett

Detroit Free Press

Darius Slay's son is like most young football fans in that he loves watching Odell Beckham Jr. highlights.

But Slay, the Detroit Lions cornerback, said his son doesn't like watching Beckham's highlights more than his.

"Nah," Slay said Wednesday. "He’d get on punishment for that."

Logic stands to reason that Slay will spend a large part of Sunday's game against the New York Giants covering Beckham.

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Slay is the Lions' best cornerback, after all, in the middle of a Pro Bowl-caliber year. And Beckham is one of the biggest stars in the NFL, someone Slay listed among the game's top receivers Wednesday along with Antonio Brown and Julio Jones.

"Odell's right there, too, though," Slay said after initially naming Brown and Jones as the top non-Lions receivers in the league. "It can be either one. But I like AB's game, too, though."

Brown got the better of Slay during a joint practice with the Pittsburgh Steelers this August, a matchup that Slay conceded was "a big measuring stick" at the time.

Slay said he doesn't view Sunday's game against Beckham in the same light, even though Beckham is the best wide receiver on the Lions' schedule this year.

Through 13 games, Beckham ranks fourth in the NFL with 1,109 yards receiving and nine touchdowns. He's tied for the league lead with six catches of 40-plus yards. And his 222 yards receiving against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 5 is the second highest total by any player this year.

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"He’s just great with the ball, man," Slay said. "Like you saw in the Dallas game (last week). It wasn’t going good, he dropped about three balls. Next thing you know took a slant 60 (for a touchdown). Big game-changer guy, can easily take the top off your defense. We just got to be a defense that just can contain him and just play ball."

Slay said he won't ask Lions coaches to travel with Beckham this week, but certainly will be up for the challenge if that's what the gameplan calls for him to do.

And Lions coach Jim Caldwell said he won't remind players, Slay included, that Beckham can be an emotional player and not to get involved in extra curriculars on the field.

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Slay, who shared a heated verbal exchange with Dez Bryant during the 2014 playoffs - "He got to humble up," Slay said Wednesday - said he has no interest in getting into a trash-talking war with Beckham this week.

"I mean, I can talk," Slay said. "But it got to be - ain’t none of that kind of stuff he had going on with whoever. None of that."

Beckham and Josh Norman feuded on field last year in a game that included both verbal and physical sparring,. Beckham had three penalties, two drops and no catches in the first half of that game, but eventually rebounded to catch the game-tying touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Slay said he won't go into the game trying to get under Beckham's skin.

"No, that’s not a gameplan for me," Slay said. "No. I’m just playing ball. Me winning the down’s getting under your skin. So I ain’t got to talk to get under nobody’s skin."

Slay, who signed a four-year, $52 million contract extension with the Lions in July, has won downs more often than not of late. He has two interceptions and a forced fumble this year, and two of his turnovers have set up game-winning Matt Prater field goals.

Though Slay said Wednesday he believes he's playing at a Pro Bowl level, he said being picked for the NFL's annual all-star game is not the goal it once was for him. Last year, Slay said he thought he deserved to go to the game and was miffed when he was passed over.

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"As long as my teammates really see me as a Pro Bowl player I ain’t really worried because I feel like it’s a politic thing anyway," Slay said. "Is the Pro Bowl even in Hawaii anymore?"

Reminded the game has been moved to Orlando, Slay said, "So it’s really pointless. That’s why I wanted to go. That’s why I wanted to go. I’d rather just get the all-pro status and don’t go Pro Bowl cause I really just wanted to go to Hawaii. I really just wanted to go to Hawaii for the free."

Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

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