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          NFL Nation

          Kelvin Benjamin on Beckham's catch: 'It was about a 9'

          • David Newton, ESPN Staff WriterNov 24, 2014, 04:10 PM ET
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              David Newton is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Carolina Panthers. Newton began covering Carolina in 1995 and came to ESPN in 2006 as a NASCAR reporter before joining NFL Nation in 2013. You can follow Newton on Twitter at @DNewtonespn.
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          CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Carolina Panthers wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin would make a tough critic.

          Asked how he graded Sunday night's one-handed touchdown catch by New York Giants rookie Odell Beckham Jr. that some analysts called the best they'd seen, Benjamin left room for a better one.

          "On a scale of 1 to 10, it was about a 9," Benjamin said Monday.

          And what would have taken for Beckham, the 12th pick of the draft, to get that additional point?

          "Catch it with no eyes looking," Benjamin said.

          To be fair, Benjamin has been just as tough at grading some of his own spectacular catches. The 6-foot-5, 240-pound rookie out of Florida State gave his 26-yard touchdown in the opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a 7.

          "I mean, it was OK," Benjamin said after a fourth-quarter grab in which it was hard to figure out the ball got through the defender and into Benjamin's arms, and how Benjamin even saw it. "I'm pretty sure I'll make greater catches than that down the line."

          Benjamin did just that in a Week 2 victory over the Detroit Lions when he twisted his body nearly 180 degrees and caught a one-handed pass similar to Beckham's as he landed just inbounds for a 24-yard pickup.

          Then there was a 51-yard catch Benjamin made over the middle against the Seattle Seahawks with arguably the game's best cornerback (Richard Sherman) and safety (Earl Thomas) draped all over him. Sherman came over the top and had his arms around Benjamin's head to the point the ball barely was visible.

          And then there was a 22-yard touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons eight days ago. Benjamin, the 28th pick of the draft, had the ball go off his fingertips and up into the air, then hauled it in as he was going out of bounds with the defender draped over him.

          Told that catch was ranked below Beckham's on ESPN's "SportsCenter," Benjamin laughed and said, "I'm not an analyst."

          He also wouldn't call it the greatest catch he'd ever seen.

          "Man, why y'all always try to compare things?" Benjamin said.

          But he reiterated Beckham's grab was a "helluva catch."

          It just wasn't good enough to get a perfect 10 in his book.