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EAST RUTHERFORD Carl Banks Jerseys 2019 , N.J. (AP) — Rookie free agent tight end CJ Conrad might be the biggest surprise at the New York Giants‘ training camp.The University of Kentucky product is catching passes at practice every day, has shown he can block and even got a couple of first-team reps with Eli Manning and the first team last week.Not bad for a guy who was sent home from the NFL scouting combine because doctors were concerned he might have a heart issue.Conrad didn’t. He saw a cardiologist and was told to have a yearly screening. Conrad did not specify the exact issue.It’s the last thing on his mind now. He has been making an impression and will look to continue doing that when the Giants open their preseason against the rival Jets at MetLife Stadium on Thursday night.“My expectations were to come in here and compete at the highest level I possibly could and get better every single day,” Conrad said Monday. “I feel like I have done that so far. I still have a ways to go but I feel like I am getting better every day. That’s the mindset you have to have and that’s what you have to do.”There is no doubt Conrad faces an uphill battle to make the roster.Evan Engram, a first-round draft pick in 2017, played really well last year. He had 45 catches for 577 yards and three touchdowns in 11 games after overcoming knee and hamstring injuries.Veteran Rhett Ellison, a good blocker, had 25 catches for 272 yards and a touchdown, while Scott Simonson had nine catches for 86 yards and a touchdown.Conrad wasn’t concerned with the Giants’ roster when he signed after the draft. He knew his chances of being drafted were not good after being sent home from the combine. He picked a team that did not draft a tight end this year.Coming out of Kentucky, Conrad was considered one of the most underrated tight ends in the country. He caught 30 passes for 318 yards and three touchdowns in his senior year. The numbers weren’t eye-popping, but there was a reason for that.The Wildcats were a run-heavy team last season with Benny Snell Jr. rushing for 1,449 yards.“We were doing whatever it took to win the SEC and we were a program just trying to win games and change the program,” Conrad said. “We had a good running back and we really relied on our run game in the middle of the season.”Conrad understood his role and blocked. In fact, he liked it.“I found it fun over my years at Kentucky manhandling dudes and manhandling defenses,” he said. “It’s almost more satisfying to pancake someone than score your own touchdown.”Conrad had 80 catches for 1,015 yards and 12 touchdowns in his career, the second-most receiving TDs for a tight end in school history.Conrad comes from an athletic family. His mother and father, Lois and Mike, played basketball at Tiffan University. His brother, Austin, plays football at Ohio University. His sister White Phil McConkey Jerseys , Mackenzie, played softball at Akron and Coastal Carolina.The pickup games in the backyard were intense.“That’s where I get my competitive edge,” he said. “We got after each other, especially me and my brother.”Conrad said he just wants to keep working and improving.“Right now is football only,” Conrad said. “That’s my mindset and how I’m attacking it every day.”NOTES: OT Brian Mihalik left practice with a stinger. … LB Zak DeOssie and DB Michael Thomas were excused from practice to handle players’ union business. … WR Golden Tate will have the appeal of his four-game suspension for using an illegal substance heard on Tuesday. He used a fertility drug prescribed by a doctor. … DL B.J. Hill missed practice because of the birth of a son.Odell Beckham contract carries responsibilities with it One of the big reasons the New York Giants felt comfortable entering into negotiations that ended up making Odell Beckham Jr. the highest-paid wide receiver in NFL history is that they were impressed by how Beckham handled the last few months. It made them believe that at age 25 and coming off the first serious injury of his life, that Beckham had finally found the maturity the Giants have been looking for him to display.“I think Odell personally is moving in the right direction,” co-owner John Mara said at the beginning training camp when he acknowledged that contract negotiations would be coming. “It certainly had an effect on our desire to start negotiating. So, he’s had the right attitude all along and we expect him to have a great season.”Now that Beckham has that mega-deal, one that puts him 10th in the NFL in terms of guaranteed money at $65 million, second among non-quarterback to Von Miller ($70 million) and just behind Eli Manning ($67 million) Beckham has responsibilities beyond being a great player.Beckham is the face of the Giants franchise. That used to be Manning, but in reality it’s been Beckham for a while. One day, that mantel will pass to Saquon Barkley. The historic commitment the Giants just made to one of the two most talented players to ever wear a Giants uniform — the other, of course, being Lawrence Taylor — places that responsibility officially on Beckham.And it is a responsibility.Mara said Tuesday that it was “important” for the Giants to see how well Beckham handled the last few months.“I think he’s matured quite a bit. I think that stuff [off the field distractions] hopefully is in the past,” Mara said. “I think he’s ready to go on and be the type of player and citizen that we expect him to be, and I think he will be.” The numbers show just how historically good Beckham has been, especially of course in his first three seasons. In those first three seasons, Beckham netted more than 1,300 receiving yards, 10+ touchdowns and 90+ receptions each year.His records include:Most receptions through the first 15 games of an NFL career (110)Fastest player to reach 100 career receptions (14 games)Youngest player in NFL history (22 years Phil McConkey Jerseys 2019 , 53 days) with multiple games having 10+ catches in a single season (4)First player since 1967 with 30 receiving touchdowns in his first 35 gamesOnly receiver with 3,000 receiving yards or more in his first 30 games (3,035)Only player in NFL history to reach 200 catches in 30 or less gamesSecond-most touchdowns by a wide receiver in his first two NFL seasons (since 1992)Second-most 60+ yard touchdowns (9) by a wide receiver in a three-year spanBeckham also holds Giants franchise records for most receptions (91) by a rookie, most rookie receiving yards (1,305) and touchdown catches (12) by a rookie and is already 10th on franchise’s all-time receptions list.He is a great player. He’s lightning, a guy turns the ordinary into the extraordinary in the blink of an eye.What Beckham needs to do now is keep the focus on those extraordinary talents. He needs to show that the last few months were a real sign of a maturing person and not just an orchestrated effort to be on his best behavior so that he would get paid.There can’t be any more boat trips. No more peeing in the end zone celebrations that embarrass the head coach, especially one like Pat Shurmur who has gone way above and beyond in an effort to forge a bond with Beckham. There can’t be any more on-field meltdowns that lead to suspensions.There has to be a Beckham who focuses solely on displaying those extraordinary gifts he has on the field. A Beckham who leads his teammates, teammates who love him and want him to lead them. A Beckham who represents the Giants, an iconic NFL franchise, the way such a franchise deserves to be represented.A Beckham who’s purpose is to help the Giants win football games, to win titls, and who doesn’t find ways to draw attention to himself for things that have nothing to do with how wonderfully gifted he is.Beckham’s legacyBeckham know what he wants his legacy to be.“This [contract] is kind of just something that you get out of the way,” Beckham said of the five-year contract extension he signed yesterday. “Honestly, it sounds crazy enough, but I don’t think I’ve done anything really since I’ve been here. I have goals for myself. I don’t think I have truly been able to achieve them, even with the success that I’ve had. It’s not really where I want to be. Like I said, before I was even in the NFL I wanted to be legendary. Yeah the money is great, you can take care of your family, you can take care of kids one day that you’ll possibly have. But my goal was always to be in the Hall of Fame, to win trophies White Mark Bavaro Jerseys , to be able to leave a legacy that will be remembered way past any money that you make.”Some things will have to be different if he is to be remembered the way he wants to be.Beckham was asked directly if he felt he had matured. His answer?“Do you see this polo? I’m growing up,” he said. “Honestly, it just was something that, I won’t say proud of anything that’s ever happened, but I’m able to take everything that’s happened for me and make myself into a man and learn from those mistakes and be able to look myself in the mirror and have to deal with those things. It wasn’t the best thing to happen to me to date, but what I got to learn and take and grow from, was everything that I needed in my life and now I’m able to take that and keep going forward and just be the best me that I can be.”Does he feel added responsibility because of the money?“I don’t know if it puts any extra that I haven’t already put on myself. Coming in early in training camp, being able to be here and knowing where I’m at in life, and knowing that I do need to be a leader, and there are guys that are watching me and I need to be there on days that I need to be bringing energy somewhere else,” Beckham said. “I don’t know if it’s any extra responsibility that I didn’t already put on myself going into this year, year five, being a vet. I couldn’t say it was any extra, but I know that my goals are if not the same, higher. I just want to be able to be my very, very best.”Beckham’s “very, very best,” on and off the field is what the Giants are paying for. Right now, there is lots of optimism that they will get it.