Tate will not try to be OBJ

Golden Tate respects Odell Beckham Jr.’s talent but does not look at this as trying to fill the shoes of an irreplaceable star and larger-than-life figure.

It’s simpler than that for Tate. It’s about giving the Giants his best while playing in the same stadium in East Rutherford where he beat Eli Manning’s older brother in Super Bowl XLVIII as a Seattle Seahawk in February 2014.

“Odell’s a tremendous talent,” Tate, 30, said in his first interview as a Giant on a Friday afternoon conference call. “He’s a buddy of mine. I enjoy watching him. I love his game. He’s a complete receiver… Great personality. Very likable.

“As far as me,” Tate continued, “I’m just coming in to do my job, put my head down and work … I try not to compare myself to anyone. I’m my own unique player. I want to do my job and not put too much pressure on anyone, on myself.”

Tate said the Giants “wish Odell the best of luck over in Cleveland, and I’m sure he’s gonna do great things like he did here in New York. But I’m extremely excited to be a part of such an historic, strong, winning organization.”

That last part, though, winning. Tate thinks the Giants can do that after missing the playoffs six of the last seven seasons?

“I don’t think we’re as far off as people think or seem to think we are,” Tate said. “I do believe we can win. We’re not starting from square one.”

Time will tell, but Tate’s comments only reinforce that the Giants pitched to Tate that they expect to compete in 2019, something Tate needed to hear heading into free agency from Philadelphia.

“I want to go to a team that has a chance, if I don’t stay here,” Tate said in January. “My years are limited. I don’t have time to go to someone that’s trying to rebuild. I need to go somewhere where they believe they can win now, they have solid pieces.”

Of course, the Steelers and Patriots reportedly had interest in Tate also, so the Giants’ whopping four-year, $37.5 million contract with $23 million fully guaranteed certainly didn’t hurt.