Manning: Beckham '98 percent' perfect, but 'figuring it out' on maturity

Eli Manning defended his New York Giants teammate Odell Beckham Jr. against accusations Beckham's immaturity is hurting the team, but said Beckham still has something to learn in that area.

"Ninety-eight percent of the things he does is perfect," Manning told the hosts of ESPN's Mike & Mike. "His practice, his preparation, all those things, he's what you want."

Manning admitted the 23-year-old Beckham brings "antics off the field," like his trip to Miami the week of the Giants' wild-card game against the Green Bay Packers, but said Beckham is learning how to prevent causing a distraction for his teammates.

"That's just football. Everybody kind of has a dance, everybody has something going on and that's fine. I think it does get blown up in the New York media. You've got a thousand people jumping on him, everybody's watching him. He's got to realize that everybody's looking at him and everything he does is going to be a story.

"If they're going to make a story out of it, make sure it's just the positive stuff and it's not a distraction to the team. He's figuring it out."