ALLEN PARK, Mich. – Darius Slay often likes to say he’s the best – or close to it – at everything. Video games? Yep. Dancing? Uh-huh. He considers himself one of the top defensive backs in the NFL, too. But the Detroit Lions cornerback did concede one this week to New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

Beckham’s hair. It’s better than Slay’s.

“His stuff bounces," Slay said. "Mine just sticks up."

Slay will be focused on way more than hair Sunday when he faces Beckham and the Giants, though. Even though he downplayed it a little bit this week, these are the type of matchups Slay loves. He likes to test himself against players he considers the best at their position, and Slay put Beckham in the top three receivers in the NFL this week along with Julio Jones and Antonio Brown.

So he knows it’ll be a test.

“He’s just great with the ball, man,” Slay said. “You saw in the Dallas game, it wasn’t going so good. He dropped about three balls and the next thing you know he takes a slant 60. Big, game-changing guy, man, and easy to split, take the top off your defense.”

Slay wouldn’t say whether he’ll travel around the field with Beckham this week – it’s not something he does all the time – but he has said he favors traveling as a cornerback because it allows him to really dig in to one player’s specific tendencies. Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin strongly hinted Thursday that Slay won't travel with Beckham, in part because the Giants like to move Beckham both inside to the slot and to the outside.

Slay doesn't play in the slot, so that would immediately eliminate him from trailing him the entire game. But the Lions are very aware of the big plays Beckham can make.

"He’s like a video game," Austin said. "I’ll tell you, sometimes you look at it and you go, well, he shouldn’t be able to get by, these are NFL guys and you’re seeing him make this play, and he gets by them. So he’s a special talent. I don’t think anybody -- he’s been doing this for the last three years -- so I don’t think anybody underestimates him.

"I just think that he’s a special player, and we’ve got to make sure that we try to contain him the best we can so he doesn’t have those breakouts.”

The last time Slay faced Beckham was in 2012, when Beckham was still at LSU and Slay was in his final year at Mississippi State. Slay didn’t travel with receivers then – he had Bears cornerback Johnthan Banks as his other cornerback – so it’s not entirely clear how often the two matched up. Beckham also had Jarvis Landry opposite him.

But Beckham had four catches for 55 yards in that game. Slay had four tackles and one pass breakup.

“He’s a lengthy, tall corner,” Beckham said. “He plays the ball well and is playing at a high level. I think just like everyone else, as you get older, you get better. You can definitely see that he’s improved. He’s playing at a high level right now.”

And it’ll make for one of the most interesting matchups of the year for Slay – the first in a string of them over the final three weeks of the season. After Beckham, he’ll likely face Dez Bryant with Dallas. Then he’ll get a combination of Jordy Nelson and potentially Randall Cobb against Green Bay.

One thing Beckham does differently, though, is trash talk. Slay will often talk on the field, but hardly ever negatively. He has his Dikembe Mutumbo-inspired finger wag after a pass breakup or an interception, but that’s usually as far as he goes.

So he’s not planning on getting into it with Beckham, who is known for his talking as well as his play.

“I mean, I can talk, but none of that kind of stuff he had going on with whoever,” Slay said. “... My joking is talking trash. Whoever is in front of me, if I got a joke for you, I’m going to give it to you.”

But will he try to get into Beckham’s head?

“Nah, that’s not a game plan for me. I’m just playing ball,” Slay said. “So me winning the down is getting under your skin. So I don’t have to talk to get under your skin.”