The New York Giants have one of the top receivers in the NFL in Odell Beckham Jr., and at many times this season, he has been the only legitimate weapon at Eli Manning’s disposal. When the undefeated Carolina Panthers come to town on Sunday their own defensive weapon, cornerback Josh Norman will be charged with shutting OBJ down. Despite the rhetoric from the coaching staff this week, the Giants would be best served by trying to avoid that matchup as much as possible and moving Beckham into the slot.

OBJ has had unprecedented success in his young career. Through his first 25 games, Beckham has more receptions and more receiving yards than any player in NFL history. So it is understandable why the Giants have liked their matchup against every top corner they have faced this season. Norman, however, has had success in his own right.

When Norman has faced the league’s top receivers this season, they have been all but shut down. The players with the most success have been Houston Texans’ DeAndre Hopkins and Atlanta Falcons’ Julio Jones, and neither of them got out of the game with more than 35 receiving yards to show for it. The Dallas Cowboys’ Dez Bryant managed just one catch for six yards and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Mike Evans was silenced completely.

Staring those daunting stats in the face, Ben McAdoo still likes Beckham’s chances. “We’re going to play our game,” McAdoo told NJ.com. “We’re not going to shy away from anybody. We’ll pick our spots at times, but we’re not going to back down from any challenges.” While his confidence is admirable, if OBJ is simply removed from the offense, chances are there won’t be much offense left. Panthers head coach Ron Rivera has used Norman to shadow at times this season, but depending on the situation, he will typically stay on the outside.

If the Giants want to successfully move the ball down the field, they need Beckham to work out of the slot. Carolina’s slot cornerback was Bené Benwikere until he broke his leg last week. Whoever takes his place, it will be a better matchup than Norman. If Norman follows Beckham, so be it, but moving Beckham around is just smarter football than rolling the dice against the best cornerback in the NFL right now.

Beckham has played well out of the slot this season. According to Pro Football Focus, OBJ has played out of the slot 23.7 percent of the time, and of those 120 snaps, he’s caught 29 passes for two touchdowns. He’s also targeted more when he plays in the slot than when he’s on the outside. Statistically, avoiding Norman benefits Manning as well. When quarterbacks target Norman, he gives them a lower QB rating than any other corner in the league.

“We’ll see what their game plan is and see how they want to try to slow us down,” Manning said. “So we’ll have to adjust from there.” It sounds like Manning has no problem shifting Beckham wherever works the best for the offense. If the Giants want a chance at the upset on Sunday, they should use OBJ where he has the best opportunity for success — in the slot.

Christopher Schwarz is a New York Giants beat writer and NFL Coverage writer for www.RantSports.com. You can follow him on Twitter.