Brandon Marshall says the Patriots have the NFL's very best WRs on 'The Herd'

Published Feb. 2, 2017 3:27 p.m. ET

Andrew Lynch

We've previously discussed why people consistently underrate the New England Patriots' wide receivers, courtesy of Hall of Famer Cris Carter and the Make Me Smarter podcast.

The answer is, of course, a bit uncomfortable. As Carter said, the Patriots don't get their due credit in part because they're white — and he's far from alone in that sentiment.

On Thursday, current New York Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall joined Colin Cowherd on The Herd live from Discovery Green in Houston for Super Bowl LI (Sunday, 2:00 PM ET, FOX and FOX Sports GO) to talk about New England's pass-catchers, calling the Patriots the single best receiving corps in the NFL this season and naming Julian Edelman the toughest player in the league.

MARSHALL: I love their receivers. I love Edelman. He's my third man crush. He is Steve Smith. That's who he is. But like Deion [Sanders] said yesterday, it's like reverse racism. Because he's white, he doesn't get the love he deserves. We all come on TV and we say, "They have no receivers." This guy's a top-ten receiver. [Chris] Hogan? Yeah, he may be on his fifth team or whatever it is, but this guy's a baller.

I got the opportunity to play against him last year in Buffalo, and I went up to him after the game and I said, "Bro, you're a stud. Now give me that jersey." So much respect for that guy. [...]

The best wide receiver group in the business this year, because they play together, it's complementary football. You have tight ends, you have running backs — and I'm putting everybody in there. The tight ends, running backs, and the receivers. They have a deep threat in Hogan. They have Julian Edelman, who has the biggest route tree in all of football. This is the guy that can run every single route. He can take a five-yard option route and take it 40. He can catch a ball over the shoulder. He can go and catch it back shoulder from Tom Brady. This guy is amazing.

He's the toughest player in football. Edelman's the toughest guy in football. He gets in your face and he doesn't care who you are.