Bennett to Eli: Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy ...

Martellus Bennett learned a lot about being a tight end from Jason Witten during his time in Dallas. Perhaps the biggest lesson: Establish a close relationship with the quarterback.

Witten and Tony Romo are known to be best buds, and since he arrived with the Giants, Bennett has been trying to push himself on Eli Manning. He texts the quarterback odd thoughts at odd hours of the day and goes through other gestures to try to endear himself to Manning.

“It's like having a new girlfriend,” Bennett said of courting his new quarterback. “You want to go to dinner dates to get to know her better and have a good conversation with her. If he's sitting down at lunch and there's like four people sitting at the table, I just pull an extra chair and make the extra room sit next to him. Even if we just talk about life. I just want to be around him as much as possible so that he understands me and the things that I'm trying to do.”

So are Bennett’s texts to Eli returned?

“He does text back,” Bennett said. “Thank God. Sometimes, you try to date somebody and you text them: ‘Hey babe what are you doing today?’ She’ll text you back (with a curt message). You know, you’re kind of sad. You’re like ‘Damn, did I do something wrong?’ He usually texts me back something sentimental and powerful. We got a good relationship, and it’s only grown.”

Bennett said he never had that kind of relationship with Romo.

“No, I just got his number my last year on the team,” Bennett laughed. “But Tony is a great guy. He’s funny. But Witten is his best friend, so I learned something from that relationship and I’ll try to be this guy’s best friend (pointing to Eli). The tight end should always be the quarterback’s best friend.”