Player Profile – New York Giants Wide Receiver Victor Cruz

Name – Victor Cruz

Position – Wide Receiver

Team – New York Giants

Height – 6-foot

Age – 25

College – University of Massachusetts

Drafted – Undrafted

Victor Cruz grew up not too far away from the Meadowlands in Patterson, New Jersey. After finishing his high school studies, Cruz traveled north to study at the University of Massachusetts, where he was a prolific receiver managing to get fourth on the all-time receptions list for the Minutemen.

When he went undrafted in 2010, Cruz sought out to prove himself. He was signed by the New York Giants, who were hoping to strike lightning in a bottle. Cruz delivered early with a big 3 touchdown performance in a preseason against the crosstown rival New York Jets, which all but cemented his place on the team. Unfortunately, his momentum was robbed early in the season by a hamstring injury and Cruz was placed on injured reserve after only three games of his rookie season.

When the 2011 season came around, Cruz had to prove himself once again. With rumors that former wide receiver Plaxico Burress might be coming to the team, Cruz knew he had to step up if he wanted to keep his place on the team. Fortunately for him, Burress signed for better money with the Jets. Cruz saw this as an opportunity and never looked back.

But Cruz needed more luck — Dominik Hixon and Mario Manningham were still ahead of him in the pecking order. That was until Hixon went down with a season-ending injury early in the preseason and Manningham was also injured early, forcing the Giants to give Cruz a larger role. He didn’t disappoint, scoring the first two touchdowns of his NFL career against division rivals the Philadelphia Eagles in his first game as #2 receiver.

Cruz went from strength to strength in the 2011 season and capped it off in week 16 with a record-tying 99 yard touchdown against the Jets. What was unique about this touchdown was the yards after catch. He originally caught the ball on his own 11 yard line before sprinting a full 89 yards for the historic touchdown.

By the end of the season, Victor Cruz was the all-time franchise record holder for receiving yards in a season having amassed 1,536 yards in only 7 official starts, but he did suit up for all 16 games. He then followed up when the pressure came in the NFC Championship Game with 10 receptions for 142 yards – making all these catches in the first half.

Victor Cruz is a player on the rise and is putting up Pro Bowl  numbers on a grocery boy’s salary. Expect the Giants to sign him to a long term extension quickly, if his production keeps up.

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