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Victor Cruz has a 1500 yard season to his name. He has a 10 TD season to his name. He was THE feel good story of the league. He was the guy the burst on the scene out of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and never looked back...until last year.
Two years ago Cruz was a mid-round draft pick. He was the best receiver on a solid Giants offense and played with a quarterback that trusted him fully. He had a bit of a down year in 2013, if racking up 998 yards while playing only 14 games can be considered a down year, and that made him a rebound candidate for last season. So, why is he on this list again?
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Cruz had a horrific knee injury trying to grab a TD in Philadelphia, suffering a torn patellar tendon and ending his 2014 season almost instantly. The injury put his status for 2015 in some doubt, though everything seems to be going well on his path to recovery so far. He avoided the PUP list to start camp and has looked "solid" so far even though he is on a "pitch count" of sorts as far as practice snaps go.
OK, now that we have refreshed our memory, let's start to look forward to 2015. While Cruz may never return to his previous level of athleticism or output (I think the 1500 yard seasons are behind us), there has been a lot of change in Cruz' on-field situation. Change that should be a good thing for 2015's version of Victor Cruz.
First, let's talk about the quarterback situation. You may be saying to yourself, Eli Manning is still the quarterback, nothing has changed there. Well, you are right in a sense, but this isn't the same Eli Manning from Cruz' last healthy season in 2013. 2013 Eli Manning threw a league leading and career high 27 picks. 2013 Eli Manning only threw 18 touchdowns and 2013 Eli Manning had the worst QB Rating of his career. 2013 Eli Manning was also playing injured, opting to push surgery on his ankle to the offseason. Maybe Eli Manning should be blamed more for Victor Cruz' "down year" in 2013. Shift to 2014, where Eli didn't just improve on all of his numbers from 2013, he put up arguably the best season of his career posting one of his best QB Ratings and 30 touchdowns all while learning a new offense and playing with unfamiliar weapons. Advantage to Cruz in 2015 with an improved Eli.
As mentioned above, Eli was playing with unfamiliar weapons including a newly signed RB Rashad Jennings (who then got hurt leaving a sorry group of backs behind Eli for part of the season), a first time starter tight-end in Larry Donnell, and a rookie 1st round WR in Odell Beckham Jr. All of these new pieces thrived to some extent, but one clearly stood out above the others. Odell Beckham Jr., aka OBJ, became one of the leagues most dynamic pass catchers reeling in 91 balls for 1305 yards and 12 TD's in just 12 games. He is undoubtedly now the Giants #1 receiver and a top 5 fantasy WR. Some will argue that OBJ commanding the ball will be a detriment to Victor Cruz' success. What those people are forgetting is that Victor Cruz' best season in 2011 was as a #2 receiver behind Hakeem Nicks. Since that season, Cruz has seen a ton of double coverage as the Giants #1. That pressure will be off this year as teams will key on OBJ, leaving Cruz free to beat single coverage both on the outside and in the slot. Advantage to Cruz in 2015 with the improved supporting cast.
Finally, the new offense. While much of Eli's improvement in 2014 can be attributed to being healthier and the emergence of OBJ as a star, some credit has to go to Green Bay Packers transplant Ben McAdoo, entering his second year as the Giants offensive coordinator. Gone are the days of the predictable Kevin "KillDrive" Gilbride vanilla play calls. McAdoo stepped in last season and installed a west coast style offense that has thrived throughout the league. Again, the results were clear just through the improvement of Eli and emergence of OBJ, but I believe there is still untapped offensive potential here. McAdoo's teams in Green Bay had not only the star #1 receiver in Jordy Nelson, but also featured a versatile playmaker in Randall Cobb. Honestly, I don't like comparing players to each other very often, but if OBJ is the Jordy Nelson of this Giants offense, Victor Cruz certainly fits the bill of being the Randall Cobb. Cobb put up nearly 1300 yards and 12 TD's as the #2 option in the Packers west-coast attack last season in the role that Cruz should now be playing for the Giants. Advantage to Cruz in 2015 with the improved scheme and role.
The fact of the matter is I'm not worried one bit about Cruz' situation. The combination of an improved Eli Manning, better supporting cast, and far-superior offensive ideology puts Cruz in position to be a very successful WR in 2015. For me, he's a player you can get in the late rounds of a draft and given good health, will produce as an upside WR-3 in a 12 team league.
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