Week 8- With Hakeem Nicks returning to full healthy, expect Cruz’s production to take a natural decline. He’s still a WR1 based on his performance so far this season, but no longer an elite one.
Week 5- With Hakeem Nicks out again, expect Cruz to have a big game. Hixon has proven himself as worthy of taking attention away from Cruz, so Cruz may not have as much attention on him as he has the past two games. Keep him in your lineup as a WR1.
Week 4- Eli Manning seems to either have a huge game or a horrible game, and this will likely be one of the bad ones. The Eagles’ secondary is completely legit and has a great chance at shutting Cruz down in this one.
Week 1 – Cruz may have just earned himself much more attention from opposing defenses with his breakout 2011 campaign. I don’t expect Cruz to repeat last seasons totals, but until proven otherwise he has to be considered at least a low-end WR1. Start him in week 1, and he likely will put up good, not great, numbers. Despite Nicks’ foot injury, we still prefer Cruz’s teammate to him in week 1.
Victor Cruz caught 82 balls for a Giants record 1,536 yards in 2011 as the slot receiver. Now with Mario Manningham out of New York, and Hakeem Nicks sidelined in training camp (and possibly more) Cruz should once again be the Giants leading receiver. We like him as a low #1 or high #2 WR for your fake squad this year and recommend picking him up in the 4th or 5th rounds of fantasy drafts.
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – NOVEMBER 20: (L-R) Mario Manningham #82 and Victor Cruz #80 of the New York Giants celebrate after Cruz scored a 24-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium on November 20, 2011 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)
