Victor Cruz Takes Odell Beckham Jr Under His Wing
By Justin Groc
Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. looks to be winning over supporters quickly with the New York Giants from within the organization and outside of it. From the big plays to the endzone celebrations, Beckham has become a lightening rod of attention. He seems to be handling it well and is earning the trust of of quarterback Eli Manning.
More from GMEN HQ
- Workout clip of Evan Neal training with former All-Pro OT has Giants fans excited
- NFL Draft Schedule of Events: How to Navigate Draft Weekend
- 4 NY Giants who must step their game up in 2023
- This SEC CB at No. 25 overall for the Giants is gaining steam
- When is the NFL Draft?
Most importantly fellow wide receiver Victor Cruz has taken Beckham under his wing to mentor him. Cruz’s breakout season came in 2011 when he recorded 82 catches for 1,536 yards and nine touchdowns.
Each of those scores were followed with his famous Salsa dance which came to the delight of many viewers (besides those who were fans of opposing teams). Cruz has already offered advice to his new teammate.
"“Just stay grounded,” Cruz said. “Stick with the people… There’s going to be a lot of new people reaching for you, tugging for you and trying to be next and close to you. Just stick with the people that brought you here, that took care of you when you were younger, that took care of you when you had nothing essentially. Stay grounded.”(Jordan Raanan, NJ.com)"
Beckham is following in Cruz’s footsteps on the field with big play after big play, and is putting up production at a record pace. If Beckham records at least 90 receiving yards in the season finale against the Philadelphia Eagles, he will tie Michael Irvin’s record set back in 1995 for most-consecutive games with at least that amount at nine games.
The thought of having Beckham complement Cruz, or the other way around depending on how one looks at it, has many excited about seeing the duo catch passes from Manning.
During FOX’s NFL Pregame show this past Sunday, Hall of Fame defensive end Michael Strahan sat down with Beckham and interviewed the rookie. One can be sure that Strahan still makes an effort to guide rookies through the rigors of being a Giant as he is still very involved with the franchise after being inducted into their ring of honor.
Having a strong rapport with his quarterback and a hall of fame Giant is huge, but Cruz is vital in the development and maturation of Beckham as they both will be seeing a lot of each other during the course of their careers in New York. The departure of Hakeem Nicks is a lot less meaningful since the Giants have found another young wide receiver to take a Giant leap to making plays.