When most recent NFL cornerbacks are asked who is the toughest wide receiver to cover, they trend towards Randy Moss, Chad Johnson, Antonio Brown, Julio Jones or Odell Beckham Jr.

For former Philadelphia Eagle and current free agent, Brandon Boykin, the answer is actually former New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz.

“I would say Victor Cruz was the hardest person I’ve ever covered,” Boykin told NFL Network. “Just his style of running routes. Mid-route, he’d do a basketball move, a basketball juke, and then he’d keep running his route. He always kept me on my toes — like, you never knew what he was about to do, and then he could catch everything. You could never predict when he was going to go back to the ball or look for the ball. When you guard guys like that, it doesn’t allow you to get into a groove or comfort zone, with how stop-and-start they are.”

Prior to a series of injuries, including a torn patellar tendon, Cruz was among the best slot receivers in football and had set various Giants franchise records. He was a crisp route runner, motivated player and relentless worker.

Aug 21, 2018  Victor Cruz has officially hung up his cleats and played his last snap as an NFL wide receiver. The former undrafted free agent turned New York Giants star receiver was hoping to give it.

Unfortunately, Cruz’s professional career was cut entirely too short. And although he’s holding out hope to land a job in the near future, he’s acknowledged that the time to retire may be looming.

1. Aug 22, 2017  LAKE FOREST, Ill. For a team searching for viable solutions at wide receiver, the Chicago Bears have yet to give Victor Cruz much run with the starters. Cruz, 30, played only 18 snaps in.
2. Mar 15, 2013  This was an interesting week for the slot receiver. You had the Seahawks pay a massive price for Percy Harvin while the prolific, but much older, Wes Welker had trouble finding a job. Meanwhile Welker was replaced by the younger Danny Amendola while Victor Cruz twists in the wind hoping someone will bite despite his restricted free agent status.

Victor Cruz Best Slot Receivers

Either way, despite a relatively short career, Boykin’s comments regarding Cruz’s ability are all anyone needs to know about just how good the receiver actually was.