Reese: WR Victor Cruz (patellar tendon) is 'probably 85, close to 90 percent right now'

The last time we checked in with Victor Cruz before the draft, he said he had "zero doubts" that he would be ready for the season opener in Dallas. Giants GM Jerry Reese said there is no reason to believe that won't happen, but that they are taking a cautious approach with Cruz's rehab.

"We feel really good about Victor, he's working hard every day," Reese said. "I was down there watching him work out a couple of days before the draft. He's excited, he's jumping up on boxes as tall as he is, almost, so he must be doing pretty good for me. We think he's probably 85, close to 90 percent right now, but they're taking him at a snail's pace just so he won't have any setbacks."

It's important to note that Reese is not a medical professional, so he might have gotten a little over-excited with the "85-90%" comment. Cruz said before the draft that he had only been running in a straight line so far, and that he hoped to progress to cutting soon.

But the fact that Cruz has not had any setbacks so far is encouraging, and the box drills that Reese referred to are an indication that he's trying to regain some of the fast-twitch explosion that he would have lost from the injury.

Cruz tore his patellar tendon in mid-October, so while these reports are encouraging, it's no sure thing that he'll be back for the start of the season. Even if he's fully healthy, he's not going to get the same number of targets given Odell Beckham's emergence as a top-flight wideout. Cruz is currently going in the later rounds.