EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Victor Cruz speaks from experience. He knows what it's like to achieve superstardom overnight and all the demands that come with it.

So Cruz is using his own experiences to help another Giants wide receiver handle a similar situation. He has been advising Odell Beckham Jr. about how to act, on and off the field.

Beckham has encountered obstacles in both arenas over the past year. There have undoubtedly been situations that could have been handled better.

And that's what Cruz is trying to aid. In his estimation, the advice has been well received.

"Pretty understanding. I think he understands that this past year since last season has been a little bit of a whirlwind in that regard," Cruz said. "He wants people to know him for him and how he's a great player, great person, and how he wants to be perceived. And I think he has really taken charge of that and he's just got to take it one day at a time."

The two Giants receivers are friends, and they hang out off the field. It's almost as if Cruz serves as the big brother figure, which makes sense given the circumstances facing Beckham.

Cruz, 29, was once the darling of New York, before injuries and Beckham sapped his relevance. Beckham, 23, has quickly become one of the NFL's biggest stars. He's worldwide, swarmed everywhere from New York to California to Germany. All eyes are constantly on the playmaking wide receiver.

This makes Beckham an easy target of the opposition, media and public. Every move he makes is monitored closely. Cruz is trying to help him make the right decisions to avoid some of the potholes Beckham has recently encountered.

"I think he knows [he's a target]," Cruz said. "He just has to understand how to combat that, how to talk to [the media], how to talk to people out in the streets, because anything he says is going to be used as a headline."

Such as: "The reason [Josh Norman has] become so relevant is because of me."

Beckham was quoted as saying that recently in a GQ article. It something that might've been best left unsaid, although sources close to Beckham say that is not how it went down, regarding the delivery of the quote, and he feels "burned" by the situation.

But this is exactly what Cruz was referencing. Beckham has to be extra careful what he says and how he says it, in order to avoid those situations.

Cruz thinks Beckham needs to choose his projects and company carefully. It's all part of the learning curve that comes with being a superstar in the Big Apple.

"Just understand that he's going to be pulled and tugged, just like we all are to do a bunch of things, but he has to be smart and understand that it's OK to say no sometimes," said Cruz. "He's becoming slowly but surely a professional in understanding the rights and wrongs of this game and the rights and wrongs of his craft. I think it's just going to take more and more repetition and more and more time, day in and day out, to understand what's good and what's bad.

"Right now, in between these lines, he understands what his job is."

Nobody has a problem with what Beckham is doing in terms of performance on the field or training away from it. He shattered receiving records his first two professional seasons. He has caught more touchdown passes (25) than any wide receiver over the past two years, and nobody has questioned his work ethic or desire.

So, really, what is the problem? On the field, he walks a fine line. The energy that makes him great also can boil over and create confrontations and drama.

Quarterback Eli Manning has publicly tried to take a hands-off philosophy. He's confident Beckham will figure it all out, and that he has enough voices already chirping in his ear, with Cruz being among the most vocal.