Mississippi State OL Charles Cross Lands Inside of Top-Five in CBS Mock Draft

Cross was pinned to the fifth overall pick in a recent CBS mock draft.

Former Mississippi State offensive lineman Charles Cross is one of the most talked-about players in the 2022 NFL Draft after the success he had in Mike Leach's Air Raid offense in Starkville.

Cross has been projected all over this first round, but mostly within the top-10 picks.

In the latest mock draft from Josh Edwards of CBS Sports, Cross was off the board within the top five picks, pinned to the New York Giants at fifth overall. That's directly behind EDGE rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux (Oregon) who was mocked to the New York Jets, and ahead of quarterback Kenny Pickett (Pittsburgh), projected to land with the Carolina Panthers.

Here's what Edwards had to say about the selection:

"New York has two picks in the span of three," he wrote. "The thought process is that Carolina is more likely to take Cross than it would be to take the player I have given the Giants at No. 7 overall. New York continues to build out that offensive line in support of Daniel Jones."

This would be a solid move for the Giants, who allowed 38 sacks on their quarterback last season, with only two games in which the signal-caller was not put in the dirt.

It will be interesting to see if Cross finds a home with New York come April or if he finds another landing spot close to the same place on the board. 

There's no question Mississippi State will have a void to fill at the position with Cross departed. Over his college career with the Bulldogs, Cross appeared 24 games over his two seasons as a Bulldog. As a freshman, he was named to the Freshman All-SEC team and was ranked No. 4 in the nation on pass blocking snaps according to PFF.