2022 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: OT Charles Cross, Mississippi State

Is Mississippi State offensive tackle Charles Cross worth a top-10 pick? Nick Falato breaks down his film.

Charles Cross, OT

Height: 6’5
Weight: 310 lbs.
Class: RS-Sophomore
School: Mississippi State

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A former five-star recruit out of Laurel, Mississippi, where he attended Laurel High School, Cross with the fifth-ranked offensive tackle recruit during the 2019 cycle, and the second-ranked recruit out of Mississippi (behind Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean). Cross started for two years in Mike Leach’s Air Raid system at Mississippi State.

Notables

He was a freshman All-SEC selection by coaches in 2020, where he started ten games. Cross earned the Kent Hull Trophy in 2021 - an award given to the best overall offensive lineman in Mississippi. Former winners include Elgton Jenkins, Royce Newman, and Laremy Tunsil. According to Pro Football Focus, Cross was the 11th ranked blocking tackle in college football in 2021.

According to Pro Football Focus, Cross played 720 snaps (574 pass blocking, 146 run blocking); in that 2020 season, he allowed 44 pressures and six sacks. Cross was much more comfortable in 2021.

He played 919 offensive snaps (719 pass, 200 run blocking); he only allowed 16 pressures and was credited with two sacks against him. Cross played all but four of his college snaps at left tackle (those four were at right tackle).

Strengths

• Excellent size, length, and athletic profile
• Carries his weight very well
• Agility, change of direction, and explosiveness are all excellent
• Plays with excellent balance and solid posture
• Smooth feet in pass-sets (vertical, 90-degree, or jump)
• Excellent burst off his inside foot into a pass-set to cut-off wide-9 rushers
• Great ability to mirror/match elusive defenders
• Incredible hip fluidity to open and hinge
• Patient with strike/hands (this can also be viewed as a detriment)
• Good overall aiming points with hands (albeit they’re late)
• Strikes outside bicep to shift to outside shoulder, uses inside hand to get underneath breastplate for control
• Readjusts hands while pulling and controlling defenders to limit effective counter ability
• Good overall grip strength once he gets his hands on defenders in pass protection
• Baits defenders into hand fighting, good strike after false defender’s first move
• Surrenders initial contact to defenders too often but does a very good job fitting his hands around the contact to position himself advantageously
• Punches up and through his hips, underneath defender’s strike
• Does well to keep his feet moving after contact up the arc
• Solid overall anchor, refits his hands and sits back on his hips
• Can sit back on ankles and anchor against bull-rush and power-rushers
• Has the hips to quickly recover when he fails to anticipate pass-rush move correctly, or if the depth of his set is shallow
• Does well to anticipate and react to stunt; has feet/hip quickness to pick up delayed blitzing second-level defenders
• Excellent on screens in space
• Effective as back-side blocker on outside zone
• Gets his near hip through the far hip of even 4i-shades to the backside
• Boxes defenders out in a basketball manner in this situation
• Does well as a play-side power/gap down blocker who uses his frame well
• Does well to locate second-level defenders on ACE (double-team PS OG & PS OT) climbs
• Rarely overextends himself

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Can Improve

• Pre-snap stance is a bit narrow
• Hands are late, which allows defense to dictate
• Catches rather than punches
• Could use length more effectively
• Rarely makes initial contact (patient but it gets him in trouble)
• Overall anchor is solid, but he did get popped back several times forcing him to rely on said anchor
• Hands can be a bit wide
• Holds defender’s outside shoulder to draw flags when hands are late/wide in pass pro
• Had nine penalties last year
• Leaves inside alley open at times
• Had some false steps as a run blocker
• Doesn’t generate enough power as a run blocker through the block
• Struggles to clasp onto blockers in the run game
• Can be unorthodox on backside scoop, albeit his athletic ability allows him to get the job done
• Center of gravity is too high on lateral run blocks to play side
• Play side run blocking left some to be desired
• Limited snaps in run game
• Inexperience in pro-style run scheme
• The vast majority of snaps came at LT

Summary

Overall, Charles Cross is a very athletic tackle with excellent pass-blocking ability, with some room to grow. He’s patient with his hands, which allows defenders to dictate pass-rushing reps; however, he does a very good job with his hand technique to win despite surrendering initial contact. 

Cross has a good overall anchor excellent length and can mirror the quickest pass-rushers up the arc. He’s fluid in space, showed the processing to pick up delayed stunts/blitzes, and there’s still plenty of room for development, which is great!

Cross is not without concern. He has limited experience run blocking, and it shows; Mississippi ran the football mostly out of the shotgun, and the back-side blocks were better than the play-side ones. 

Cross uses his frame well and typically puts himself into a good position, but he doesn’t latch onto blocks as consistently as desired, nor does he impose his will and show the functional strength necessary to make teams comfortable with him as a top-five type of tackle. 

He needs to get stronger at the point of attack. All in all, Cross is a first-round selection with a very high ceiling. He’s a young player with a lot of upside, but he’s not a finished product.

GRADE: 6.8

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