Seahawks Draft Profile: Charles Cross

While Duane Brown could still return in time, Seattle currently doesn't have a tackle on its roster with more than five games of starting experience. After dominating SEC competition, Cross may be an ideal heir apparent to take over protecting the blind side.

With the 2022 NFL Draft set to kick off in Las Vegas on Thursday, April 28, the Seahawks will have a chance to kickstart a new era for the franchise with eight selections, including a top-10 pick and four picks total in the first three rounds.

Over the next month leading up to draft weekend, the AllSeahawks writing staff will dish out in-depth profiles on numerous prospects who could be targets on Seattle's big board.

Continuing the series, Charles Cross promptly ascended up the ranks as one of college football's best pass protectors at Mississippi State. Armed with a top-10 pick, could the Seahawks tab him as their long-term solution protecting the blind side?

Background

A First-Team All-State selection as a senior at Laurel High School in Mississippi, Cross received five-star designation from several recruiting outlets and played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Sought after by numerous SEC schools, he ultimately opted to stay in state by committing to play in Starkville. After appearing in three games and receiving a redshirt as a true freshman, he started 10 games during the COVID-19 impacted 2020 season and earned All-SEC Freshman accolades. Capping off his collegiate career, he was selected a First-Team All-SEC performer by both coaches and media, allowing just a pair of sacks on over 700 snaps.

Strengths

Smooth transitioning into pass sets, Cross does an excellent job mirroring and moving his feet to stay in front of rushers. He plays with powerful, sticky hands and once he gets them onto an opponent, the defender rarely finds a way to recover. When beaten, he uses his 34 1/2-inch length effectively to stay engaged with defenders as they work through secondary rush efforts trying to shed his block.

See a lot of quality reps like this from Charles Cross in pass protection against SEC competition. He neutralizes inside move, then recovers when caught leaning a bit by using his length to get his hands right back onto rusher as he tries to spin back outside. pic.twitter.com/cdXXutJKQn

— Corbin K. Smith (@CorbinSmithNFL) April 18, 2022

Despite being only 310 pounds and having a lean frame for an NFL tackle, Cross plays with a stout, unmovable anchor against bull rushes and sets the concrete quickly to prevent opponents from collapsing the pocket. Once engaged, he pitches a tent with cleats dug into the turf and gives up minimal ground, regularly putting power rushers into lockdown in SEC play.

Alert against twists, stunts, and blitzes, Cross rarely missed an assignment picking up a defensive tackle coming back outside behind a stunting defensive end and worked well in tandem with his left guard communicating against games up front. Keeping his head on a swivel, he routinely stone walled blitzers and washed loopers upfield away from the pocket.

What surprised me the most breaking down Charles Cross' game? Though he played in an Air Raid offense, he's a better drive blocker in run game than I expected to see.

There's more physicality to him than advertised and he may be more pro ready in that regard than anticipated. pic.twitter.com/GyoKjg77ID

— Corbin K. Smith (@CorbinSmithNFL) April 18, 2022

For playing in an Air Raid offensive scheme without his hand ever being in the dirt, Cross is an underrated drive blocker in the run game. Staying low out of stance and firing his hands into the defender's frame with a violent strike, he knocked opponents off the line of scrimmage frequently with limited run blocking chances. He’s a finisher who keeps his feet chopping and will put a defender on his backside time to time.

Weaknesses

While he's a good athlete for the tackle position, Cross seems to get in a panic when moving laterally against speed rushers, as his base narrows and he doesn’t make up ground as efficiently as expected. He has proven to be vulnerable to upfield, bendy rushers who excel at flattening their rush path turning the corner. In these situations, he often ends up lunging trying to recover, which could be a far bigger issue at the next level.

I could put several plays each game to illustrate point, but my biggest issue with Charles Cross revolves around his propensity for grabbing pass rushers on outside of shoulder pads, particularly on speed rushes.

He has to clean this up or he will be a holding magnet in the NFL. pic.twitter.com/S5MLuGBCtZ

— Corbin K. Smith (@CorbinSmithNFL) April 18, 2022

Both in pass protection and as a run blocker, Cross has a tendency to get grabby at the point of attack. His hands wind up slipping outside of the opponent's shoulder pads and he latches onto their jersey to restrict defender movement. Susceptible at times to quick inside moves, he can resort to wrapping up like a tackler when beaten on quick slants and swipe/rip moves.

If there's a surprise evaluating Cross's overall game, he's not as effective blocking on the move as anticipated given his athleticism. He struggled to consistently execute reach blocks due to body positioning issues at Mississippi State and his performance as a second-level blocker was hit and miss with him taking poor angles and failing to get his hands onto defenders cleanly.

Fit in Seattle

While much has been made about Cross' lack of size compared to some of the other top tackle prospects in the 2022 class in the pre-draft process, his build is actually similar to former Seahawks first-round pick Russell Okung and Duane Brown. Both of those players entered the league with a listed weight of 315 pounds and featured plus-athletic traits coming out of college.

However, if they are following the Rams model with offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and line coach Andy Dickerson both being from Sean McVay's coaching tree, the Seahawks may prefer bigger bodies like Andrew Whitworth and Rob Havenstein moving forward. If that's the case, Cross may not be as appealing as some of the other tackles in this year's tackle prospects and Seattle may opt to go a different direction early.

But if athleticism and pass protection proficiency are placed at a premium, while he has some technical issues that must be refined, Cross absolutely could be in play as early as the No. 9 overall selection at a position of major need. Joining Okung as the second tackle selected by general manager John Schneider inside the top 10, he'd be poised to start as the blind side protector for whoever wins the starting quarterback job in Week 1.

Previous Seahawks NFL Draft Profiles

Sam Howell, QB, North Carolina | Tyler Linderbaum, C, Iowa | Arnold Ebiketie, EDGE, Penn State | Tyler Allgeier, RB, BYU | Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati | Tariq Woolen, CB, UTSA | Cameron Thomas, EDGE, San Diego State | Trevor Penning, T, Northern Iowa | Hassan Haskins, RB, Michigan | Abraham Lucas, T, Washington State | Troy Andersen, LB, Montana State | Boye Mafe, EDGE, Minnesota | Kingsley Enagbare, DE, South Carolina | Cade Otton, TE, Washington | Rasheed Walker, T, Penn State | Brandon Smith, LB, Penn State | Daniel Faalale, T, Minnesota | Dameon Pierce, RB, Florida | Ahmad Gardner, CB, Cincinnati