 Cross with the Indianapolis Colts in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 20 – Indianapolis Colts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Safety | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born: | September 10, 2001 Bowie, Maryland, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 212 lb (96 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| High school: | DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Maryland) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College: | Maryland (2019–2021) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2022: 3rd round, 96th pick | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nicolas Cross (born September 10, 2001) is an American professional football safety for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Maryland. Contents
Early lifeCross was born on September 10, 2001, the son of Michael and Anna Cross. His father, Michael, is from Jamaica and his mother from Trinidad and Tobago. He attended the St. Jerome Academy in Hyattsville, Maryland for his early education. Cross attended DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland. [1] He played in the 2019 Army All-American Bowl. Cross was rated as four star recruit. He originally committed to Florida State University to play college football but switched to the University of Maryland, College Park. Cross also ran track while at DeMatha Catholic. He competed in the 60M, 100M, 200M, 4x100M relay, and 4x200M relay. He holds a personal best of 6.68s in the 60M. [2] [3] College career Cross played at Maryland from 2019 to 2021. [4] [5] During his career he started 21 of 29 games and recorded 134 tackles, six interceptions, three forced fumbles, and four sacks. Cross was voted Honorable Mention All-Big Ten in each of his three seasons at Maryland. [6] After the 2021 season, he decided to forgo his senior season and enter the 2022 NFL draft. [7] College statistics
Professional careerPre-draftHe participated in the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine where he had the fastest 40 yard dash, among safeties, with a time of 4.34 seconds. NFL media analyst Daniel Jeremiah ranked Cross as the seventh best safety prospect in the draft (68th overall). [8] Michael Renner of Pro Football Focus ranked him as the fourth best safety on his big board (64th overall). [9] Jeff Legwold of ESPN had him as the seventh best safety in the draft (71st overall). [10] Bleacher Report had Cross ranked as the sixth best safety prospect (68th overall). Kevin Hanson of Sports Illustrated ranked him sixth among all safeties. [11] NFL draft analysts projected Cross would be selected in either the second or third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. [12]
2022The Indianapolis Colts selected Cross in the third round (96th overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft. [15] The Colts received the third-round pick (96th overall) they used in order to select Cross in a trade with the Denver Broncos for a 2022 fifth-round pick (179th overall) and 2023 third-round pick (67th overall). He was the eighth safety drafted in 2022 and was also the youngest player to be selected in the 2022 NFL draft at 20 years old. [16]
On May 13, 2022, the Indianapolis Colts signed Cross to a four–year, $5.06 million rookie contract that includes an initial signing bonus of $864,100. [17] Throughout training camp, Cross competed against Rodney McLeod for the starting job at strong safety after it became vacant following the sudden retirement of Khari Willis. [18] [16] Head coach Frank Reich named him the starting strong safety to begin the season and paired him with free safety Julian Blackmon. [19] On September 11, 2022, Cross made his professional regular season debut and earned his first career start in the Indianapolis Colts' season-opener at the Houston Texans and made four solo tackles as they tied 20–20 after overtime. The following week, he collected a season-high five combined tackles (three solo) during a 0–24 loss at the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2. Entering Week 3, defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus opted to bench Cross and named Rodney McLeod the starting strong safety in his place. [16] On November 7, 2022, the Colts announced their decision to fire head coach Frank Reich sfter a disappointing 3–5–1 start. Former Colts' center, Jeff Saturday, was unexpectedly appointed interim head coach. [20] He finished his rookie season during the 2022 NFL season with only 17 combined tackles (11 solo), a forced fumble, and one fumble in 16 games and two starts. He was relegated to solely appear on special teams and was limited to very few snaps on defense. [21] As a special teams player, Cross earned a special teams grade of 90.0 from Pro Football Focus. 2023During training camp, he competed to be a starting safety against Rodney Thomas II under defensive coordinator after it was open following the departure of Rodney McLeod. [22] Head coach Shane Steichen named him a backup safety to begin the season with Julian Blackmon and Rodney Thomas II as the starting safeties. [23] On December 16, 2023, Cross made three combined tackles (one solo), a pass deflection, and had his first career interception on a pass attempt by Mitchell Trubisky to wide receiver George Pickens as the Colts defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 30–13. In Week 17, he earned his first start of the season after Julian Blackmon was placed on injured reserve due to a shoulder injury. He collected a season-high nine combined tackles (six solo) as the Colts defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 23–20. He finished the 2023 NFL season with 39 combined tackles (24 solo), two pass deflections, and one interception, while appearing in all 17 games with only two starts. [24] He received an overall grade of 71.8 from Pro Football Focus in 2023. [25] 2024He entered training camp as a possible candidate to be a starting safety, but had to compete for the role against Rodney Thomas II and Ronnie Harrison. [26] Head coach Shane Steichen named Cross the starting strong safety to begin the season alongside free safety Julian Blackmon. [27] In Week 2, he collected a career-high 15 combined tackles (ten solo) as the Colts lost 10–16 at the Green Bay Packers. On October 6, 2024, Cross made five combined tackles (two solo), a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by Trevor Lawrence to wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. during a 34–37 loss at the Jacksonville Jaguars. On December 1, 2024, Cross recorded nine combined tackles (eight solo) and had his first career sack on quarterback Drake Maye for a two–yard loss during a 25–24 victory at the New England Patriots. The following week, he made five combined tackles (four solo), a pass deflection, and set a new career-high with his third interception of the season on a pass by Bo Nix to wide receiver Courtland Sutton during a 13–31 loss at the Denver Broncos in Week 15. [28] He started all 17 games for the first time in his career and had a career-high 146 combined tackles (87 solo), five pass deflections, a career-high three interceptions, and one sack. [29] He received an overall grade of 70.3 from Pro Football Focus in 2024, which ranked 45th among 171 qualifying safeties. [30] References
Further reading
External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nick Cross (American football) . This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
