Nick Cross Has Been One of the Few Colts Defensive Bright Spots
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Coming into the season, the Indianapolis Colts had a huge question mark at safety. Nick Cross, Ronnie Harrison Jr., and Rodney Thomas Jr. were rotating during training camp practices and preseason contests.
On roster cut down day, the Colts made the surprising decision to let Ronnie Harrison Jr. go despite his position flexibility. That opened the path for Cross or Thomas to take stronghold of the second starting safety position next to Julian Blackmon.
The former Maryland Terrapin has been arguably the most consistent player this season for the Colts since Gus Bradley committed to him. Entering this year, Cross had made four starts. The first two games of his career and then the final two games of last season when Julian Blackmon injured his shoulder.
The 23-year-old has recorded 37 tackles (seventh most in the NFL), one interception, one forced fumble, and two pass deflections. He has had his fair share of moments where there were cross ups in coverage, but for the most part, he’s been a good football player for the Colts this season.
Cross was a player that Chris Ballard selected in the third-round of the 2022 NFL Draft. In fact, Ballard traded up to acquire Cross and gave up a future third-round pick for him. He was one of those players that the Colts felt like entered the draft a year earlier than he should have. Most talent evaluators had Cross has a borderline first-round pick in 2023.
He joined Jake Query & Jimmy Cook on Monday afternoon and elaborated on difficult it was for him to go from playing all the time to barely playing.
“I had to figure out how to become a pro. I feel like I showed a lot of resilience and went out there and I took it a day at a time, learned what I needed to learn, and tried how to learn to become a pro from the guys in front of me, and continue to develop into a good player and a good man.”
Other topics that Cross discussed with Jake and Jimmy were:
- What the defense said on the sideline after Tony Pollard’s touchdown run on 3rd and 19
- Which veterans took him under their wing as a rookie
- Previews the upcoming challenge the Colts have in containing Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and De’Von Achane
To listen to Jake Query and Jimmy Cook’s conversation with Nick Cross, download the podcast containing the conversation below! You can always listen to the Query & Company from 12pm-3pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan. You can also watch and interact with the show by going to the 107.5 The Fan YouTube Channel.
