Seahawks draft Charles Cross: Prioritizing pass protection leaves Seattle with logical choice

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By Michael-Shawn Dugar
Apr 29, 2022

NFL Draft 2022 tracker: Live blog and pick-by-pick analysis

The Seahawks used the No. 9 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft on Mississippi State left tackle Charles Cross. He’s the second-highest pick of the Pete Carroll era. Carroll and general manager John Schneider have only made one other top-10 pick in their 13 drafts together: left tackle Russell Okung, the sixth overall pick in 2010.

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Draft grades: Sheil Kapadia weighs in on the picks
Big board best available: Who’s left from Dane Brugler’s Top 300?

Big board ranking: Cross was No. 9 overall on the consensus big board and the third-ranked offensive tackle. Dane Brugler had him No. 7 overall on his big board.

Introduction: Cross spent two seasons playing left tackle in Mike Leach’s pass-happy Air Raid system. He was All-SEC as a freshman in 2020 and a first-team All-American in 2021. He could be the best pass protector in this class. Listed at 6-foot-4 and 307 pounds with 34 1/2-inch arms, Cross is a good athlete who plays with balance and disciplined hands. If Cross turns out to be a stud in Seattle, he could be with the franchise for a long time. He doesn’t even turn 22 until November.

Here’s what Brugler wrote about Cross in his draft guide: “Cross lacks ideal bulk and power, especially in the run game, but he processes things quickly and shows outstanding hand exchange and movement patterns in pass protection. He projects as an NFL starter with Pro Bowl-level talent thanks to his pass blocking.”

How he fits: Cross is an interesting fit for the Seahawks. Because he had so few run-blocking reps in college, he doesn’t appear to be due for a smooth transition into an offense that wants to establish the run. It’s not as if anyone believes Cross is a bad run blocker. In fact, Brugler wrote that Cross has “good feel for body position as a zone blocker in the run game.” The Seahawks are a zone-blocking team. But the idea of taking someone whose best skill is his ability to pass protect was a concern for some, including former Seahawks offensive tackle Ray Roberts.

Roberts said prior to draft that blocking the run from a two-point stance (both feet on the ground, hands above knees) is entirely different from blocking in a three-point stance (both feet on the ground, one hand in the dirt) and that transition can be difficult to make right away.

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“You can’t get your pads low enough,” Roberts said. “The defenders are already usually lower than you are because they’re in a three-point stance or a four-point stance. They already have the leverage. You end up doing a whole lot of position blocking, so if they’re running to the outside, it’s almost like you’re playing basketball, you’re just trying to wall people off.”

But the bottom line is Seattle needs better pass protection. Its only other left tackle on the roster is Stone Forsythe, a sixth-round pick in 2021 who played zero snaps at the position last season. Duane Brown remains unsigned. Seattle has consistently graded out as a poor pass-blocking unit. If there’s a tackle on the board who can keep the quarterback upright for the next four or five years, he’s a fit in Seattle. That’s just how valuable having a reliable pass protector is in today’s game.

Second guess? The way the draft unfolded, this was almost a no-brainer pick for the Seahawks. Seattle likely went into the draft thinking that it would take any of the three top offensive tackles or either of the top two cornerbacks. Both cornerbacks (Ahmad Gardner and Derek Stingley Jr.) went in the top four picks. The top two tackles (Ikem Ekwonu and Evan Neal) were drafted after that. Had the Falcons taken Cross with the eighth overall pick, I’d guess Seattle was going to work the phones and trade back. But Atlanta taking receiver Drake London at No. 8 made this an easy choice for Seattle.

Rookie impact: Cross will compete with Forsythe for the starting job. It won’t be handed to him, despite his draft status. If he wins the job, then the Seahawks have a 21-year-old, starting-caliber left tackle on a rookie contract. It’ll be important to see how he develops as a run blocker, but regardless he should be a plug-and-play guy for Seattle, which is what you’d expect with a top-10 pick. If Forsythe wins the job, Cross may be relegated to the bench as a rookie.

Fast evaluation: Cross is a player I mocked to the Seahawks on April 5. He makes sense for a variety of reasons. Every franchise should enter the offseason looking to improve their passing efficiency, because of the strong correlation between moving the ball effectively through the air and advancing in the playoffs. Pass protection is important, and the best ones often are drafted in the first round. Seattle’s process was sound here.

(Photo: Joe Robbins / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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Michael-Shawn Dugar

Michael-Shawn Dugar is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Seattle Seahawks. He previously covered the Seahawks for Seattlepi.com. He is also the co-host of the "Seahawks Man 2 Man" podcast. Follow Michael-Shawn on Twitter @MikeDugar