The Seattle Seahawks’ top draft choice in 2022, Charles Cross, showed up on Chad Reuter’s projected NFL All-Rookie Offensive Team, on NFL.com. It is an eye opener that Cross, a left tackle out of Mississippi State, made the two-man tackle group despite being the third player at that position selected in the 2022 NFL Draft. He went ninth taken overall.
Reuters wrote that Cross “filled a huge gap at left tackle (as did their selection of right tackle Abraham Lucas in the third round). It won’t be a surprise if the former Mississippi State Bulldogs’ steady pass protection reminds Seattle fans of a healthy Russell Okung.”
Many Bridges to Cross
Okung was the first of two first-round draft choices by the Seahawks in 2010, the year Coach Pete Carroll took over the team. Cross represents the first top-ten daft choice selected by Seattle since they took Okung. The 2022 selection was acquired in the blockbuster trade that sent quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos.
As a two-year starter in college, Cross made the SEC All-Freshman team and went on to earn All-Conference last year. If Cross indeed makes the All-Rookie Team at season’s end, he will be the first Seahawks tackle to do so since Hall-of-Famer Walter Jones in 1997.
The Bleacher Report had this to say in their pre-draft analysis: “Overall, Cross has a strong case for being the most polished and talented pass-blocker in the draft despite only 22 starts under his belt. He brings starter-level play strength and physicality as a run-blocker, making him an immediate-impact starter.”
Cross represented himself in contract negotiations and became the highest-drafted player to sign without an agent.