Indianapolis Colts safety Nick Cross will turn 21 years old Saturday, the day before his first ever NFL game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium.
Even though Cross is the youngest player currently on the roster, the Colts don’t view him in that light. Over the course of the last few months since Cross was selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft, his maturity has proven to be well beyond his age.
It’s an aspect of his game that head coach Frank Reich has taken notice of.
“This guy, he’s not your typical 21-year-old. I mean, I won’t even go into the detail, but this guy is incredibly mature in a lot of ways, and I don’t get that from just talking to him because he’s kind of a quiet guy, but you watch his habits,” Reich told reporters Monday. “His habits – like if you walk around this building for a week and just monitored every person, you would say he’s different. He’s very disciplined. He’s a very disciplined person. So, I think he’s positioned himself well to play early.”
The Colts traded a 2023 third-round pick and a 2022 fifth-round pick in order to move up to No. 96 overall to select Cross. The Colts wanted him that badly despite, at the time, having Khari Willis in the room.
The move turned out to be a prudent one as Willis would eventually announce a surprise retirement from the team during the spring. This put Cross on the fast track to become the starter almost immediately.
The Maryland product share time with Rodney McLeod throughout training camp as the starting strong safety, but it became clear who the future of the position is.
Cross was tested plenty of times in coverage throughout the preseason. From his instincts to his ability to break on the ball, the rookie safety quickly became one of the stars of the preseason for the Colts.
While McLeod will still factor in heavily into the rotation in the defensive backfield, the Colts are highly optimistic that Cross can become an extremely valued asset in the safety room starting Week 1 against the Texans.
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