A deeper dive into NY Giants draft target Charles Cross

Despite dropping an embarrassing loss to the Chicago Bears, the NY Giants could turn things around by adding blue-chip talent in the 2022 NFL Draft

The NY Giants currently own the No. 4 and No. 8 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, with the fourth pick belonging to the Giants, and the eighth pick belonging to the Chicago Bears.

All season long the NY Giants offensive line has played horribly, this is something every fan knows at this point, so it makes sense that the NY Giants move to draft an offensive lineman in the first draft. I believe a good option for the NY Giants to draft is offensive tackle Charles Cross out of Mississippi State.

Coming in at 6’5, 610 pounds, Charles Cross dominated all year at Mississippi State, only allowing 2 sacks and 14 QB hurries in 12 games played, garnering an impressive 84.9 pass-blocking grade, per PFF.

If both Ikem Ekwonu and Evan Neal are no longer available when the NY Giants make their selections, Cross just might be the best option.

Let’s take a deeper dive into NY Giants draft target Charles Cross:

Charles Cross has been one of the better run-blocking offensive tackles in the nation this season, ranking 16th in run blocking grades with a grade of 87.2, per PFF.

What is probably Cross’s best feature is his hands, he possesses elite power and technique in his hands which allow him to dominate in both run and pass blocking snaps.

A great example of the power Cross has is shown in this play here:

Cross (No. 67) rises up off the edge and lays out the opposing defender using the power of his hands, this deadly power in the open field is something the NY Giants desperately need.

As previously mentioned, Cross also has elite hand technique, knowing when and how to properly reset consistently on blocks.

A great example of this occurs on this play here:

Cross resets his hands multiple times throughout this play to keep his opposing defender at bay and away from the QB, his combination of elite strength and technique is something not every offensive tackle possesses.

The biggest weakness that Charles Cross has is that his footwork has the tendency to become a little sloppy in the passing game, causing him to become flat-footed and get beat off the edge sometimes. This issue has not hindered Cross that often, but it is still something to note.

However, even with this flaw, Cross still finds ways to work around it, using his aforementioned hand power/technique to make up for it, as seen here:

Cross’s footwork starts off very sloppy, however, after initially getting beat, he resets his hands and pushes the defender away from the QB, while this is something he will not always be able to do this in the NFL, it is still promising to see.

Another aspect of Charles Cross’s game that impresses me is his sneaky athleticism and speed, while he may look somewhat slow in the pass game, this is due to his poor foot work at times, however, in the run game its a completely different story.

A great example of this occurs on this play here:

Cross uses his burst off the line and gets out into the open field pretty fast for a guy who weighs 310 pounds, he also locks onto his man perfectly and takes him out of the play, something you should love to see if you’re a Giants fan.

The thing I like the most about Cross is his potential to be elite in both run and pass blocking snaps, this is something the NY Giants need badly. If Cross can fix his issues with his footwork, he has the potential to become an instant impact player in the NFL.