I know it’s kind of irrelevant for us but I was really high on him before the draft(who am I right?)
The reason I bring it up is because he was taken 1 pick before the Lions drafted Kerby Joseph(who is obviously a project) I wonder if our staff had any interest in Cross? He seemed to be the more pro ready prospect.
Colts named third-round S Nick Cross their starting strong safety.
On the heels of the surprise Khari Willis retirement, Cross and Rodney McLeod battled to be the starter next to Julian Blackmon. McLeod dealt with injuries in camp, but the drumbeat has been more about how Cross took the job than how McLeod lost it. Indy’s D/ST has some potential volatility between new DC Gus Bradley, a new starter at safety, and questions about Shaq Leonard’s availability in Week 1. But they do face the Texans in a juicy matchup.
I liked Cross too, I had him just above Joseph personally (though the guy I really wanted was Bryan Cook who regularly fell in the same range in mocks only to go in the 2nd come draft day). That said, I wouldn’t put too much into Cross winning the starting job, Rodney McLeod sucks. They really got hurt by that surprise Wills retirement which happened after the draft. They weren’t planning on starting Cross when they drafted him.
Gus Bradley managed the Seahawks D when they had the legion of boom and earl thomas right?
The Inside the den showed how relieved the coaches were that our guys were there for most of the picks. I don’t remember Joseph and if they showed they were relieved after the Colts took someone different. If they did, then Lions got their guy. if not, we will likely never know.
Didn’t the Colts trade up to take this guy in front of the Lions too? Or do I not remember that correctly. I just remember wondering if Kerby was really the safety they wanted
The Colts have traded up with the Broncos and selected Maryland safety Nick Cross with the 96th-overall pick in the third round of the NFL Draft . The Indianapolis Colts have selected Maryland safety Nick Cross in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft with the 96th-overall pick
It’s pretty clear to me that the Colts traded up for Cross to jump the Lions. Everyone knew we needed a safety.
What’s not so clear is whether we really wanted Joseph in any case. Certainly the spin coming out of the ‘behind-the-scenes’ video suggests that Joseph was always the target.
This said, Cross looked far more ready than Joseph in the pre-season game and he’s now starting for the Colts - who are their divisional favourites. Joseph is still very much a work-in-progress.
Thank you, just making sure I remembered that correctly. Felt since the draft they might have got sniped. We’ll see, Joseph is a project so gotta give him time
#1 — Bradley was the DC in Seattle… but Pete Carroll always had his thumb on that defense… and they had a rare run of hitting big on late round picks that helped as well.
Bradley hasn’t been consistently great outside of Seattle… so looks like a guy that may just be as good as his talent allows.
#2 — the Inside the Den video showed the Lions (Holmes) hoping that Joseph would fall to them… and they celebrated when he wasn’t selected by Indy. He is the guy they wanted… no hind sight on that one.
Joseph shows a TON of upside and a great ball hawk. The knock on him was limited play time as a safety. Agnew and Holmes are known for their ability to identify DBs.
JuJu is another they identified for the Rams. Fans there always loved him and not sure why he was always a PS player for the rams. Maybe just not ready to handle all the responsibilities.
Yeah man. While it’s awesome having a young badass like Cross thundering down the alley lighting up receivers, running backs and tight ends, the fact is the Lions’ brass wanted a safety who can turn the ball over, which is apparently why they valued Joseph over Cross. We shall see if the young man can ball out.
Nick Cross shot up the boards after he ran his 40 but many had Joseph ahead of Cross until then.
Joseph is the better player, Cross is the better athlete.
I’m happier with Joseph and his upside than I would be about Cross’s.
Now, had his name been Kris, I might have felt otherwise.
I get that it’s koolaid season, but you’re still buying stock in Joseph over Cross? Despite the fact that Cross is already a starter and Joseph needs a bunch of development in hopes of one day, becoming a starter?
