Huard on Seahawks Draft: OT Charles Cross a lot like Duane Brown
Apr 28, 2022, 7:23 PM | Updated: Apr 29, 2022, 2:15 pm
Charles Cross (No. 67) reacts after a Mississippi State touchdown on Nov. 21, 2020. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Not only is the first Seahawks draft pick in the top 10 since 2010 an offensive lineman like the last one, but the newest Seahawk seems to be in the mold of the player he may be replacing.
Seahawks keep No. 9 pick, draft OT Charles Cross
That was the focus as FOX Sports football analyst Brock Huard reacted along with Seahawks radio color commentator Dave Wyman and co-host Bob Stelton to Seattle’s No. 9 overall selection of Mississippi State offensive tackle Charles Cross on the Seattle Sports Draft Show.
“Just looking at him, watching him, evaluating him, there are a number of times I’m like, ‘Man, that dude moves like Duane Brown,'” Huard said.
Brown has been the Seahawks’ left tackle for the past 4 1/2 seasons, but now 36 years old, the five-time Pro Bowler (including in 2021) is currently a free agent, and it’s yet to be seen whether he’ll be brought back.
Cross, who is known for his pass blocking coming out of Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense, looks an awful lot like Brown did coming out of Virginia Tech in 2008. Huard and producer Mike Lefko compared Cross and Brown’s NFL combines, and they’re pretty much “carbon copies,” as Huard said. Cross was listed as 6 foot 5 and 310 pounds, and he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.95 seconds. Brown was 6-5 and 300 pounds, and ran his 40 in 5.08 seconds.
Huard doesn’t think those similarities are a coincidence for Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider.
“For these guys, for this system, they want a guy that looks, plays, moves just like the (previous left tackle),” he said. “Now if you’re Duane Brown, I don’t know. Do you sign back here on a one-year deal? Do you train this kid? … Do (the Seahawks) move this kid to the to the right side and let Duane play on the left? Now you’ve gotten maybe a little bit more leverage to possibly get something done or not done with Duane Brown.”
A Seahawks system fit
In addition to looking like a potentially younger version of Brown, Cross could be exactly what the Seahawks need as they switch to a new offensive line coach. Mike Solari is out, replaced by Andy Dickerson, who joined the Seahawks coaching staff along with offensive coordinator Shane Waldron before last season. They have brought with them a system similar to the one run by the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams, who Waldron and Dickerson were both with before.
“This is a system fit,” Huard said in his initial reaction to the selection of Cross. “If you look at what the Rams like to do and what we started to see a season ago (in Seattle), you have to have athletes. … Cross was a guy that Vegas pegged about 5 1/2, six as far as where he was going to get drafted, and there’s just not many big men that are as athletic as this guy.”
You can hear the full reaction from Huard, Wyman and Stelton in the podcast below or at this link starting about 9 1/2 minutes in.
Seahawks draft coverage continues on Seattle Sports Station and on the video stream at SeattleSports.com all weekend. For more details, click here.
