Player
Nick Cross
S · Colts
Nick Cross: facts drawn from the play-by-play.
From healthy scratch as a rookie to 133-tackle safety in Year 3.
TrendCross by season (regular season)
| Season | G | TK | AST | TFL | PD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 17 | 20 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2024 | 17 | 74 | 59 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
| 2025 | 17 | 70 | 48 | 5 | 5 | 1 |
Cross was a 2022 3rd-rounder out of Maryland and barely played his first two seasons — 30 total tackles across 2022-2023 combined. The breakout came in 2024 when Gus Bradley moved him into the starting deep-safety role.
The jump is one of the largest year-over-year tackle increases in the league: 35 → 133 combined tackles between 2023 and 2024.
Combined tackles per season
| Season | Combined TK |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 16 |
| 2023 | 35 |
| 2024 | 133 |
| 2025 | 118 |
133 combined tackles in 2024 — 3rd-most among all safeties.
Rare2024 safety combined-tackle leaders
| Player | Combined TK |
|---|---|
| Budda Baker | 153 |
| Jeremy Chinn | 136 |
| Nick Cross | 133 |
| Kevin Byard | 120 |
| Brandon Jones | 118 |
| Xavier Woods | 114 |
| Quentin Lake | 114 |
| Brian Branch | 114 |
In his first season as a full-time starter Cross finished 3rd league-wide among safeties in combined tackles, behind only Budda Baker and Jeremy Chinn. The 6 TFLs that year ranked top-12 among safeties too — Cross was being used aggressively, attacking the line of scrimmage from depth.
He followed it up with 118 combined tackles in 2025, so this isn't a one-off — the production has held.
2.5 sacks + 6 QB hits in 2025 — most by a Colts safety on the season.
SplitCross pressure stats by season
| Season | Sacks | QB Hits | TFL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2024 | 1.0 | 1 | 6 |
| 2025 | 2.5 | 6 | 5 |
Lou Anarumo took over as Colts DC for 2025 and immediately put Cross on the simulated-pressure menu. His 6 QB hits in 2025 are the most by any Colts DB this season, and the 2.5 sacks are a clear career high.
The pattern: in 2024 the Colts used him as a downhill thumper (74 tackles, 6 TFLs). In 2025 they added the green-dog and slot-blitz responsibilities on top.
Maryland to top-3 safety in the same draft class — without ever sniffing the field in years 1-2.
MilestoneCross was the 96th overall pick in 2022. The safeties drafted ahead of him that year were Kyle Hamilton (#14, Ravens), Daxton Hill (#31, Bengals), and Lewis Cine (#32, Vikings).
From that 2022 safety draft class, Cross now sits behind only Kyle Hamilton in career combined tackles — and ahead of Cine (now out of the league) and Daxton Hill. The patience-and-development arc was real: 0 starts → benchwarmer → 3rd in NFL tackles for safeties in the span of 24 months.
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