SEAHAWKS GREAT WALTER JONES CALLS LEFT TACKLE CHARLES CROSS 'A PHENOMENAL ATHLETE'

The Seattle Seahawks will never have a better left tackle than Hall of Famer Walter Jones, who played the position about as well as anyone ever has from 1997-2008. It would be wrong to expect that kind of run from third-year lineman Charles Cross. However, there are some signs that Cross may finally be breaking through and reaching the potential that made him a top-10 overall pick in the first place.

After showing promise as a rookie in 2022, Cross didn't appear to make much progress in his blocking last season. His PFF grades illustrate the point - Cross went from posting a 63.7 overall grade in his first year to 67.6 last season. Modest improvements are good, but Seattle's front office is right to expect more from a guy they invested so much draft capital in. 

The good news is that Cross has more than enough athleticism to thrive at this level. His RAS score coming into the league was a solid 7.56 out of 10. While Cross scored poorly in the size department (a common theme for Seahawks linemen) he posted an elite rating for his speed. Cross' broad jump and shuttle scores were also as good as anyone can expect.

Jones was able to witness that athleticism firsthand this offseason when he saw Cross playing in a charity basketball tournament. As he related to 93.3 KJR radio in an appearance earlier this week, Jones says he saw Cross running the floor and dunking on alley-oops and called him a "phenomenal athlete."

A lot of pro athletes thrive at two sports and you'll find no shortage of clips of NFL players dominating their local pickup games, but to get out in transition and dunk like that at 6-foot-5, 311 pounds indicates some truly rare ability at Cross' size.

Athleticism was never his problem, though. If Cross can just clean up the technique issues that scouts saw in the run-up to the draft and improve in those smallest details the Seahawks may get a star left tackle out of him yet.

2024-08-22T14:40:03Z dg43tfdfdgfd