Nick Cross is the classic new breed box safety. He has the requisite size of a classic strong safety - 6’0”, 212 pounds. But he also has the blistering straight line speed – a 4.34 forty – that puts most wide receivers to shame. Now in his fourth season, the University of Maryland alum has developed into one of the Indianapolis Colts’ most essential defenders.
Cross’s exceptional speed does not necessarily translate into exceptional pass coverage. That may seem counterintuitive, but the ability to guard a pass receiver has far more to do with technique and agility than pure speed. Cross is not a liability in coverage, but that is not where his greatest value lies.
He uses that speed to get in on tackles, and six weeks into the 2025 season, no safety in the NFL tackles better than Nick Cross. That has been crucial for the Colts thus far because changes to both personnel and scheme have placed much greater responsibility on the box safety than in previous seasons.
With greater responsibility, Colts' Nick Cross is having a breakout season
Nick Cross is leading the Colts in tackles this season. That may not seem like a very big deal until you consider that the team has a healthy Zaire Franklin at linebacker. Since becoming a regular starter in 2022, Franklin has led the team each season and led the entire league in tackles last year.
Before Franklin, there was Shaq Leonard. Or Anthony Walker. Or Bobby Okereke. The leading tackler on the Colts for the last ten seasons has been a linebacker. Usually, the top two tacklers have been linebackers, as was the case with Franklin and E.J. Speed over the last few seasons.
But Speed is gone now. The Colts have been struggling to find a new running mate for Franklin. And they have a new defensive coordinator. Franklin has not been as dominant through six weeks as Colts’ fans have come to expect, and no one has stepped into that second linebacker role. Joe Bacchie is getting most of the snaps, but he is a stopgap measure at best.
Nick Cross has stepped into the void. His eight tackles per game lead all safeties in the NFL. Amazingly, he has yet to be credited with a missed tackle. No player in the entire league has made as many tackles as Nick Cross without missing a single one. Even tacking machines like San Fran’s Fred Warner and Washington’s Bobby Wagner have at least one miss. But not the Colts’ safety.
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Combined, Franklin and Bacchie have made 62 tackles to Cross’ 48 and they have been credited with five misses.
In case I haven’t made the point loudly enough, Nick Cross has yet to miss a tackle this season.
Cross uses his great speed to make plays all over the field. Though he often lines up in the box in a tradional linebacker position, he has logged more than 30 snaps each at free safety, in the slot, and on the line as an outside edge defender. He can even move out to perimeter corner if necessary. His athleticism has affords DC Lou Anarumo great flexibility.
But primarily, wherever he is lined up, Anarumo wants him attacking whoever has the ball. To that end, Cross has made four tackles behind the line and has been in on a couple of sacks, while also stopping runners in the box and tackling pass catchers downfield.
So far, he has paired with classic free safety Camryn Bynum to form one of the league’s best tandems. Bynum can tackle, but his strength lies in coverage. Cross is the ideal yin to that yang.
Tackling may be more important for a safety than for any other defender. The players with the most missed tackles year in and year out are invariably defensive linemen. That makes sense. Lineman are often engaged with blockers when they contact a ball carrier.
And their job isn’t even necessarily to make the tackle. As the first point of contact, they disrupt runners and allow fellow linemen, linebackers, and safeties to converge for the tackle.
But safeties are often the last line of defense. If they miss, there may not be anyone else to clean up. Fortunately for the Colts, they have one of the best in Nick Cross.
Strike that. No need for “one ofs.” So far in 2025, the Colts have the best tackling safety in the NFL.