All Nick Cross needed was a little time.
When the safety was selected by the Colts in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, he was 20 years old – at the time, the youngest player in the league. Cross started in his first NFL game the day after his 21st birthday, in Week 1 of the 2022 season.
In his first two seasons with the Colts, Cross endured his share of ups and downs; he was benched two games into his rookie season for a more seasoned veteran in Rodney McLeod Jr. and was moved from strong safety to free safety in his second year. After his first two years in the NFL, Cross had a combined total of 39 tackles (24 solo).
He matched those numbers in the first three games of the 2024 season.
Four games into the season, Cross led the league with 47 tackles; no safety has ever had more tackles in the first four games of a season than the 23-year-old.
By the end of the season, Cross had started all 17 games for the Colts and recorded 145 tackles – good for second on the team, second among all NFL safeties and eighth overall in the league – and three interceptions. It was the kind of breakout season the Colts had been waiting for.
"Nick always had that potential," linebacker E.J. Speed said. "He just needed his opportunity and his shot to make it happen, and when he got it, he did what he was supposed to do."
With his stellar start to the season, Cross quickly earned the trust and belief of his teammates; safety Julian Blackmon knew Cross was in for a good year after the very first game of the season, when Cross had 14 tackles against the Houston Texans.
"I was like, okay, Nick, he's (a) see ball, get ball guy — he's gonna go make plays and he did the whole year," Blackmon said. "I'm really proud of his progression because it's like watching your little brother grow up, starting from Year 1 to where he is now."
"You never want to really tank a guy for not succeeding early because I think you don't get better until you get thrown into the fire," Blackmon added. "It might not be a year — some of your best players had terrible years and came out to be Hall of Famers. Like, your best players. So it's one of those things where, if you're not on the field, then how do you get better? And then when you get out there on the field it's different from someone being hurt and filling the gap from being a starter and being consistent in that role. I think he's done a great job. It's been awesome to see."
Cross always had the kind of athleticism and physicality that would allow him to succeed in the NFL. What he needed was time – time on the field, and time to become comfortable playing at the highest level. The intangibles were there; he was at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center at 6 a.m. every day putting in the necessary work to ensure when the time came, he would be ready.
"It just comes down to reps," Cross said. "I've always said that. Reps, comfortability, being able to go out there and do the same thing over and over again, it gets you more comfortable and you go out there and your athleticism and capabilities can show."
While the 2024 season ended before Cross and the rest of the Colts hoped it would, Cross said being able to see his own personal growth, as well as the development of the team, was a promising sign for the future.
"Obviously areas to grow and work in," Cross said. "But to go out there and show everybody what I'm capable of is always a good feeling."
