Nick Cross

Cross spent the first two years of his career primarily on playing special teams, but the Colts sought to upgrade on the play of Rodney Thomas at free safety heading into 2024. Cross won that competition convincingly and played 100 percent of defensive snaps in all but one game (he played 99 percent of snaps in Week 2) and finished ninth in the league with 146 tackles. Cross will remain a key cog in the Colts' defense and should continue to rack up tackles, with the offseason addition of Cameron Bynum being particularly impactful. Bynum will play a traditional center-field role while allowing Cross to step inside the box to support the run defense -- his primary strength. In 2024, he ranked fourth in run stuffs among safeties (per PFF) with 26, and he should have the chance to maintain and potentially even build on that number in 2025. Read Past Outlooks