Charles Ellis Cross (born November 25, 2000) is an American football

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

for the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

of the National Football League (NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Mississippi State and was selected ninth overall by the Seahawks in the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

Early life and high school

Cross was born on November 25, 2000, and grew up in Laurel, Mississippi, where he attended Laurel High School. Cross initially committed to play college football at Florida State. Cross decommitted from Florida State during his senior season in favor of signing with Mississippi State. He played in the 2018 All-American Bowl as a senior.

College career

Cross redshirted his true freshman season at Mississippi State after appearing in three games. He was named the Bulldogs' starting left tackle going into his redshirt freshman season. Cross started 10 games and was named to the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman team at the end of the season. Cross entered his redshirt sophomore season as one of the top offensive tackle prospects for the 2022 NFL Draft and was a preseason second-team All-SEC selection. He declared for the

following the season.

Professional career

Cross was drafted ninth overall in the first round by the

in the

. The Seahawks used the first-round selection that was acquired in the trade that sent

Russell Wilson Russell Carrington Wilson (born November 29, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played his first 10 seasons for the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson is widely regarded ...

to the Denver Broncos. Acting as his own agent, Cross signed his four-year rookie contract with the team on June 2, 2022. As a rookie, Cross appeared in and started all 17 regular season games and one playoff game for the Seahawks in the 2022 season.

References

External links

*
Seattle Seahawks bio

Mississippi State Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cross, Charles 2000 births Living people American football offensive tackles Mississippi State Bulldogs football players People from Laurel, Mississippi Players of American football from Mississippi All-American college football players Seattle Seahawks players