Nick Cross is a safety. Formally speaking, anyway.
That’s what shows up on his football card, but it doesn’t completely describe what he plays. Cross plays all over the place.
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A detailed look at his 2025 snap counts, confirms that, with action coming at both safety spots, playing deep and in the box. He lined up as a slot cornerback and on the outside. There was also some positioning as a linebacker in certain alignments, showing how his versatility can be an asset. His box alignments were third-highest for a defensive back in the NFL last season.
Expect more of the same in his first year with the Commanders.
“Put on the tape,” Cross said in a press conference following Tuesday’s OTA session. “In Indy I played everything. Here I play everything. I can do literally anything on the field. I take pride and joy in that, knowing I can play anywhere in the back seven and make an impact.”
His biggest impact comes in run defense, and Cross will play an important role for Washington in that area, being active closer to the line of scrimmage.
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“I pride myself on the work put in during the offseason work to get stronger, to get faster and to know my keys and responsibilities.” Cross said. “At the end of the day, run defense is just about opposing your will on the man across from you. Whether it’s a lineman, tight end or receiver, your job is to beat him and go make a play. If you when your one-on-ones more than he wins his, it’s going to be a pretty good day for you.”
Cross had lots of good days in Indianapolis last year, before signing a two-year deal with the Commanders this spring. He had 46 stops in 2025, per NFL Next Gen Stats, that results in a negative EPA play for the offense. That was fifth-most among defensive backs.
While he’ll continue to be active in those areas, the Commanders are experimenting with how to play him during the offseason program, and head coach Dan Quinn believes he could be more of an asset playing deep than some people think.
“There is a really physical style of box style of play to him,” Quinn said in his Tuesday press conference. “He’s got more speed maybe than even I thought, you know, playing in the deep part of the fields. And so, by the week, like our first week we played almost all middle field coverages where we were featuring guys high and low the last week.
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“It’s been more of the two-high spaces. So, we’re also experimenting and learning what each of the guys can do. But I think, I feel the speed, the quickness of somebody that’s got that kind of size.”
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