Nick Cross is a career quality starter β a defensive back whose body of work places Cross in the top half of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Cross's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Nick Cross
Top 39% all-time defensive backsReliable Starter
Height6'0"
Weight212 lb
BornSep 10, 2001
Age24
CollegeMarylandSee College Stats
ConferenceBig Ten
Rookie yr2022
Draft2022 Β· Rd 3, Pick 96 Β· IND
A defensive back with a above-average career β the kind of consistent contributor every roster needs. Solid availability (exceptional availability β almost never missed time) added to their value.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 42 Β· #2279 Β· Above AverageWorth 42 points of value above a freely-available replacement safety β top 50% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 3 of 4 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +14 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
3 cleared
1 replaced
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
48
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
3
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+14
Avg surplus
peak +25
3 seasons Γ ~14 surplus β VORP 42
Combined Season Grid
The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at onceβno tab hopping.
3 grids split in one view
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Defense | Snap Counts | Advanced Defense & Coverage (2018+) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | Off | Off% | Def | Def% | ST | ST% | Tgt | Cmp | Cmp% | RateAll | ADOT | Prss | Hrry | QBKD | Bltz | MissTkl | Miss% | |||||
| 2022 | β | IND | 4 | β | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | β | 0.0% | 122 | 29.0% | 215 | 50.0% | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 97.9 | 4.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0.1 |
| 2023 | β | IND | 8 | β | 27 | 13 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | 0.0% | 292 | 31.6% | 301 | 60.2% | 10 | 5 | 0.5 | 29.6 | 16.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0.0 |
| 2024 | β | IND | 17 | β | 132 | 73 | 59 | 6 | 1 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 3 | 5 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 | β | 0.0% | 1,155 | 99.9% | 90 | 19.4% | 59 | 42 | 0.7 | 109.9 | 9.2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 12 | 0.1 |
| 2025 | β | IND | 17 | β | 118 | 70 | 48 | 5 | 6 | 2.5 | 13.5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 | β | 0.0% | 1,111 | 95.3% | 9 | 4.3% | 74 | 49 | 0.7 | 99.0 | 9.3 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 45 | 14 | 0.1 |
| Career | β | 46 | β | 285 | 163 | 122 | 12 | 7 | 3.5 | 22.5 | 5 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | β | 0.0% | 2,680 | 64.0% | 615 | 33.5% | 145 | 98 | β | β | β | 13 | 6 | 3 | 67 | 29 | β | |
Defense
Snap Counts
Advanced Defense & Coverage (2018+)
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 56 Β· Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a remarkably steady profile that scores 56 of 100, era-normalized against int/g peers across 4 scored seasons, with a short career trimming the score.
60
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
62
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ0.93
Longevity
career length
Blend 60.8 Γ longevity 0.93 = KV-H 56Β· confidence 88%
What builds the career mark of 60
On-field 43.3
Availability 16.7
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative int/g)
2022bestavg 51elite 702025
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position2
Depth
of 100
Reached 2% of the all-time Interceptions leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
2% of the all-time Interceptions leader2
0 categories β₯25% of the all-time leader0
A 0β100 scale where 100 = matched the all-time leaderat this position. Built only from visible encyclopedia data β career production vs. the all-time leader, plus efficiency (EPA) and comparable-player confidence β so it's a transparent context score, not a subjective rating. Tiers: Elite β₯ 85 Β· Strong β₯ 65 Β· Solid β₯ 45 Β· Depth < 45. Comparable-player confidence: 93%.
Per-Snap Impact
Defensive Backs Β· proprietary Β· 2012+47
Solid
SIS
Disruption/1001.549Snap share64%Def snaps2,680VolatileCV 0.60
Production per snap β the box score normalized by opportunity. SIS is z-scored within defensive backs, shrinkage-regularized so small samples don't spike, over the NFL snap-count era (2012+).
Career Aging Trajectory
vs. position group average Β· KV-H basisAmber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average defensive backs aging curve. Group peak age: 21. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
Combine Β· 2022
Percentiles compare each raw measurement against position peers, the full combine pool, and the same draft class where enough samples exist.
4.34s
40-Yard
37"
Vertical
130"
Broad Jump
College Defense
Reference Graph
Career teammates and draft class, derived from year-by-year rosters β every name is linked.
Top Teammates
DeForest BucknerDT4yLuke RhodesLS4yGrover StewartDT4yQuenton NelsonG4yMo Alie-CoxTE4yKenny Moore IICB4yZaire FranklinOLB4yBraden SmithOT4yMichael PittmanWR4yTyquan LewisDE4yJonathan TaylorRB4yKwity PayeDE4yAlec PierceWR4yRodney ThomasDB4yBernhard RaimannOT4ySegun OlubiLB4yCameron McGroneLB4yRigoberto SanchezP3yRyan KellyC3yE.J. SpeedLB3yGrant StuardLB3yAshton DulinWR3yKylen GransonTE3yDanny PinterG3y
2022 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #96
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterNick inherited the Indianapolis Colts DB room from Julian Blackmon (2020β2024), and handed it to Rodney Thomas (2022β2025).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2025final season
Last recorded season with IND
- 2022draft
Drafted by IND β Round 3, Pick 96
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'0" / 212 lb
Frame
212 lb at 4.34s
Size-speed
37" vert / 130" broad
Explosion
Knox
StatVault's proprietary player intelligence, informed by full career data. How Knox works β
Historical Knox Β· KV-H
Era-normalized career quality β z-scored against 4-season peers. See all β
56
peak 62
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
F2022
C+2023
B+2024
C+2025
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 4 seasons.
99%
2022
Era Translator
INT translated to the 2025NFL β each season's standing among its own-era peers, projected onto 2025's scoring environment. Modern-era (1999+) coverage.
| Season | Actual INT | INT/G | β 2025 INT | β 2025 /G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 1 | 0.1 | 2+1 | 0.1 |
| 2024 | 3 | 0.2 | 3 | 0.2 |
| 2025 | 1 | 0.1 | 1 | 0.1 |
Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:snap_counts, nflverse:combine, nflverse:draft_picks, wikipedia:college-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only) Β· multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle Β· updated 6/18/2026
Career Value Β· VORP
42 career value over replacement β #2279 all-time of 4,642. 10.5/season above a replacement-level S.
Draft OutcomeValue β
Pick #96 (Rd 3) Β· IND Β· 2022 Β· +17.3 vs expected KV-H
56actual
38.7 expected Β· Ξ+17.3
Fan Rating
Rate Nick Cross β All-Time
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