224 Howard Cross III DL | Notre Dame
Howard Cross III is a nice foil to our previous pick in Que Robinson as he does not bring much in terms of physical tools to the table but has plenty of experience and production at an elite level. The Notre Dame star has been with the team since 2019 but did not play a full season until 2020 and he has held down the interior ever since.
Cross measures in at just 6-1 and 285lbs but shows his wrestling background to use leverage against the bigger offensive lineman he comes up against. In 60 games with the Fighting Irish, Cross recorded 169 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, and 11 sacks which are all great numbers for an interior defensive lineman.
The lack of size will have many teams overlooking him but the production and durability is hard to ignore especially at this point in the draft. Cross’s ability to knife through offensive lines and make plays in the backfield is hard to ignore as well and he could make a name for himself even with his lack of elite physical tools.