4 prospects the Panthers could draft at No. 6 not named Evan Neal
By Luke Gray
Charles Cross – OT (Mississippi State)
The general consensus around most 2022 mock drafts is that the Carolina Panthers will take Mississippi State‘s Charles Cross. Some even have the left tackle as the best offensive lineman coming from the college ranks this year.
Cross is a big body at 6-foot-5 and 310 pounds. He’s not quite the beast that is Evan Neal, but he seems to be an anomaly.
Operating in head coach Mike Leach’s air raid offense, there’s some extensive tape of Cross excelling in pass protect sets. With the Panthers being a team who gave up the fifth-most sacks in the league, someone already very competent in that aspect of the game would surely be a home run pick for Scott Fitterer and Matt Rhule.
You can’t ignore the fact that Cross has long arms. This is clearly something that is important to Rhule and could easily sway the decision of who to draft.
With all the talk around Neal and Alabama, the rise of Cross has almost gone under the radar. According to Pro Football Focus, he went from the 60th best player on the board in the preseason all the way up to No. 6 just behind the aforementioned Crimson Tide stud.
If they do select the Cross, it’s clear the Panthers will have an immediate upgrade despite the late-season promise shown by Brady Christensen. But with the former BYU man showing good versatility and the ability to play guard, this could see the player slide onto the interior and make way for Cross or Neal.
This pick depends on two factors. Do the Panthers feel they can improve the center position enough in free agency in order to pass on a quality player like Tyler Linderbaum. And two, do Carolina feel as though they’ve seen enough from Christensen in order to skip on a potential 10-year starter at left tackle.