NFL Draft
3/24/25
5 min read
Howard Cross III 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Notre Dame Fighting Irish DT
Height: 6010 (verified)
Weight: 285lbs (verified)
Year: Sixth-Year Senior
Pro Comparison: Maurice Hurst
Scouting Overview
Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive tackle Howard Cross III projects as a disruptive sub-package pass rusher at the NFL level. Cross has the first-step quickness and twitch to fire through gaps and boasts a compact frame that makes it difficult to land clean punches on his body.
Cross is not an ideal fit for playing on early downs or in short-yardage situations and, as a result, will likely be relegated to a depth and specific role at the NFL level. But what he does bring to the table is potentially needle-moving disruption.
2025 NFL Combine Results
| Position | Name | School | 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Split | Broad Jump | Vertical Jump | 3-Cone Drill | 20-Yard Shuttle | Bench Press |
| DT | Howard Cross III | Notre Dame | 104 | 29 |
Positives
- Very good first-step quickness to shoot gaps and challenge lethargic pass sets
- Body control, foot speed, and flexibility pop amid his efforts to turn tight corners in the pocket
- Shows a hot motor with good range outside the pocket in addition to his ability to work back up towards the line of scrimmage if overrun from his landmark
Negatives
- Lacks ideal punch power and length to stun and offset power in the vertical run game
- Stature and functional strength compound point of attack issues and render him very disruption dependant for run production
- Is among the older prospects in the class of 2025 as a sixth-year senior
Background
Cross III is from Paramus, NJ, and played high school football for Saint Joseph Regional. There, he was a 4-star recruit who garnered a lot of recruiting interest as the son of long-time NFL veteran tight end Howard Cross Jr. — who played 13 seasons in the league. The youngest Cross was the 2018 Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of New Jersey and collected All-State honors his senior season.
He enrolled at Notre Dame amid interest from schools such as Michigan, Duke Boston College, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, and others. As a member of the 2019 recruiting class, Cross played in four games and redshirted as a true freshman. He then contributed as part of the defensive line rotation in 2020 while still keeping four years of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cross played in 12 games the following season and collected his first two career starts before playing another 12 games with seven starts in 2022. His big breakout season came in 2023 when he was selected as a Second Team All-American while starting all 13 games for the Irish. He missed three games as a sixth-year senior in 2024 with an ankle sprain but still started 13 contests thanks to the Irish’s deep postseason run to the College Football Playoff.
Tale Of The Tape
For those who love undersized penetration rushers, this is one for you. Howard Cross III has a great blend of quickness, motor, balance, and flexibility. As a pass rusher, he’s got the ability to put heavy-footed interior blockers on the defensive with a quick first step.
His ability to get into hip-to-hip relations with opposing blockers is not strictly dependent on his burst, however. Cross has the ability to reignite his rushes from neutral fits and close ground to the quarterback while also having some impressive secondary rush counters to throw his shoulders open and slip a first punch.
There’s not an overwhelming amount of hand power or core strength to attack blockers right down the midline, but Cross does have enough pop in his hands to establish some knockback and soften angles to the quarterback. In a perfect world, he’d be a little longer — it isn’t so much the height that stands out as an issue, as he often weaponizes his low pads to help him run through the strike area of offensive linemen. So Cross’s stature, in some ways, fuels his style of play as a pass rusher.
He’s agile to cross the face or crash a gap, light on his feet, and showcases very good hip mobility to corner while engaged with blockers and squeezing tight exit angles or running the interior loop. The limiting factors with his rush plan include not having a consistent power answer against athletic blockers. When longer blockers can successfully set hands early in the rep, Cross is more reliant on the complementary rush to flush the quarterback and allow him to restart his pursuit.
As a run defender, Cross may face challenges staying on the field in early downs. His ability to anchor the point of attack against aggressive blocks and double teams will not create enthusiasm to let him serve as a snap-taker in volume here.
His length and smaller frame betray him against solo blocks and doubles, which too often leave him stuck in the grasp of a block and off the line of scrimmage. His quickness can help him flash early, but his ability to then redirect and avoid being run off of his spot and have his momentum used against him will create a different set of challenges.
Overall, this is a really effective pass-rush specialist whose lack of hand power, anchor ability, and length at the point of attack likely relegates him to a long-term rush specialist role.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Cross III projects as a subpackage pass rush specialist on the interior. His best chance to play early downs at a higher volume is to land in a wide-9 penetration scheme, but he should largely be considered a viable rush specialist to help hunt the quarterback.
Grade: 71.50/100.00, Fifth Round Value
Big Board Rank: 160
Position Rank: IDL18
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