Whether they’re “dead-set” on the position or will take a level-headed approach, the Carolina Panthers are going to have to come away from the 2022 NFL draft with some kind of offensive line help. And if they also need help determining who to come away with, Pro Football Focus has a suggestion.

In determining the best fits for the top 32 prospects of the 2022 NFL draft, PFF’s Conor McQuiston addresses Carolina’s notoriously awful line by pairing them up with Charles Cross. The Mississippi State Bulldog—along with Alabama’s Evan Neal and North Carolina State’s Ikem Ekwonu—is undoubtedly one of the class’ premier hog mollies and can bring the Panthers some much needed stability in the passing game.

“On true pass sets, Taylor Moton was the Panthers’ only offensive lineman who recorded more than 100 reps and a 60.0-plus pass-blocking grade,” McQusiton writes. “While with the Giants, new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo leaned more heavily on gap runs than league average, calling them on 49.9% of their early-down rush attempts. Since Cross comes from an air-raid system that primarily ran zone concepts on their rare rush attempts, this may be an awkward fit initially.”

As he alluded to, the implementation of a new offense must be considered if we’re trying to make a perfect fit here. Given that precision is key in the West Coast offense, which McAdoo has roots in, you need agile and athletic linemen.

The 6-foot-4, 307-pound is precisely that—as evidenced by his unofficial 40-yard dash of 4.93 seconds from Friday’s combine workout. He does, however, need to patch up his technique through the ground.

“. . . Cross posted a 94.8% pass-block win rate on true pass sets, which ranks 41st of the 117 FBS offensive tackles that have been drafted since 2015,” McQuiston continued. “The immediate boost he would provide to the Panthers’ pass protection would overshadow his potential awkwardness in the run game.”

“Potential awkwardness” aside, there’s nothing clumsy about the overall potential Cross possesses.