Patriots drafting Christian Gonzalez adds elite talent potential to secondary
After all the speculation, mock drafts and hype, the New England Patriots did indeed trade down in the 2023 NFL Draft and took cornerback Christian Gonzalez with the No. 17 overall pick in the draft.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick accomplished two things with this move. The team gained an extra fourth round pick in trading the No. 14 overall pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers and he was still able to get one of the top two cornerbacks in the draft.
While all the wide receivers were still on the board at that point, Belichick and crew took care of a big move in drafting the Oregon product. They added some length at the cornerback position in a player who could build the next “Island” in New England. Will fans call him “Gonzo Island”?
Did the Patriots draft the next shutdown corner in Foxborough?
Not to put too much pressure on the young, exciting corner, but his length and speed should help a deep secondary match up with what the AFC East will have to offer this season, especially now that Aaron Rodgers has joined the New York Jets. Did that help play a role in the Patriots drafting a corner in the first round?
Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Oregon. Christian Gonzalez. player. Cornerback. 17. 820
You never know what it comes to Belichick, but Patriots Nation should be thrilled about the selection. Along with Marcus Jones, Jonathan Jones and Jack Jones, they now have a player in Gonzalez with the raw talent and ability to handle that outside corner role.
"“Just somebody that’s versatile, fast, long, tall that can move around,” Gonzalez said following the draft, via Patriots.com. “Somebody that loves to learn. Just wants to learn all the nuances of the defense and how they all build together.”"
Belichick has had more success taking cornerbacks later in the draft or turning undrafted players into stud (see J.C. Jackson and Malcolm Butler), so taking Gonzalez when the team had greater needs at tackle and wide receiver means the coaches must really believe the No. 17 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft is something special.
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No knock-on Jonathan Jones, but with him as an eventual No. 2 corner, the Patriots secondary will be that much stronger with a talent like Gonzalez inspired to be the next great one in New England.
Is he ready to follow the shows of a player like Stephon Gilmore? Absolutely.
"“Definitely I know about it,” Gonzales said of players like Gilmore and Ty Law. “Like I said, I’m just excited to be able to get in there and play. Having great cornerbacks come out of that system. But yeah, definitely watched Stephon Gilmore. He’s a great player. I want to follow in the footsteps of him.”"
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With the wide receiver talent in the AFC East, the Patriots need him to follow in those footsteps sooner rather than later and perhaps that is why they went with an athlete like Gonzalez in the first round. A player who will be ready to step in quickly and perhaps start building his own footsteps to follow.