Patriots' Christian Gonzalez Named Top 10 CB

The New England Patriots have lived in headlines this offseason for all of the additions they've made. The Patriots added the likes of Milton Williams, Carlton Davis and Robert Spillane to their defense in hopes of making that unit better. The conversation has been so centered around the new additions that the already great players on the roster have flown under the radar.

One of those terrific players is cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who officially ranked as the No. 6 cornerback in the NFL in a poll held by ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

"Gonzalez caught the league's full attention as an honorable mention last year despite missing 13 games with a shoulder injury in 2023," Fowler writes. "He reached top-10 status after his second-year performance, as expected, allowing 46 of 86 targets to be completed as the nearest defender in coverage. That 53.5% completion percentage was the third-lowest among 33 players with at least 75 targets coming their way."

One assistant coach told Fowler he believes that Gonzalez is the next great cornerback in the NFL.

"I think Gonzo is the next great one," the anonymous assistant said. "Skills, patience, length. He's the closest thing to Pat [Surtain II]. Smooth, big athlete, travels a lot, can matchup against the best guy."

Another coordinator highlighted Gonzalez' ability to play run support, as well as be tremendous in coverage.

"...he's got the size and coverage skills to put him on the outside and he can handle himself, and he can also come up and play run support and play within the construct of the defense," the coordinator said.

Gonzalez is quickly becoming one of the most respected, and most feared cornerbacks in the NFL. Should he continue to get even better with Davis playing opposite him in the secondary, New England will have one of the best units in the NFL.