The rest of the NFL could soon regret leaving rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez on the draft board for the New England Patriots to select at No. 17 overall.
Gonzalez has been one of the few bright spots for a Patriots team that opened the season up 0-2, following back-to-back home losses to the Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins.
Buy Patriots TicketsHe was once again one of the top tacklers for New England in their loss to the Dolphins on Sunday night, while also deflecting a pass and jumping in front of Dolphins All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill for the first interception of his NFL career.
🚨 ROOKIE INT!🚨 @chrisgonzo28 @Patriots
📺: #MIAvsNE on NBC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/FhXtx7w3wW pic.twitter.com/jY8NWbsXkx— NFL (@NFL) September 18, 2023
Perhaps the most impressive thing about Gonzalez is the exceptional competition he’s faced right out of the gates. He ran into A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith with the Eagles, before matching up with Hill and Jaylen Waddle with the Dolphins.
Regardless of the matchup, he has had strong showings against both team’s receivers.
After Sunday’s slate of games, Gonzalez currently has the third-highest Pro Football Focus grade of all NFL cornerbacks with at least 50 or more total snaps so far this season.
Here’s the top-20 as it currently stands:
20
Charvarius Ward
Grade: 73.3
19
Greg Newsome II
Grade: 74.1
18
Joey Porter Jr.
Grade: 74.2
17
Michael Carter II
Grade: 74.5
16
Rasul Douglas
Grade: 75.3
15
Sauce Gardner
Grade: 75.3
14
Tre Herndon
Grade: 76.3
13
Zyon McCollum
Grade: 76.6
12
DaRon Bland
Grade: 77.0
11
Tyson Campbell
Grade: 78.1
10
D.J. Reed
Grade: 78.8
9
Pat Surtain II
Grade: 78.8
8
Darious Williams
Grade: 79.5
7
Roger McCreary
Grade: 79.9
6
Kader Kohou
Grade: 80.5
5
Trevon Diggs
Grade: 80.7
4
Trent McDuffie
Grade: 81.0
3
Christian Gonzalez
Grade: 82.6
2
Steven Nelson
Grade: 84.2
1
Tavierre Thomas
Grade: 87.5
