Patriots Receive High Grades For Christian Gonzalez Pick
A year ago after the first round of the NFL Draft, the New England Patriots had experts scratching their heads and opposing franchises mocking their pick.
Then: Cole Strange. Now: Christian Gonzalez.
Who's laughing now?
While it may not have been as splashy as teams like the Houston Texans or Philadelphia Eagles, Bill Belichick and the Patriots were one of the major winners of the first night of the 2023 NFL Draft. New England traded the No. 14 overall pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for the 17th pick in the first round, while also collecting an addition fourth-round pick (selection 120).
Despite the move down, the Patriots filled a major area of need by selecting cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who was First-Team All-Pac-12 in his final season at Oregon. Unsurprisingly, the Patriots nabbing a player that many projected as a Top 10 or even the best cornerback in the draft were given strong grades for their first-round performance from all major outlets.
Reuter was very complimentary of Gonzalez's "size, athleticism and ball skills," adding that he didn't expect him to be on the board this far into the first round.
Brent Sobleski, Bleacher Report: A
For whatever issues the Patriots have had developing skill-position talent in recent years, cornerback appears to be one that they consistently nail. Sobleski opines that "Gonzalez went to the best possible situation."
Pro Football Focus: Very Good
Rather than using letter grades, PFF referred to the best picks in their estimation as being "elite." The selection of Gonzalez received a "very good" - which is seemingly similar to a B+ - with the outlet noting that he was the No. 2 overall cornerback on their big board.
In Prisco's estimation, Gonzalez was the top cornerback prospect in this year's class, which makes it pretty easy to understand how he arrived at this grade.
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