Source: Poor Visit Led Steelers to Pass on Christian Gonzalez
The Pittsburgh Steelers ended up moving up to pick 14 after trading picks 17 and 120 to the New England Patriots. They selected Georgia offensive tackle Broderick Jones to be the future blindside protector for Kenny Pickett. There was one surprising name still surprisingly on the board: Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez.
A consensus top-ten player in the class, it didn't seem like he was a realistic option for the Steelers, even with a small trade up in mind. They ended up passing up on the talented cornerback, and according to a source, it was a poor pre-draft visit with Mike Tomlin that took him off of their draft board.
When visiting the facility, Mike Tomlin inquired about why the breakout junior transferred to Oregon after beginning his career with Colorado. Gonzalez explained that he was simply following his position coach to his new school. Tomlin was hoping to hear him say something along the lines of facing better competition but was left underwhelmed by Gonzalez's answer.
Later that day, Tomlin was then heard telling one of the Steelers stars, Minkah Fitzpatrick, that he didn't think Gonzalez had the "competitive edge" and that they wouldn't be seeing him again.
So if you're like me and wondering why they passed on a talented corner that checks essentially every box that you could possibly look for in a cornerback, that's why. There have been other rumblings about Gonzalez being a quieter personality, but there were no character concerns that popped up during the pre-draft process.
When I was on-site for the NFL Combine, Gonzalez seemed like he was universally loved by pretty much everyone in Indianapolis.
New England ended up picking the athletic phenom with the Steelers' original selection at pick 17, meaning that Broderick Jones and Christian Gonzalez will forever be linked in NFL history. It'll be fascinating to see it play out.
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