When the New England Patriots selected Christian Gonzalez with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, many thought they pulled off the steal of the draft.

But even after the Patriots made the selection, there wasn't a guarantee that Gonzalez would earn a starting spot. Jonathan Jones had a strong season in 2022, his first playing on the perimeter, while Jack Jones also had a strong season playing on the perimeter during his rookie season.

In an interview recorded with The 33rd Team earlier in June though, Patriots coach Bill Belichick indicated that Gonzalez could play a key spot at corner when the season begins.

“We’ll work him into a number of positions like we do almost all players at this point in time in the spring, and then narrow it down a little bit when we get to training camp,” Belichick said. “Ultimately, he’s most likely going to be a perimeter corner, but I think there are other situations where he could play inside or in a deeper part of the field, depending on what the call is or how things present themselves from a game-plan structure from time-to-time.”

Belichick's comments reflected what we saw at organized team activities and in minicamp practices in May and June. Gonzalez took first-team snaps at perimeter corner lining up opposite of Jonathan Jones on some occasions, clearly playing the role as the Patriots' No. 1 corner. But he also played perimeter corner on the backup unit too when Jonathan Jones and Jack Jones were playing the same spot on the starting unit during points in minicamp.

Gonzalez's chances to start as a boundary corner might have increased following the end of minicamp. Two days after the Patriots began their summer break before training camp, Jack Jones was arrested for allegedly having two loaded guns in a carry-on bag at Logan Airport. Jack Jones' future with the team remains unknown as he's still on the roster but could face discipline.

If Jack Jones isn't on the roster, Gonzalez would, in all likelihood, start at perimeter corner opposite of Jonathan Jones. Jack Jones could still remain on the Patriots' roster and following a solid rookie season and a strong minicamp, he looked like he was in line to have a starting role. If the Patriots started both Jack and Jonathan Jones at the outside corner spots, they could play Gonzalez at nickel corner in place of Marcus Jones, who played a major role on special teams and had some standout plays on offense last season.

Another possible scenario for the Patriots could be to start Gonzalez and Jack Jones at the outside corner spots with Marcus Jones at nickel corner and Jonathan Jones at free safety.

Either way, the Patriots have a lot of possible ways to play their players in the secondary, something that was seen through much of minicamp as they showed several different looks. The addition of Gonzalez (along with rookies Keion White and Marte Mapu) is a big part of that as the Patriots might have one of the league's most intriguing defenses entering the 2023 season.