The New England Patriots seemed to have found their next defensive star as corner back Christian Gonzalez bursted on to the scene last season as being a bonafide shut down player in the secondary, all that while being a rookie. He is heading in to next season looking to only improve as he even is being compared to other productive Patriots defensive backs such as Stephon Gilmore, who is now with the Tennessee Titans.
However, fans only got to see Gonzalez in four games since he suffered from a season ending shoulder injury as he was selected with the 17th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The comparison to Gilmore was made by New England veteran corner back Jonathan Jones, who was teammates with the current free agent, as he said Tuesday to the media that both are “playmakers” according to Mark Daniels of Mass Live.
“(I’ve seen) much of the same since he’s been here last year. He comes in, doesn’t say much,” Jones said. “He kind of reminds me of Gilmore in the sense that he doesn’t really say much, but when they step out on the field, they become playmakers. It’s exciting to see him back, coming off an injury, I think it’s going to be good for him.”
During the four games that Gonzalez did play in, he was doing exceptionally well against top wide receivers in the game like Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill, Dallas Cowboys' CeeDee Lamb, Philadelphia Eagles' A.J. Brown, and New York Jets' Garrett Wilson. Now that the Oregon product is healthy, he has a chance in training camp to prove once again that he is a defensive star in the making, hopefully one like Gilmore who gave the Patriots a player no quarterback wants to throw their way.
Jones not the first to compare Gonzalez and Gilmore on Patriots
“(He’s) just coming out and working,” Jones said. “Once we get out in pads, that’s when he shows – especially for a guy like him, a physical corner and puts his hands on guys. Once we get out in pads, I think he’ll show.”
Jones was not even the first to make the comparison between Gonzalez and Gilmore as even former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said on a radio show that both players have a “calm demeanor” about them according to Khari Thompson of Boston.com.
“One of the best things about Christian, especially at that position, is he’s very even-keeled,” Belichick said. “He’s not overly emotional one way another and he’s got a good, calm demeanor – a lot like Gilmore did.”
In any sense, Gonzalez and the Patriots are looking to bounce back in a huge way on top of the start of a new era without Belichick as last season, they had a 4-13 record which put them last in the AFC East. They start the upcoming season on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Sept. 8.
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