The New England Patriots spent a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to acquire cornerback Christian Gonzalez. While many Pats fans questioned the decision to use such a pick to get a defensive player, the former Oregon Ducks star has a chance to change the opinions of the same people into something more favorable toward him.

He certainly helped his case when he pulled off a spectacular interception of Tua Tagovailoa's pass in the fourth quarter of Sunday night's game in Foxborough against the Miami Dolphins. It was also the first pick of his career in the NFL.

That was not an easy interception for Christian Gonzalez to make, especially since he was covering one of the hardest wide receivers to cover in Tyreek Hill, who was coming off an insane performance in Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season. Immediately after that pick, Gonzalez started to get the love of fans from X (formerly Twitter).

“Christian Gonzales’ ball skills improved so much his final year of college. Just a tremendous play by him there,” said Mina Kimes of ESPN about the rookie's highlight play.

“Christian Gonzales….we’re glad you’re one of ours,” posted @realjohnjackson.

Another X user was left wondering how Christian Gonzalez even fell in the laps of the Patriots during the draft: “Don’t know how Christian Gonzales fell out the top 10 tbh.”

Before the Patriots took Gonzalez, he saw other defensive backs get selected first, with Devon Witherspoon going to the Seattle Seahawks and Emmanuel Forbes landing with the Washington Commanders.

More reactions: