P/C Kirby Lee- USA Today Sports
With the 17th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots selected Christian Gonzalez. A top-rated CB in the draft and an instant starter for the Patriots’ defense but who is Christian Gonzalez?
Gonzalez was born to a Columbian family in Carlington, Texas. His father was a college basketball player at UTEP and a semipro player. While two of his sisters were both two-time All-Americans in track and field, they also represent Columbia in international events. Needless to say Christian grew up in a competitive and athletically gifted family.
In high school he played WR and CB, ESPN listed him as a 4-star recruit and he committed to Purdue before switching and committing to the University of Colorado.
Gonzalez started right away as a freshman (2020) ending the season with 25 tackles and 5 pass deflections As a sophomore (2021), he had 53 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, and 5 pass deflections. He transferred to Oregon for his junior year (2022), where he boasted 50 tackles, 4 INTs, and 7 pass deflections.
At the combine he measured 6’1″ and weighed 197 pounds, he ran a 4.38 40 time, and a 41.5″ vertical. He had a 6.70 rating on NFL.com which is a “Day 1 Starter”, he is compared to DRC. NFL Next Gen Stats breakdown gave him a 92 which made him the #1 testing CB at the combine.
This was a huge steal for the Patriots and he can easily join the names of Ty Law, Stephon Gilmore, Raymond Clayborn, and maybe even Mike Haynes in great CBs who played for the Patriots.
Sources:
Wikipedia
College Football Reference
ESPN
NFL.com
Written by: Richard Gantz -Ultegacy