New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez is ready to embark on his second season, and he has received some high praise in the process.
His teammate, Jonathan Jones, recently compared him to former All-Pro corner Stephon Gilmore.
Gilmore was a key piece of the Patriots defense for several seasons. He had many highlights during his time in New England, including winning the 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. Now, Gonzalez is ready to take on a similar role, as he has the potential to offer that same consistency in the secondary.
“(Gilmore is) one of the best to ever do it,” Gonzalez said, per a team-provided video, via NESN.com’s Gayle Troiani. “He plays with great smarts, and he knows the game really well. I spoke to him a couple of times, him telling me that and watching his film, you can see how he played like that. I’m just trying to mimic certain things, but it’s really cool to be able to talk to somebody like that and want to talk about ball.”
This isn’t to say that the Patriots need Gonzalez to live up to Gilmore’s level of play, but his ability to do so doesn’t seem too far-fetched. Gonzalez is clearly on an upward trajectory in his career, and he has a chance to make an even bigger impact this season.