Some believe Gonzalez to be the best cornerback in this class, and while I prefer Devon Witherspoon, there is no denying Gonzalez’s smoothness, intelligence, and ball skills. The Patriots may be ready to unleash a demon on the rest of the NFL, as nobody expected Gonzalez to last until the 17th overall pick, and he has everything required to exact revenge.
Height: 6′ 1⅜” (89th) Weight: 197 (68th)
40-Yard Dash: 4.38 (89th)
10-Yard Split: 1.54 (53rd)
Bench Press: 14 reps (44th)
Vertical Jump: 41½” (96th)
Broad Jump: 133″ (95th)
3-Cone Drill: N/A
20-Yard Shuttle: N/A
Wingspan: 76⅞” (70th)
Arm Length: 32″ (70th)
Hand Size: 9½” (76th)
Bio: A four-star recruit out of The Colony High School in Texas, Gonzalez played his first two seasons of college ball for the Colorado Buffaloes, transferring to Oregon for the 2022 season when cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin moved from Colorado to the Ducks. Gonzalez started all five games of Colorado’s COVID-shortened 2020 season, and kept that status through his collegiate career until he opted out of Oregon’s 2022 Holiday Bowl game against North Carolina.
Over three collegiate seasons, Gonzalez had no sacks or pressures, 115 tackles, 37 stops, and he allowed 89 catches on 155 targets for 1,054 yards, 473 yards after the catch, seven touchdowns, four interceptions, 14 pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 82.6. He played 1,524 snaps at outside cornerback, 204 in the slot, 176 in the box, 10 along the defensive line, and four at free safety.
Stat to Know: Last season, Gonzalez lined up in the slot on 29% of his snaps, by far the highest rate for any cornerback in this class — TCU’s Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson ranked second at 28%.
Strengths: Okay, here’s the REAL stat to know with Gonzalez — in 2022, against throws of 20 or more air yards, he allowed two catches on nine targets for 69 yards, no touchdowns, and three interceptions. Metrics aren’t always the optimal indicator of performance, but if a cornerback has more interceptions than catches allowed on deep passes, that’s probably pretty good. Gonzalez’s tape backs that up in a couple of ways.
Gonzales is also the best zone cornerback on this list from a statistical perspective — he gave up nine catches no 21 targets in zone last season for 107 yards, one touchdown, four interceptions, and five pass breakups. Because he’s so smooth and athletic through his transitions, he can make these kinds of deep dropbacks look far easier than they are. You don’t really get the sense that Gonzalez is physically overwhelmed at any time.
And whether Gonzalez is in man or zone coverage, throwing any kind of ball to the boundary when he has position is just… well, you don’t want to do it.
Weaknesses: I was surprised that the Ducks wanted Gonzalez in the slot as much as they did, because he just doesn’t seem as comfortable there. Richard Sherman once told me that the tough part of playing in the slot is that the boundary is no longer your friend, and that lack of “friendship” makes him look a bit lost at times when he’s playing inside.
There’s been a bit of talk about Gonzalez’s lack of “killer instinct” — that if he worked more on affecting the receiver instead of just playing the ball, he could be even more dominant. I’m not trying to venture inside his head, but there are times when it’s clear on his tape. If he had Devon Witherspoon’s playing personality, he might be illegal.
Conclusion: There are players at every position in the NFL who just make things look easier than they have any right to make them look. Christian Gonzalez has all the attributes to become one of those players sooner than later at the next level. If he manages to add a bit of grit to the reams of teach tape, there’s no telling how good he can be — especially if he’s aligned as an outside cornerback as much as possible.
NFL Comparison: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. There’s a little Richard Sherman to Gonzalez’s game in that he defends every deep fade with a curiosity that any quarterback would try such a thing, but Gonzalez also has a smoothness to his game that’s just unusual for his size, and he doesn’t have Sherm’s obvious desire to physically embarrass his opponent. That puts me in mind of Rodgers-Cromartie, who at his best was just impossible for receivers to shake.