Getty Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez.
Buzz for Christian Gonzalez’s second season with the New England Patriots has been a building at a steady rate, but now the hype train has accelerated after the cornerback was compared to shutdown All-Pro cover man Stephon Gilmore.
The latter helped the Patriots win a Super Bowl in 2019, the same year he was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Gilmore was also a two-time first-team All-Pro during his time with the Pats.
It’s a CV few corners can match, but Pats’ veteran Jonathan Jones believes Gonzalez can emulate Gilmore. Jones sees similarities between the two, per MassLive.com’s Mark Daniels: “(I’ve seen) much of the same since he’s been here last year. He comes in, doesn’t say much. 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.”
That’s lofty praise for a young player who started just four games before a torn labrum ended his rookie campaign ahead of schedule. Yet, the 17th player selected in the 2023 NFL draft showed enough from a small sample size to convince observers he can become the next in a long line of shutdown cornerbacks for the Patriots, a list that includes Gilmore, Darrelle Revis, Asante Samuel and Ty Law.
As NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport put it, “Inside the building, there is so much optimism for Christian Gonzalez.”
If Gonzalez can meet expectations, he’ll help the Patriots maintain the same gameplan-fluid and weapon-focused defense they used for years under now former head coach Bill Belichick.
Christian Gonzalez Primed to Join NFL’s Elite
Gonzalez is being tabbed to join the league’s elite because of what he put on tape early last season. The film showed the 22-year-old was able to lock up an opponent’s best wide receiver in man coverage.
It’s what he did against 2022 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Garrett Wilson when the Patriots faced AFC East rivals the New York Jets in Week 3. Gonzalez gave Wilson a tough time just one week after dominating All-Pro Tyreek Hill against another divisional foe, the Miami Dolphins, per SCOUTD.
Shutting down the premier wideouts in football is an essential trait for an elite cornerback. Gonzalez has already proved he can handle the task, but his greater value to the Patriots will be defined by how he helps the rest of the coverage schemes the way Gilmore once did.
Patriots Need Another Stephon Gilmore
The Patriots have often used shutdown corners in more subtle ways than other NFL defenses. Common consensus is to always have your No. 1 cornerback trail the opposition’s go-to receiver, but Belichick made cuter use of his resources.
Specifically, he’d sometimes put an elite corner like Gilmore over a No. 2 receiver. Not only did this create an obvious matchup advantage for the Pats, it also let New England double the main target.
That’s how things worked when Gilmore helped the Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 to win a Super Bowl. Gilmore blanketed Brandin Cooks and allowed the Patriots to put numbers around fellow receiver Robert Woods.
The combination helped Gilmore ice the game and a sixth Lombardi Trophy with this famous pick.
INTERCEPTADOOO!!! Stephon Gilmore intercepta a bola de Jared Goff e acaba com a boa campanha dos Rams! #NFLBrasil #SuperBowl
Belichick’s no longer at the helm, but replacement Jerod Mayo played middle linebacker for his predecessor for eight years. Mayo called Belichick’s defenses on the field and knows the virtue of a flexible strategy based around a roving, lockdown coverage guy.
Gonzalez can do for Mayo what Gilmore did for Belichick.