Being the first? Wow. Being the second? Okay. Being the third? “I was hot… I was mad because I was already the third CB taken… like, I know I’m not the third corner out of this class. I know I’m not the third corner.” says steamed superstar cornerback of the New England Patriots, Christian Gonzalez. Before we take you to Christian Gonzalez’s 2023 NFL draft adventure, let’s have a sneak peek of what’s he so proud of. Since CB Christian Gonzalez was extra-motivated to prove everyone wrong.
That’s quite a fantastic career start!
New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez has already gained accolades for that
- First-team All-Pac-12 (2022)
- Second-team All-Pro (2024)
- NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month (September 2023)
Patriots Pulse shared an Instagram post of CB Christian Gonzalez
Patriots Pulse shared CB Christian Gonzalez’s interview on their official IG account with the caption, “Christian Gonzalez was “heated” after being the third cornerback taken on draft night. Gonzalez thought he would go within the first ten picks but dropped to 17th overall to the Patriots.”
Christian Gonzalez goes down memory lane of his 2023 NFL draft and expresses, “That was probably one of the most stressful (nights). I know I’m gonna get picked, but I don’t know where, what’s next, where in the country I’m gonna live.”
The other two cornerbacks left with Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez were Seattle Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon and Washington Commanders CB Emmanuel Forbes
Christian Gonzalez shared on the Frat RulesPodcast show, “But then I was kinda falling. I was thinking of going top 10. The whole thing was, we gonna go, cause me and Spoon (CB Devon Witherspoon) got the same agent. We thought whoever went first out of us, the other one, would go right after. That ain’t happening. I kept just dropping, going down. Our class was kinda crazy. There was a lot of (players) that went that we didn’t think was gonna go.“
Gonzalez wanted to be under the top 10 picks, but he was the 17th overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft. The New England Patriots had selected him. Witherspoon was the 5th overall pick, and Forbes was the 16th overall pick. Emmanuel Forbes is no longer with the Washington Commanders. Forbes was released by the Commanders in December 2024.
“They thought I wasn’t competitive,” expressed cornerback for the New England Patriots, Christian Gonzalez
Gonzalez shared, “At the time, it was motivation. The knock on me was that I don’t talk a lot. And people thought I wasn’t competitive. I got to the league and have shown what I can do. I guess it’s because, usually, corners are a lot more talkative and talk a lot more trash. It’s just not my game. So, they thought I wasn’t competitive.”
Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill called Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez, “this young corner is next top 3 easily.”
After watching CB Christian Gonzalez show his magic in the New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill became his fan. The Cheetah shared Gonzalez’s pic and captioned it: “this young corner is next top 3 easily.”
Christian Gonzalez reacted to it, “You just don’t let the positive poison get to you. You appreciate it. You say thank you, and you move on. At the end of the day, that’s the noise outside the building. The only thing that really matters is what’s inside the building.“
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