Patriots player profile: Christian Gonzalez is a foundational talent on defense

Previewing the Patriots cornerback heading into his third NFL season.

The New England Patriots’ 2024 season was a major disappointment, leading to some organization-wide changes both on and off the field. Not all was bad in the one season under head coach Jerod Mayo, though: after already showing considerable promise in limited action as a rookie, Christian Gonzalez took the expected Year 2 leap.

What can be expected from the young cornerback heading into his third season as a pro? Let’s assess in the first installment of our 2025 Patriots Player Profile series.

Hard facts

Name: Christian Gonzalez

Position: Cornerback

Jersey number: 0

Opening day age: 23 (6/28/2002)

Measurements: 6’1 3/8”, 205 lbs, 76 7/8” wingspan, 32” arm length, 9 1/2” hand size, 4.38s 40-yard dash, 41 1/2” vertical jump, 11’1” broad jump, 14 bench press reps, 9.95 Relative Athletic Score

Experience

NFL: England Patriots (2022-) | College: Colorado (2020–2021), Oregon (2022)

Playing various roles at The Colony High School in his Texas hometown, Gonzalez was named all-district in both his junior and senior seasons. A four-star recruit, he received offers from several high-profile schools, before deciding to commit to Purdue. He later flipped his commitment and joined the University of Colorado instead.

Gonzalez spent his first two college seasons with the Buffaloes, starting all 18 games and registering 73 tackles and 9 pass breakups. Following his 2021 sophomore year, however, he decided to take his talents to Oregon. Earning first-team All-Pac 12 honors, he produced the best season of his college career and, after deciding to leave college early, became a serious first-round candidate entering the NFL Draft.

Gonzalez was eventually selected 17th overall by the Patriots. A season-ending shoulder injury limited his rookie campaign to only four games, but he already showed considerable promise along the way. Returning without limitations in 2024, the young cornerback took his game to a new level and established himself as one of the NFL’s best players at his position.

In total, Gonzalez started all 20 of his NFL games so far. He has given up only two touchdowns while registering three interceptions and a fumble return for his first career score. He was named second-team All-Pro in 2024.

Scouting report

Strengths: As evidenced by his 9.95 Relative Athletic Score, Gonzalez has an elite profile that combines straight-line speed, explosivity and agility. He has proven himself capable of following the best wide receivers in the game without any help over the top, combining advanced hand usage with the reactionary skills and physicality to contend from the release, through the stem of the route and any breaks, to the catch point.

Not easily fooled by misdirection concepts or route combinations due to his natural poise and steady eyes, Gonzalez is at his best when allowed to play shadow man-to-man — following his assignment all over the field and almost creating a 10-on-10 situation. He uses the sideline, has impressive spatial awareness, and times his jumps well. He also recovers quickly when giving up receptions, allowing only 3.5 yards after catch over his career.

Gonzalez also offers tremendous versatility from a scheme and positional perspective, being able to perform at a high level both as a man and a zone defender. In zone, he employs his click-and-close foot speed and high football IQ to his advantage, while also being able to follow vertically and break down on the ball. Gonzalez also plays with a hot motor, offering competitiveness and “by example” leadership in the room.

Weaknesses: While he did add seven pounds to his listed weight since the Scouting Combine, Gonzalez is not the most physically intimidating presence. He wins due to his outstanding technique rather than his ability to overwhelm wide receivers at the release point, while also running hot and cold in terms of his block-shedding skills. His career missed tackle rate of 7.2 percent also offers room for improvement.

2024 review

Stats: 16 games (16 starts) | 978 defensive snaps (87.5%) | 59 tackles, 5 missed tackle (7.8%), 1 fumble recovery (1 TD) | 84 targets, 46 catches surrendered (54.8%), 499 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs | 1 quarterback pressure (1 hit) | 3 penalty (2 offset)

Season recap: After suffering a torn labrum the previous October and undergoing season-ending surgery, Gonzalez was back at Gillette Stadium for the start of offseason workouts. He did not skip a beat during the spring, and stayed on an upward trajectory during the summer and heading into the regular season. While he was listed as questionable due to a shoulder issue at one point in the season — Week 15 in Arizona — his labrum was of no obvious concern in 2024.

As a result of that and his continued growth from an already promising rookie season, Gonzalez delivered a quality campaign as New England’s undisputed No. 1 cornerback. Despite regularly going up 1-on-1 against some of the best wide receivers the league has to offer, he more than just stood his ground: he played at a level worthy of All-Pro recognition and showed time and again that leaving him on an island was a perfect use of his skillset.

The numbers speak for themselves. Even though he faced a challenging slate that included the likes of Ja’Marr Chase, DK Metcalf, Garrett Wilson, Tyreek Hill, Stefon Diggs and Marvin Harrison Jr., he was credited with only 46 surrendered catches on 84 targets for a combined 499 yards; he also was flagged only three times, with two of those offsetting.

The sophomore defender did give up his first two career touchdowns in Week 3 against the New York Jets (Wilson) and Week 6 versus the Houston Texans (Diggs), but also registered a pair of interceptions — one in Week 5 against the Miami Dolphins and another in Week 13 versus the Indianapolis Colts. He also scored his first career touchdown when he ran back a fumble 63 yards on the road against the Dolphins.

All in all, Gonzalez was able to build on the promise he showed as a rookie and also did not struggle with an extended workload: he started his first 16 games and rarely left the field along the way with no drop-off in quality as the season went along.

Unfortunately, he had to end a second consecutive season on the sidelines. Gonzalez suffered a concussion on a tackle attempt early in Week 17 against the Los Angeles Chargers, and as a consequence was held out of the season finale.

While his season did therefore end on a sour note, it was an impressive one nonetheless. Gonzalez did miss out on his first Pro Bowl — the fact that he played on a 4-13 team that had only two standalone games all year likely did not help his case — but he was voted second-team All-Pro and finished fifth in the NFL Comeback Player of the Year vote.

2025 preview

Position: CB1 | Ability: Blue-chip starter | Contract: Signed through 2026

What will be his role? One of the best defenders in the NFL regardless of position or experience, Gonzalez will once again serve as the Patriots’ No. 1 cornerback. As such, he will play close to 100 percent of defensive snaps and regularly shadow opponents’ top weapons in man-to-man. Having him in the fold allows New England to be aggressive with its coverage shells, and essentially removes one offensive player from the equation.

What is his growth potential? Gonzalez is not even 23 years old and despite only having played 20 games at the pro level is already a top 5 cornerback in the NFL — one who combines elite athletic traits with advanced technique, toughness and football intelligence. His weaknesses, as outlined above, are few and far between, which is further proof of his perennial All-Pro ceiling.

Does he have positional versatility? As far as cornerback play is concerned, Gonzalez offers all the versatility you could ask for: he is capable of playing 1-on-1 coverage both on the outside and in the slot, and has the range and reactionary skills to succeed in zone as well. He also played a handful of special teams snaps during his rookie season, but given his valuable and extensive role on defense that number staying at zero makes plenty of sense.

What is his salary cap situation? Entering Year 3 of his rookie contract, Gonzalez is one of the bigger bargains on the Patriots roster. Carrying a salary cap number of $4.118 million, he is ranked only 21st on the team and 48th among all of the NFL’s cornerbacks. His cap hit consists of a $1.448 million salary, $1.996 million signing bonus proration, and $675,000 roster bonus. The entirety of the deal is fully guaranteed.

How safe is his roster spot? Gonzalez is as safe a lock to make the roster as any player on New England’s pay roll at the moment. The bigger question when it comes to his future are a) whether or not he will make his first Pro Bowl this coming season to impact the eventual cost of the fifth-year contract option the team is expected to pick up next spring, and b) how he will adapt to playing under a new coordinator (Terrell Williams)/cornerbacks coach (Justin Hamilton) tandem.

Summary: Christian Gonzalez is a foundational piece for the Patriots, and already one of the best cornerbacks in football. Despite Drake Maye’s presence on offense and some intriguing talent elsewhere on the roster, he is the team’s best player heading into 2025.

What do you think about Christian Gonzalez heading into the 2025 season? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.