Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Lockdown: Christian Gonzalez Elevating Patriots Defense, Dictating Plans

Episode Date: September 23, 2026

New England Patriots’ defense dominates as Christian Gonzalez emerges as the NFL’s top corner, transforming the team’s entire approach. Can his All-Pro-level play and tight man coverage keep anc...horing the Patriots against tougher quarterbacks like Trevor Lawrence and Josh Allen?Nick Cattles highlights Gonzalez’s impact in shutting down elite receivers like Jaxon Smith-Njigba and DK Metcalf, while analyzing how his presence enables aggressive blitzing and a dynamic scheme under Zak Kuhr. The show also tackles the fallout from Mike Onwenu’s injury, interior O-line depth, and whether preseason snaps would have boosted rookie Drake Maye. Mailbag topics include Stefon Diggs trade rumors, the strategic use of sweeps with TreVeyon Henderson, and the shifting wide receiver room. Patriots fans get the latest insights on roster decisions and what lies ahead on the schedule.Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-patriots/Locked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, & More🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/leagues/nfl/#patriots #newenglandpatriotsSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!OdooGreat organizations win because operations matter. And that’s why you should get Odoo. Try for free today at https://Odoo.com/lockedon.Butcher BoxIf you're looking for an easier way to get great meals on the table, give ButcherBox a try.Go to https://ButcherBox.com/LOCKEDONNFL to get $20 off your first box, plus your choice of free ribeye, new york strip, or filet mignon in every box for a year — with free shipping always.IndeedListeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast.PrizePicksVisit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFL and use code LOCKEDONNFL and get $150 if you win your first $5 lineup!KALSHIToday's episode is brought to you by Kalshi. For a limited time, Download Kalshi and use code Locked On to get $25 when you trade $25. Kalshi. Trade what’s next.GametimeToday's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase.FanDuelGet three hundred fifty dollars in Bonus Bets — GUARANTEED — when you bet five dollars every day for seven days. Join all the action at https://FANDUEL.COMFANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Christian Gonzalez is playing like the best corner in football, and it is dictating the Pat's defensive plan. This is Lockdown Patriots. You are Locked on Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast, part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. What's happening? I am your host to Nick Cattles. On today's episode, Michael Wen, who's lost 2026 and how it could change the team's in-season roster building. In the second segment, Drake May's lack of preseason work in a possible Stefan Diggs reunion. But first, Christian Gonzalez is bawling.
Starting point is 00:00:43 Today's episode is brought to by Fandul. Get $350 in bonus bets guaranteed when you bet $5 every day for seven days. Join all the action at Fandul.com. The paths are one and one and had a chance to be two and oh because of their defense. Now let's be a little transparent here. The fact is they played Drew Locke after the first series in Seattle, backup quarterback. They followed that up playing against the Pittsburgh Steelers who can't get out of their own way offensively. Couldn't do much against Atlanta in Pittsburgh, let alone the Patriots defense in New England.
Starting point is 00:01:21 But the Patriots defense, they can only do what they can do, which is play who is on the schedule. And this defense, even though there are questions about who they have faced, has been terrific. And the most important and best player on this team through two weeks has been Christian Gonzalez. The way that the first two weeks have unfolded, he's the guy. And we can sit there and we can pick apart who the Patriots defense played in the first two weeks, defense versus offense. But you can't pick apart who Christian Gonzalez has blanketed the first couple of weeks.
Starting point is 00:02:00 the guys that he has played against, mono-a-mano, no joke, Jackson, Smith, and Jigba and D.K. Metcath. And Gonzalez so far in 2026 to me is playing like a first-team all pro, and I would argue he's playing like the best corner in the entire league. He shut down J-S-N in man-to-man reps. And if you missed what Jackson Smith and Jigba did in week two, well, he had nine catches for a buck-fifty-five.
Starting point is 00:02:30 not one, not two, but three touchdowns. He did nothing of the sort against Gonzalez. Yes, he had the 45-yard touchdown against Zone. We talked about it. That was not on Gonzalez. Gonzalez did a fantastic job against JSN, who is considered one of, if not the best receivers in football. And then this past week against D.K. Metcalfe, he did pretty much the same.
Starting point is 00:02:57 Mike Giardi, Boston Sports Journal wrote, Gonzalez is ascended to a higher plane, completely taking D.K. Metcalfe out of the game. In man coverage, D.K. McCaff had seven targets, just two catches for eight yards. Giardy continued. It went beyond the stat line. It was the ongoing conversation between plays, where Gonzalez was so far in Metcalf's head that he probably got a social security number in his girlfriend's cell. Christian Gonzalez has been downright fantastic to start this year. And Gonzalez's ability to play man coverage, his ability to shut down the opposition's best receiver
Starting point is 00:03:42 has dictated what the Patriots are doing defensively. Because Gonzalez, he is going to shadow wide receiver one a lot of times during a Sunday. And because he's going to shadow the wide receiver one, You are now going to rely more on man coverage. You rely more on man coverage. You blitz more. We talked about that during the 2025 postseason.
Starting point is 00:04:07 The playoff games, right? Zach Core defensive play caller called a bunch of blitzes. And it's because the Patriots leaned in on the man coverage. And they've done the same thing through the first two weeks of this season. I was wondering how much the Patriots would blitz the Pittsburgh Steelers. Aaron Rogers, he's good. against the blitz. You could argue he's great against the blitz. Now, he stinks against pressure, but you've got to get home with that blitz. Now, what else, what also helps when
Starting point is 00:04:37 you might not get home immediately on a blitz is your man coverage is locked down coverage. The Patriots, they walked into that Steelers game. They weren't afraid of blitzing Rogers. They blitzed him 39% of the time. And they married that 39% blitz rate with a ton of man coverage. Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald wrote that the Patriots, they played 52% zone, 48% man. That is a ton of man coverage, especially in 2026. When a quarterback is lining up, getting ready for the snap, and essentially is looking out to the defense, and whether that defense is playing a zone or it's playing man coverage is a
Starting point is 00:05:27 flip up the coin, which practically it was against the Steelers, instead of 50-50, it was 52-48, that's a ton of man coverage. And because you're playing so much man coverage, you can devote more bodies to the run game. You've got more guys up front, right? You're blitzing more. You're more aggressive, which means you can be better against the run. Teams aren't burning you with the pass. And this is all because of Christian Gonzalez.
Starting point is 00:05:54 If you don't have Gonzalez, this is not the defensive plan. If you don't have Gonzalez, you're not blitzing Pittsburgh almost 40% of the time. If you don't have Gonzalez, you're not playing Pittsburgh 48% of the time in man coverage. You're just not going to do that. Gonzalez allows you to do that. And this is what the great corners do. We've seen it in past years. The ability to lock down half the field.
Starting point is 00:06:23 and allowing your defense to get exotic, get aggressive, that's what we're seeing. You know, when you have a Dorel Revis, you can do that back in the day. When you have a Patrick Sertan out in Denver, you can do that. And with Gonzalez, the way he's playing, what he's doing, in New England, you can do the same thing. when you have tight man coverage like the Patriots have had and watching the film against the Steelers, and I know the Steelers especially without Michael Pittman, again, they don't have a great receiver room.
Starting point is 00:07:01 D.K. Metcalf is good. I think he's overrated, but he's good. But when you have that tight man coverage, watching that Steelers film, Marcus Jones, Charles Woods, obviously Gonzalez, their corners played really good coverage the vast majority of the time. And when you have that tight man coverage, the quarterback is looking for somebody to target, and that guy's not open. And then you have the blitz. Just raining down on that quarterback, good luck.
Starting point is 00:07:33 And one of the things that Mike Vrable has discussed throughout training camp, throughout even before training camp, is the idea of creating turnovers. defense needs to create more turnovers than they created in 2025. And if you have that tight man coverage and you've got that hectic
Starting point is 00:07:54 blitzing happening that should result in more turnovers being created, which should result in shorter fields, which results in better, more efficient offense, which results in more points on the scoreboard.
Starting point is 00:08:10 That's what the Patriots are trying to accomplish here. And this is why myself and many other people out there said, yes, you have to sign Gonzalez to an extension. You have to keep Gonzalez happy because he means so much to this entire operation. It's not just what he can do on an island. It's the trickle-down effect for Zach Corr's defense and his defensive game planning. And we've seen that the first two weeks. Gonzalez, simply put, has been worth every single solitary penny.
Starting point is 00:08:48 Now, with that said, bigger challenges are ahead. You've got to play at Jacksonville, Trevor Lawrence, a very talented wide receiver room. You've got to play against Buffalo. In Buffalo, we'll see if DJ Moore is healthy by then. But Buffalo, obviously, with Josh Allen, who was on a heater to start this season. so the level of competition is going to go up significantly over the next couple of weeks. But if you can continue to play this type of man coverage with this type of blitzing, getting after the quarterbacks, good luck to any offense.
Starting point is 00:09:23 And it all begins with Gonzalez. Should the Pats regret not playing Drake May in the preseason? My answer to that and more mailbag questions coming up next. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. Now the number one sports podcast network, your team every day. Running a business shouldn't feel like you're trying to connect a bunch of systems that were never designed to work together. One app for accounting, another for inventory, another for sales, and somehow, none of them talk to each other. That's where Odu comes in.
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Starting point is 00:11:30 And once you start paying attention to individual player stats, you notice so much more during a game, like who's getting the targets, who's controlling the ground game. Download the app today and use code lockdown NFL to get $150 instantly in lineups if you win your first $5 lineup. Prize picks, run your game. Thank you for making us your first listen and for being an every day. Before we jump into the mailbag questions, some quick notes. Mike Ovenu officially placed on injured reserve on Tuesday, he's Dunzo.
Starting point is 00:12:06 The Patriots with that open roster spot signed punter Mitch Wischnowski to the 53. man roster. They also signed tight end Tanner Connor to the practice squad. So Tanner Connor replaces Wischnowski's practice squad spot. Wishnowski replaces Mike Owenu's 53 man roster spot. To get back to tight end Tanner Connor, according to Mark Daniels of Mass Live, Connor played in 33 games with the dolphins over the last four seasons. Apparently the Patriots loved the Dolphins tight end room last year. They signed Julian Hill in the offseason. Of course, he gets injured. Eli Rairden banged up with the thigh. So they go right back to a former dolphin signing Tanner Connor to the practice squad. All right. Let's start with the questions. Let's go to Johnny Utah
Starting point is 00:12:57 PS. How much would some preseason reps have helped Drake May? All right. Well, I don't think the lack of preseason reps has hurt May. I think people overrate the idea of Drake May going out there and playing. I understand, you know, Mike Reese says, Drake May should have played some and you go back to Bill Belichick and football players only get ready by playing football. I get the idea. But I do not think May playing in a preseason game would have changed the math through the first two weeks.
Starting point is 00:13:34 I just can't believe that 8 to 10 dropbacks in a preseason game is the difference between what we've seen from May through the first two weeks and what we saw from him before last year's postseason. I just don't believe that. Let's not forget, like if May's out there playing in the preseason, who's he playing against? He's playing against second string guys at best. He's probably playing against third stringers.
Starting point is 00:14:03 Don't forget. you know, as the Patriots went through their camp in their preseason games, they had three joint practices, one against Indy and two against Philly. Well, Indianapolis is not going to run out their number two guys against Drake May. I don't think that would happen. And if so, it's like one series against the Colts twos. Woo! And then Philly, Philly's going to play nobody. When you play two joint practices before the preseason game, like you're not going to play any of your guys. So 8 to 10 dropbacks against Philly's third string is not going to make Drake May any better in Seattle against the Seahawks against that defensive play caller or against
Starting point is 00:14:43 the Steelers front seven. I just don't buy it. And it's not just the level of talent you play in the preseason. It's also what defenses are doing in the preseason. All Drake May is going to see if he's out there in the preseason against second and third stringers is vanilla defense. He's not going to get cover six. He's not going to get unique blitz packages. He's not going to get any of that. He could go out there and take his 10 dropbacks and throw two touchdowns in the preseason. None of that would matter.
Starting point is 00:15:17 You know, the early struggles from May, part of it is just who they're playing. And that's not excuse making. Those are reasons. Now, there's no excuse, obviously, and there are no reasons to throw three interceptions in a fourth quarter, but Seattle's defense is great. Mike McDonald is great. Pittsburgh's defensive line is very good. They had a surprise game plan on Sunday against May.
Starting point is 00:15:44 They blitzed more than they usually do. They played more man coverage than we would have expected. And they had Patrick Graham as their defensive play caller who has Intel, right? I mean, he coached with the Patriots. He's gone against Josh McDaniels. He coached on McDaniels staff in Vegas. He played May and McDaniels last year with Vegas. So some of this, you do tip the cap to the defenses and the play calling.
Starting point is 00:16:17 And on Sunday, you got Jared Wilson and Greg Van Routen just struggling, which doesn't help. And May is still trying to learn how to see it better, quote unquote, against cover six. And again, that's not going to happen in the preseason. that's where a lot of these troubles are coming. You know, zone, different looks. He's hesitating. He's late confirming that guys are open. But this type of stuff happens to young quarterbacks.
Starting point is 00:16:46 He just has to crack the code. And I think he'll eventually get there. All right, before we get to our next question, don't forget to help Brother out. Don't forget to help this YouTube channel out. Click the thumbs up. Give us a like. Helps us with the algorithm.
Starting point is 00:16:59 Don't forget to comment. That also helps us with the algorithm. and subscribe to the channel. The next goal is 11,000 subscribers. We're far away from that. Hundreds away. So help us out, like, comment, and subscribe. Okay, question number two from A.J. Brown and Joyer. We're a ways away, but is there a world where the commanders go on a bad run without Jaden Daniels and are willing to trades Defon Diggs back to the Pats? Anything is possible. Kevin Garnett told us that a long time ago, but I don't see it. You know, This isn't just about 2026 for Drake May.
Starting point is 00:17:36 This is about the next two, three, four years. And I think the Patriots are better served, giving opportunities to Romeo Dobbs and Pop Douglas and Kyle Williams to see what you have and to try to build those guys up. It's just critical to the operation. You need to know where you're at as you enter into next off season. You bring in Stefan Diggs, he might give you. He might give you a little bit of a shot of adrenaline, a little bit more juice, right?
Starting point is 00:18:10 He could certainly help you this year. But you're looking at this year and the bigger picture for your quarterback because inevitably, you know, A.J. Brown's 29. You bring Diggs in for one year. Not that you're starting over at receiver next off season, but you could be making more moves at that position than you want to because you did not give the opportunities to the guys who are on the team right now. The Patriots need to give these other guys the opportunities
Starting point is 00:18:41 instead of being stuck on names from yesteryear. Fans are still, there are still a number of fans who are just obsessed with the Kashan booty thing. There are fans that are looking at Stefan Diggs as he plays well for Washington and says, why don't they keep Stefan Diggs? you make the decisions you make in real time. Like it feels like there were non-football reasons for Stefan Diggs's release that went beyond just money. And we went through this through the offseason. He usually wears out his welcome with quarterbacks and teams after like 18 months to two years.
Starting point is 00:19:20 Now, you know, if he comes back, if he came back and helped you, I get the argument. But you also have to think about the big picture, which. also includes the idea of trading an asset for Stefan Diggs. Do you want to trade a draft pick for Diggs? Do you want to trade a draft pick for Diggs considering he's in his 30s and you would be banking on him being at his best late in the season and in the playoffs? I think that's a far from ideal plan.
Starting point is 00:19:50 I'd rather just give the guys here a shot. We also have to think about what other needs the Patriots will have over the next several weeks. Like Michael Wend, who just had a season injury. Things can happen. And so, you know, I'm looking at receiver and I'm still saying to myself, you get A.J. Brown back. You still have a really good room. They should have enough in this wide receiver room to figure it out. Now, if you have more injuries, that's a different conversation. But like, you should have enough. You should have enough in that wide receiver room.
Starting point is 00:20:30 And I'm going to bank on Drake May being better, which will, in theory, help. elevate those guys as well. Coming up, the interior offensive line depth and how desperate the Pats could be a post-mic-Micenew World. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. A quiz on your phone and a box at your door is not a clinic. When it comes to men's health, things like energy, sleep, drive, and how you feel day to day deserve more than a questionnaire.
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Starting point is 00:22:59 Thanks for checking out the lockdown podcast network, now the number one sports podcast network. Let's roll along with more questions from you. We do this every single Wednesday on the mailbag. Appreciate you. George Smith with a bunch of numbers. Do you feel comfortable with our interior offensive line depth as it stands? Or do you think it'd be wise to bring in another vet with Mike Owenu down? It's tough to say I feel comfortable after watching Greg Van Roan on Sunday.
Starting point is 00:23:27 But I expect Van Roent to be better moving forward. Like Pittsburgh's a very tough assignment. If you're throwing somebody into the deep end, that's what it looks like. with Cam Hayward and Benton and Harmon. Like Pittsburgh is very talented on the defensive line. They've got some big dudes on the interior. So to be thrown in, that's difficult. I mean, Van Roughton didn't have a training camp.
Starting point is 00:23:58 I mean, he came in, you know, right around the time of like the Eagles, joint practices. I mean, the guy just, he didn't have a lot of reps in the summer. And obviously, you know, part of that is his plan. Part of it is maybe he wanted to get in earlier, but teams might not be interested or wherever the case may be. But when you're signing in the middle of August, that's a very late start. And, you know, he's not getting rep the reps at practice because he's a backup. So the rust, that should have been expected. He was back. He was back. against the Steelers. And if he continues to be that bad, then yeah, you might have to do it all
Starting point is 00:24:42 points bulletin to bring in somebody to help you. But I think with reps this week, you know, being prepared, starting from from Snap 1, I think Van Roten will be better. I do. Now, if another injury happens to the interior offensive line, then you're looking at Ben Bowen. Brown is a possibility, but of course, I think Ben Brown is more center than guard, but it is what it is. You got Ben Brown and Walter Rouse, who you traded for after the initial 53-man roster, right, or right around then from Minnesota. So those are the two guys that would be next up if somebody else goes down. I don't think the Pats would move Caleb Lomu to guard,
Starting point is 00:25:32 especially given the fact that Demetrius Crownover missed last week's game with a knee issue. I don't know how significant that knee issue is for crown over, but that's one less tackle that you have on your roster right now. That's healthy. And Lomu has played pretty much exclusively at tackle. So Frabel was asked about possibly moving him to guard. And it didn't sound like the head coach was bullish on the idea, especially in season.
Starting point is 00:26:00 And I would not want that to happen. Now, of course, Elijah Verit Tucker's injury history makes it very, very shaky. as far as the long term goes. I mean, you still got 15 regular season games. You now have to watch every game with your fingers crossed about Vera Tucker. But if somebody's available, inevitably you ask the question why, right? Like, why is that guy available in late September? I don't know how great of an option you're going to have.
Starting point is 00:26:30 And I know there's names that are still out there, but there's a reason why those guys are still out there. If you're a quality offensive lineman, you're on a football. team. So I don't know what kind of value you're going to find. I think the Patriots would tell you, let's just pray to the football gods for good health from Vera Tucker. Let's hope that Greg Van Rotten rounds into shape. And worst case scenario, one of Ben Brown, Walter Rouse, will be next up. And maybe they hold the fort down for a couple of weeks if they have to. I think it's telling the Patriots had a big tight end workout on Monday, but did nothing as far as the O line.
Starting point is 00:27:08 I read that as they think they're okay for now. Again, if another injury happens, then who knows? Who knows what you do at that point? Next question from Sully, the die-hot Pats fan. Why no Trayvion Henderson sweeps? Interesting question. You know, last year it could be a number of different things. It could have been, you know, running behind the experience on your offensive line,
Starting point is 00:27:38 like the most experienced guys on your O line were Garrett Bradbury, Michael Wenow and Morgan Moses. Did you want to run a lot of sweeps to the outer edge behind Will Campbell? And, you know, asked Jared Wilson to pull as well. Could be a risky proposition. So that could have been part of it. Let's run more inside on the right side than anything else. You also, when you're running sweeps, you're obviously dependent on the blocking on the perimeter, which a lot of times we're talking wide receivers and tight ends.
Starting point is 00:28:11 And frankly, when you look at last year's team, Mack Hollins was mostly good as a blocker, but the other wide receivers were not especially consistent. Stefan Diggs would try to block when he wanted to try to block, which wasn't often. Pop Douglas, I know he threw a great block this past weekend, but he's still a work in progress in that category. Kyle Williams hardly on the field.
Starting point is 00:28:36 and when he's on the field, you know, do you trust in him? F. In Chisholm, I thought, had some pretty good reps in the run game last year. But you're asking a lot from your receivers and your tight ends. Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper, you know, I watched that week one game between the Falcons and the Steelers. Austin Hooper threw like three or four really good blocks for the Falcons. I was wondering where that Austin Hooper was last year for the Patriots because he was very inconsistent. And as the year went on, he got worse. and Henry did not have a great year blocking for the run.
Starting point is 00:29:09 So, you know, we're taught about the entire team. If you look at Trayvion Henderson individually, yes, attacking the perimeter with his speed makes a lot of sense, but you need guys to do their job to make sure he has space to hit that perimeter. And it also depends on the defenses you're facing. Like, we know that Josh McDaniels, he game plans week in and week out. If you're going against teams that you think are good on the edge that are good at the second level can get to the perimeter,
Starting point is 00:29:37 then you're not going to call a lot of those runs. If you think a team is weak on the interior, that's where you attack. And you also like to run a lot of play action or would love to. And to run play action, you need that downhill run game to set it up. So there's a lot that goes into it.
Starting point is 00:29:57 I do expect to see it more this season. You know, Henderson hitting the perimeter should be a strength. But I'm not sure we'll see as much of it as you want. That wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C. Radio. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe on YouTube. And if you want another way to be locked on to the Patriots every day,
Starting point is 00:30:22 check out the Lockdown Patriots hit, your daily hit of espresso on the team you love. Quick, strong, five minutes or less. Find Lockdown Patriots hit on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. Have a great day. We'll speak with you. time.

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