Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Why Christian Gonzalez was drafted by the New England Patriots | 2023 NFL Draft Reaction

Starting point is 00:00:00 The New England Patriots do what they do in the NFL draft. They traded down and they still got a really good player with the 17 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft. Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez, some thought would be a top 10 pick, falls to 17 to the New England Patriots. I am Peter Bukowski with me locked on Patriots host, Mike debate locked on NFL draft coverage presented by ultimate football GM. You think you could run an NFL franchise.

Starting point is 00:00:32 You think you can be better than bill Belichick visit ultimate dash GM.com to play the ultimate NFL GM simulation game. Start your dynasty today. And Mike, as I mentioned, Christian Gonzalez was a guy we thought was going to go significantly higher here I don't feel like I don't need to ask why the pick because we know this guy is really really talented what does he bring to New England he brings to New England everything they haven't

Starting point is 00:00:56 had in the past year really in the past couple of years since the departure of Stephon Gilmore the Patriots needed a true presence on the perimeter and Christian Gonzalez is that someone who can not only come in with the man covered skills that make him a top perimeter corner in this league but also someone that can play zone. The thing that I love about Christian Gonzalez is he never takes his eyes off the quarterback which means that he can succeed in man-to-man and he can succeed in coverage and that's something that is very rare for a corner very surprised that he slipped to the patriots at 17 but definitely a windfall and bill belichick got the guy he wanted he cover he covets talented cornerbacks and he definitely got a good one in christian gonzalez someone who can mirror and match who can play in man coverage

Starting point is 00:01:41 but as you mentioned has that zone cover skill what does that mean for the guys already on the roster Jonathan Jones at that boundary corner do they slide someone like Jack Jones into the nickel he has a body type maybe more suited for that could he go and play safety maybe a little bit what do you think the role is in New England for Christian Gonzalez yeah I think it opens up an awful lot first of all I think Christian is going to be one of your starters on the perimeter from day one i think he's that talented and someone who can come in learn the system and be able to succeed here in new england so what does that mean for the other side well jonathan jones now is probably going to be your second option on the boundary jack jones i think it's interesting that you mentioned the nickel maybe even a little bit of safety on him there's still a little bit of

Starting point is 00:02:23 raw untapped talent when it comes to jack he's a very talented ball hawk but i think there is a little bit of discipline that needs to be learned so maybe a year learning under guys like jonathan jones uh you know maybe learning under guys like miles bryan who might come in and play a little slot is a possibility as well to kind of bring in his type of skill set and then of course you get the wild card marcus jones and all this who I think is going to end up being your primary slot corner. All of a sudden, the New England Patriots secondary went from a liability to maybe, dare I say, a strength on this defense.

Starting point is 00:02:54 I have to ask you this, Mike, because I am the Locked on Packers host. Brian Gutekind, when he made the Aaron Rodgers trade to the Jets, said if he didn't think there was value in going from 15 to 13 he wouldn't have pushed for that the Packers take Lucas Van Ness at 13 and the Patriots trade back I'm just I know I'm like the guy from it's always sunny up on the whiteboard going through my conspiracy theories do you think there's anything to hey maybe the Patriots really coveted that guy and decided to trade down instead? There's definitely a possibility. Van Ness was someone that a lot of people were mocking to the New England Patriots earlier today. I actually wrote about that a little bit in Sports Illustrated on Thursday afternoon

Starting point is 00:03:34 about Van Ness and the prowess that he brings to the table and how he could upgrade that Patriots defensive end, maybe even the edge rush for Bill Belichick in 2023 and beyond. There's definite possibilities that that's the guy that they wanted. But at the same time, I do believe that Bill Belichick has had his eyes on cornerbacks all throughout this cycle. And I think that he believed that if there was a chance that he could trade down and still get Christian Gonzalez, he was going to take that every single time. I think in a lot of ways, the Patriots got the guy they needed.

Starting point is 00:04:06 And I think in a lot of ways, they got the guy they wanted. Why not take a skilled position player here? This is an offense that could use some explosiveness, some juice. We saw Jackson Smith, the Jigba come off the board at 20. Certainly the Patriots could have been in position to grab him. And we've seen the kind of success that they can have with a slot receiver. He seemed tailor-made for this team why not go that direction yeah i think that a lot of ways the new england patriots will probably look at day two as an option to upgrade that area especially at the slot

Starting point is 00:04:35 josh downs of north carolina is expected to still be on the board uh maybe a guy like jayden reed yeah a lot of maybe a guy like jayden reed coming out from michigan state there are options that the patriots do have to try to upgrade that position that i believe they felt maybe corner was a little bit more of a pressing need to get that number one guy in the first round so i still expect them to do it uh but obviously uh you know somebody like a jeff smith jigba or say flowers is uh really i think a very popular pick of the fan base. But Patriots had a need here, and they definitely addressed it. They should be very happy with this pick.

Starting point is 00:05:11 So where do they go from here? You mentioned the slot receiver on day two, potentially. Where else could they be? We know that they are going to probably trade down four more times because that's just what Bill Belichick does. He loves to trade down, acquire more bites at the apple. And look, it's worked really well for him over the years, other than receiver now. Where could they be looking here?

Starting point is 00:05:30 Offensive tackle. And to be honest with you, Peter, I would probably- They had a chance to take one at 14. Yeah, I know. I know they did. And I think the Patriots understand that this is a deep class in the first couple of rounds here, where they can get guys that can come in and play the offensive tackle position the way they need it to be played.

Starting point is 00:05:48 There were some great ones that came off the board. Roderick Jones was someone that I mocked to the New England Patriots in our mock draft here on the Lockdown Podcast Network. Got rave reviews for it. I was a little surprised that they did bypass him. But at the same time, Bill Belichick understands the value of offensive tackles in this draft. And I think he probably sees guys that can come in and play. Matthew Bergeron is someone that I would keep a very sharp eye on if I'm the New England Patriots in early part of day

Starting point is 00:06:15 two. But again, your guess is as good as mine, Peter. The Patriots do still have multiple needs on this roster and they've got the picks to be able to do it now. Yes. Syracuse offensive tackle, Matthew Bergeron, something he could play guard, tackle something to keep an eye on for sure. And we always keep an eye on our pal Mike debate host of locked on Patriots for more subscribe to locked on Patriots on YouTube or wherever you get podcasts, part of the locked on podcast network, your team every day, Mike. Thanks.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Why Christian Gonzalez was drafted by the New England Patriots | 2023 NFL Draft Reaction

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