The New England Patriots have plenty of roster issues to worry about entering the 2024 season. Apparently Christian Gonzalez isn't one of them.
The second-year cornerback hasn't had the strongest training camp and preseason to date. After missing the final 13 games of his rookie campaign due to a shoulder injury, Gonzalez has been a bit inconsistent in practices, causing mild concern among fans hoping he can be a No. 1 shutdown corner this season.
The Patriots don't share that concern, however. During Thursday's episode of Boston Sports Tonight, Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer relayed how the team feels about Gonzalez internally heading into the regular season.
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"Having talked to a handful of people inside the organization about this, they actually think Christian Gonzalez is set up for a really big year," Breer said, as seen in the video player above. "They’ve tried to challenge him in different ways in camp and develop him as a No. 1 corner. Now, how do you do that? You do that by creating difficult matchups for him, by creating different situations for him in training camp."
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To that end, Gonzalez matched up with Pro Bowl wide receiver A.J. Brown in joint practices with the Philadelphia Eagles and performed well, to the point where Brown praised the 2023 first-round pick after practice. Breer noted that the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Gonzalez is long and lean with somewhat deceptive athleticism, which could create misconceptions about his effort level.
"I think what happens with him -- and this is something a couple guys brought up to me -- I’m not comparing him to Randy Moss as an athlete, but there are certain guys who are smooth movers that way, and he’s one of these guys that’s taller, that’s longer, that sometimes it doesn’t even look like he’s making much of an effort when he’s kind of just gliding down the field.
"So, I can tell you there’s not a whole lot of concern from the people that I talked to in the organization about Christian Gonzalez. They think he’s one of the very best players on the team."
The Patriots don't have much star power on either side of the ball -- especially after trading Pro Bowl edge rusher Matthew Judon last week -- but Gonzalez appears to have serious star potential. If he showcase his talents over a full season after missing 13 games as rookie due to a shoulder injury, that will go a long way toward New England having an above-average defense that can keep the team in games.