Why Patriots’ Christian Gonzalez has an important season ahead of him

Entering training camp, tons of attention will be on Patriots second-year cornerback Christian Gonzalez.

Despite tearing his labrum in Week 4 of the 2023 season, the 2023 first-round pick had a fantastic rookie campaign. In his first batch of professional games, Gonzalez successfully guarded names like Philadelphia receiver A.J. Brown, Miami’s Tyreek Hill and New York’s Garrett Wilson. As a result of his impressive rookie year, Gonzalez earned an honorable mention in ESPN’s list of top-10 cornerbacks for 2024. He also received high praise from his divisional rivals.

“I was able to go against the rookie, he’s real good,” Hill said after facing Gonzalez. “[He’s a] very lengthy corner, [who] had some real good technique and speed about him.”