By Stephen Ur
The New England Patriots selected cornerback Christian Gonzalez out of Oregon with the 17th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Gonzalez was a projected top-10 pick by many experts, and was the second cornerback picked after the Seattle Seahawks picked Illinois’ Devon Witherspoon with the fifth overall pick.
In addition to being a projected top-10, Gonzalez was also the top-ranked cornerback on all the big boards. He will join two rookies from last year in Marcus and Jack Jones in a deep corner depth chart.
New England originally had the 14th pick in the NFL Draft, but traded down with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Gonzalez, a projected Day 1 starter, joins a Patriots pass defense that was ranked in the middle of the league [16th] in passing yards allowed over the season [3,681].
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