New England Patriots - NESN.com
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel has plenty of praise for cornerback Christian Gonzalez.
The Patriots are set to host the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday in the Wild Card round. Heading into the game, Vrabel likes the way Gonzalez is playing, especially with how physical he’s been.
“I think just a confidence level of understanding that he is a big corner,” Vrabel said on Monday. “He’s strong, he’s got good size, good strength. And he doesn’t just have to be a fast, athletic corner. It’s hard to take and say that the corners in this league aren’t going to have to tackle. They’re going to have to tackle when they hand the football off.
“We don’t want them to every single play, but there’s times where they have to, they have to crack replace, they have to close the distance, they have to stay on their feet and tackle. And you’ve seen it the other way where we’ve been able to get out there or get on some DBs and they’ve missed tackles, and those turn into X plays. And so, I appreciate Gonzo (Christian Gonzalez) doing that.”
The Patriots selected Gonzalez 17th overall in 2023, and he’s been a shutdown corner since coming into the NFL.
According to PFF, Gonzalez finished the year allowing a 46.1% catch rate, which was the third-lowest in the league, as well as giving up just one touchdown. The star cornerback also had 57 tackles and seven pass breakups.
Gonzalez will have a key role for the Patriots’ defense on Sunday against the Chargers. Kick-off is set for 8 p.m. ET on Sunday.
