Bill Belichick Compares Christian Gonzalez To Ex-Patriots Star Corner

Expectations were tempered for Christian Gonzalez ahead of his first season. The Patriots rookie was the No. 17 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and he played well during training camp, but he also didn't look quite ready for top cornerback duties.

Well, Gonzalez proved his doubters wrong through three games. And in doing so, the 21-year-old earned the respect of his head coach, who on Monday compared him to one of the best corners in Patriots history.

"Well, one of the best things about Christian, especially at that position, is he's very even-keeled," Bill Belichick said during an appearance on WEEI's 'The Greg Hill Show" program. "He's not overly emotional one way or the other, and he's got a good, calm demeanor -- a lot like (Stephon) Gilmore did."

By the way, Belichick isn't the first person to compare Gonzalez to Gilmore. Patriots safety Adrian Phillips recently said the same thing.

Gonzalez more than held his own in New England's Week 1 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, and was equally impressive the following week in a loss to the Miami Dolphins. Spending significant time covering A.J. Brown and Tyreek Hill, Gonzalez allowed a combined 10 catches on 15 targets for 103 yards while picking off one pass over the first two weeks, per Pro Football Focus.

The Oregon product kept it up in Sunday's road win over the New York Jets, contributing to a defensive effort that limited star receiver Garrett Wilson to just five catches for 48 yards. Yes, Zach Wilson was at quarterback for New York, and Gonzalez spent a lot of time in zone coverage, but he again provided sticky coverage against a top wideout. He now has been on the field for all but one of the Patriots' defensive snaps this season.

And Gonzalez will get another tough assignment this Sunday when New England visits the Dallas Cowboys, whose receiving corps is led by the electrifying CeeDee Lamb.

"He's seen some very good receivers the first three weeks," Belichick said. "And we're gonna see another one this week with Lamb."

Gonzalez hasn't been perfect, and you could argue he wasn't challenged too much during his first three games. The Patriots called a lot of zone in all three contests, limiting Gonzalez's 1-on-1 reps against Brown, Hill and Wilson.

But the numbers don't lie, and neither does the film. The Patriots might have their next franchise cornerback.