Teammate Compares Christian Gonzalez To Former Patriots Star

Christian Gonzalez continues to impress his Patriots teammates.

Expectations were set at a high level for Gonzalez after he was selected by New England with the 17th overall pick in this year’s draft. But the Oregon product hit the ground running in Foxboro, where he established himself as a deserving starter in minicamp, training camp and the preseason. The hard work paid off, as Gonzalez played every defensive snap in the Patriots’ Week 1 home loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Gonzalez wasn’t just out there against the reigning NFC champions either. The 21-year-old made his presence felt, totaling seven tackles, one sack and a clutch pass breakup. Gonzalez showed out without running his mouth, which factored into Adrian Phillips floating a lofty comparison for the rookie.

“I don’t want to give him the Steph (Gilmore) tag — I know Steph is way farther along — but I definitely do see some similarities between them,” Phillips told reporters, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “You can tell if a corner is going to be good by the way they practice, if they let receivers catch any balls — he’s not going to let you catch any balls.”

Gonzalez will have a big opportunity to increase his hype Sunday evening. The Patriots are set to host the division rival Miami Dolphins, who boast one of the NFL’s best wide receiver tandems in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.

And in a few weeks, Gonzalez and Gilmore will share the same field. New England will kick off October with its first trip to Dallas since 2015.