Patriots’ Christian Gonzalez Facing Bold, Fitting Expectations

Christian Gonzalez has the weight of the world on his shoulders entering his sophomore campaign in New England.

The Patriots haven’t had any problem piling responsibility onto Gonzalez, either, who despite being the youngest player on the roster not named Drake Maye is being viewed as a potential top cornerback in the NFL.

“He’s handled it well,” Jerod Mayo said Wednesday, per team-provided transcript. “Gonzo is a man of few words, as we all know, but I’m just telling you, he has the skill set to be a premiere corner in this league. I’m excited to see his continued growth and see where it goes.”

I’m just telling you, he has the skill set to be a premiere corner in this league. I’m excited to see his continued growth.

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo on Christian Gonzalez

Don’t you think that’s a little much for a 22-year-old?

Yes, it probably is, but New England is going to need him to play like a top cornerback if they have any shot at competing early in the season.

The Patriots will begin their season on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday — which means Gonzalez will have to contend with one of the league’s top duos in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. It isn’t going to get easier, either, as the Seattle Seahawks (DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Tyler Lockett), New York Jets (Garrett Wilson), San Francisco 49ers (Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel), Miami Dolphins (Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle) and Houston Texans (Stefon Diggs, Nico Collins, Tank Dell) round out the first month and a half of the season boasting some of the best receiving corps in the entire NFL.

Gonzo, just like Mayo said, is up for the challenge.

“They got the two-headed monster over there,” Gonzalez said ahead of the season-opening matchup against the Bengals, per CLNS. “The mindset doesn’t change just based on who you’re going against. It’s a little more amped up. You get really excited to go up against that.”

The Patriots wouldn’t be placing so many high expectations on the youngster if they didn’t think he was ready to rise to the occasion. It won’t take very long for them to find out if he does, either.