Seahawks Wide Receiver Raves About Top Patriots Defender

Seattle Seahawks wideout Jake Bobo in all likelihood won’t have New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez matched up on him on Sunday.

That’s a perk of being the fourth receiver on Seattle’s depth chart as Gonzalez will probably draw Seahawks star D.K. Metcalf or another member of the team’s talented positional group, which also features veteran Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Gonzalez’s attention being diverted elsewhere is fine with Bobo. He got his fill of the Patriots cornerback two years ago when they went head-to-head in college.

Bobo, who spent four seasons at Duke before finishing his college career at UCLA, turned in a strong performance with Gonzalez covering him as the 6-foot-4, 217-pound pass-catcher hauled in eight receptions for 101 yards and one touchdown. Gonzalez did make five tackles and collected a game-high two pass breakups. But Bobo remembers that game more for the 45-30 loss Oregon handed the Bruins — the Ducks led 31-13 at halftime.

That’s not all that sticks out from that contest for Bobo, either. He recalled Gonzalez’s exceptional talent jumping off the page back then, just as it does now.

“The first thing you see is just his physical tools,” Bobo told NESN.com. “He’s long, tall obviously, has great ball skills. When I matched up with him in person, he’s smart and his football IQ is real, real high. So, I had to hide some splits. And you could just tell if I split outside the numbers he’d line up a certain way, if I was a little tighter he’d line up a certain way depending on his coverage and what they were running.

“So, he’s smart and then you combine that with his ability to play the ball and his physical attributes, that makes for a helluva corner right there.”

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Gonzalez and Bobo took two completely different paths to the NFL. The Patriots used the No. 17 overall selection in the 2023 draft to choose what many believe will be the franchise’s next shutdown corner. Bobo went the undrafted route before signing with the Seahawks.

Gonzalez flashed his potential last year before suffering a torn labrum in the fourth game of the season that brought his rookie campaign to a premature close. But he quickly reminded everyone what he could do on a football field in New England’s season-opening win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Gonzalez held Bengals star Ja’Marr Chase in check to the tune of just six catches for 62 yards.

While there might not be a one-on-one matchup Sunday, Bobo, who surprised many and became a Seattle fan favorite by recording 19 receptions for 196 yards and two touchdowns last season, and Gonzalez will be on the same field again, this time at Gillette Stadium.

Bobo knows Gonzalez can be a difference-maker in the Patriots secondary. Really not much has changed since college.

“You knew going in this guy’s the real deal and we’re going to have to find ways to work around him,” Bobo said about facing Gonzalez in college. “I didn’t watch the game on Sunday but I heard that it was a lot of the same.”