New England Patriots still evaluating Christian Gonzalez's physicality

The New England Patriots were excited to take Christian Gonzalez in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. With excellent length and athleticism, he looks like he could be a premier defensive back for years to come who replaces some veteran players starting to age out of the team’s defense.

However, Gonzalez still needs to prove he can be a physical player to the Patriots, according to beat reporter Mike Reiss.

Reiss reported that Gonzalez has been working with the first unit for the Patriots. At 6-foot-2, 201 lbs, he has caught the eyes of teammates like Kyle Dugger. According to Reiss, Dugger said, “He’s very athletic. It’s pretty effortless the way he does everything — the way he moves in and out of breaks. He runs easy. It looks very light and fluid.”

The only question that Gonzalez still needs to answer is that matter of physicality. That’s not a surprise, though, and New England was likely expecting this. This is also the likely reason why he wasn’t picked even earlier in the first round.

“Questionable physicality is one reason Gonzalez might have slid to No. 17, so the team will wait for a more complete evaluation once players are in full pads in training camp,” Reiss reported.

Christian Gonzalez is still a very young player at only 20 years old. During his college career, he played for Colorado before transferring to Oregon. In 2022 with the Ducks, he put it all together and was a First-Team All-Pac-12 performer. He had four interceptions and 50 total tackles during the season.

ESPN insider weighs on the impact DeAndre Hopkins would have on the Patriots

The Patriots are one of the top teams in the running to land star free-agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. New England is a team in desperate need of help at wide receiver and according to ESPN insider Mike Tannenbaum, landing him could change the team’s fortunes this season.

“They can win the AFC East with DeAndre Hopkins. He is still a No. 1 receiver, because of the way he can run routes, his catching radius. Arizona scored 6 more points per game in the games he played than when he didn’t play,” Tannenbaum said on ESPN’s Get Up.

“I think they go to the top of the AFC East [with Hopkins]. He doesn’t leave the building. I figure out how to get him signed today.”