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Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez declares for NFL Draft

Jarrid Denneyby:Jarrid Denney•12/04/22•

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(Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

After one standout season at Oregon, Christian Gonzalez is headed for the NFL Draft.

Gonzalez, a third-year sophomore who was one of the top cornerbacks in the Pac-12 this season, announced that he is opting out of Oregon’s bowl game and has declared for the 2023 NFL Draft.

“To the University of Oregon, Coach Lanning, Coach Tosh, all of the coaches, weight room staff, trainers, support staff, and the academic staff, I am extremely thankful for all that you did. I am forever grateful that I got to be an Oregon Duck. I had an amazing experience.

“Thank you to all of Duck Nation for showing me why Autzen is the BEST place tp play college football.”

Gonzalez spent the first two years of his career at Colorado before transferring to Oregon last offseason.

In his lone season with the Ducks, he established himself as one of the best cornerbacks in a conference that is stacked with talent at the position.

In 12 games during the 2022 campaign, Gonzalez recorded 50 tackles, including 35 solo stops, and 1.0 tackles for loss. He hauled in four interceptions and broke up 11 passes.

Pro Football Focus issued Gonzalez a season grade of 81.0 overall — the second-best among Oregon defensive players and the 10th-best among Pac-12 defenders who play regularly.

A former 4-star recruit, Gonzalez was the No. 310 overall prospect and the No. 27 player at his position in the class of 2020.

He has received no shortage of first-round NFL Draft buzz and was recently projected by CBS to go No. 13 overall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Gonzalez is the first Oregon player to publicly declare for the Draft at this point.

More on the 2023 NFL Draft

The 2023 NFL Draft takes place from Thursday, April 27 through Saturday, April 29 in Kansas City, Missouri. The event location this year is the plaza just outside of Union Station.

Round 1 of the NFL Draft begins at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, Apr. 27. Rounds 2-3 will begin at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, Apr. 28, and Rounds 4-7 will begin at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, Apr. 29. The draft broadcast runs throughout the weekend on both ESPN and NFL Network.

To be eligible for the NFL Draft, players must be at least three years removed from their final year of high school while having used up their collegiate eligibility. Underclassmen are able to request league approval to become eligible for the draft, as are players who have graduated prior to using up all of their collegiate eligibility. One hundred underclassmen gained approval for last year’s draft. Seventy-three of those 100 underclassmen received special eligibility while 27 of them were underclassmen who had completed their college degrees.

The 2023 NFL scouting combine will take place from Feb. 28 through March 6 in Indianapolis.

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