Christian Gonzalez

Draft Notes: Young, Chiefs, Saints, Addison, Vikings, Patriots, Campbell, Lions

April 28th, 2023 at 3:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

Panthers brass joined other front offices in being wowed by Bryce Young during his 2021 Heisman-winning season, and the team had mostly decided on the Alabama prospect by the time Frank Reich arrived. David Tepper and Panthers scouts had zeroed in on Young — prior to making the trade with the Bears — and Reich learned of the staff’s preference early during his tenure.

“And it was unanimous with every guy in that room, starting from [GM] Scott [Fitterer] on down, that Bryce was the guy. That was great for me to hear,” Reich said of an early-February meeting, via The Athletic’s Joe Person (subscription required). “But what I appreciate about the way Scott handled it, he was like, ‘Frank, you take your time.’ … And it wasn’t much convincing.”

Fitterer said he sought Reich’s final stance late in the process. It would have been interesting had Reich, who was initially mentioned as preferring a taller passer, stood his ground for another prospect. He was believed to also be intrigued by Anthony Richardson. But the veteran HC will be coaching a 5-foot-10 quarterback in Carolina.

Here is the latest from the draft, as we head into Day 2:

The Vikings closed the record-breaking run on wide receivers at No. 23, selecting Jordan Addison, the fourth straight receiver taken from Nos. 20-23. But Minnesota received interest in the pick. The Chiefs and Saints contacted the Vikings about moving up to 23, per KTSP’s Darren Wolfson, who adds the belief is at least one of the teams eyeing a trade-up would have taken the USC wide receiver (Twitter link). The Vikings appear to have received an offer, but they instead chose Addison. The Chiefs were mentioned as a team pursuing a move up the board, and the defending Super Bowl champions — after J.J. Smith -Schuster and Mecole Hardman‘s exits — had done a lot of work on this year’s wideout class. The Saints have not re-signed Jarvis Landry and have not seen much of a healthy Michael Thomas since the 2010s. Both teams will probably be on the hunt for receivers tonight.
It is not surprising to see Patriots first-round trade-downs, and the team allowing the Steelers to leapfrog the Jets for tackle Broderick Jones likely made the move doubly intriguing for Bill Belichick. But the Pats turned in their draft card quickly at No. 17, selecting cornerback Christian Gonzalez. New England was high enough on the Oregon product it was close to finalizing a trade-up move from No. 14, Jeff Howe of The Athletic tweets. The Commanders had been in on corners, but they chose Mississippi State ballhawk Emmanuel Forbes over Gonzalez at No. 16.
While the Patriots have been praised for nabbing a high-end prospect a bit later than he was expected to go, the Lions bucked pre-draft rankings by taking a running back (Jahmyr Gibbs) at No. 12 and an off-ball linebacker (Jack Campbell) at 18. Campbell, in particular, was not viewed as especially likely to be a first-round pick, and GM Brad Holmes admitted he probably could have nabbed the Iowa defender if he had traded down once again. “It’s not about just don’t pick a running back [in Round 1] because that’s not how we really view [Gibbs],” Holmes said, via the Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett. “And then it’s the same thing about don’t pick an off-ball linebacker. That’s not really how we view Jack. If you put them in boxes and you put on a sheet of paper and you run mock draft analytics, yeah, you can come up with those stats. But all the hours and research and all the time that we put in, in terms of looking at these players, it becomes very, very visible that what kind of impact they can bring.”

Patriots Take Christian Gonzalez At No. 17

April 27th, 2023 at 9:09pm CST by Ben Levine

Christian Gonzalez has seen a slight drop down the draft board, but his fall has landed him in New England. After trading down three spots with the Steelers, the Patriots selected the Oregon cornerback with the No. 17 pick. The Pats picked up a 2023 fourth-rounder from the Steelers to move down.

Gonzalez spent his first two collegiate seasons at Colorado, but he firmly put himself on the first-round radar in 2022 thanks to his performance with the Ducks. He notched the only four interceptions of his college tenure at Oregon, adding a career-high seven pass breakups along the way.

That performance helped put him in the conversation to be the draft’s top corner this year. His main competition for that title, Devon Witherspoon, was selected earlier in the first round, but the Commanders surprised some by selecting Emmanuel Forbes at No. 16.

This looks to be a value add for the Pats. ESPN’s Scouts Inc. graded the Oregon product as the seventh-best prospect in this draft; NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah slotted him 11th. This is the first cornerback the Patriots have chosen in Round 1 in Bill Belichick‘s 24-draft tenure.

The Pats have managed to find gems later in the draft (Asante Samuel) or in post-draft free agency (Malcolm Butler, Jonathan Jones, J.C. Jackson). For the most part, Belichick’s recent early-round corner picks (Cyrus Jones, Duke Dawson, Joejuan Williams) have not panned out.

New England let Jackson walk in free agency last year, par for the course during Belichick’s tenure, but re-signed Jones this offseason. Jones has fared better in the slot but provided some value as a boundary defender last season as well, giving the team some flexibility. The Pats also reached a new agreement with Jalen Mills, who has corner and safety experience. Two other Joneses — Jack and Marcus — will join Gonzalez at corner.

Raiders Targeting Defensive Upgrades, Meet With DE Tyree Wilson

April 14th, 2023 at 4:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

Reliable defenses have eluded the Raiders for most of this century. Last season marked the franchise’s 20th straight ranking in the bottom half in scoring defense. Patrick Graham‘s unit ranked 26th in points allowed and 27th in DVOA, making it logical to expect the AFC West franchise to seek help in the draft.

The team will do so, and the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore notes help will be sought on all three defensive levels. Although the Raiders have added a few pieces on defense, they have not devoted much money beyond the midlevel Marcus Epps contract. After the Davante Adams trade cost Las Vegas’ first- and second-round picks last year, the team should be expected to add defensive help early in this draft.

Substantial guarantees remain on Chandler Jones‘ deal, but after the former Cardinals All-Pro did not live up to expectations last season, Bonsignore adds the Raiders are eyeing edge help that would both prepare them for Jones’ departure — which could happen in 2024 — and give the veteran pass rusher more rest in 2023. The team met with Texas Tech edge rusher Tyree Wilson on Thursday, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets.

Jones, 33, finished with just 4.5 sacks last season; three of those came in one game. His 2023 base salary and roster bonus represent a $16MM guarantee for the Silver and Black. Due to the void years tacked onto Jones’ three-year contract, it would cost the Raiders $7.2MM in dead money to cut him (without a post-June 1 designation, that is) in 2024. The Raiders signed ex-49er Jordan Willis as a backup but look to be targeting edge help. Both NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah and ESPN’s Scouts Inc. rate Wilson as a top-six player, but teams’ quarterback maneuvers could push him down to the Raiders at No. 7. Iowa’s Lukas Van Ness also sits as a possible edge upgrade for the Raiders, who have also done considerable homework on quarterbacks.

The Raiders have hosted each of the top quarterbacks available this year, including Hendon Hooker, but their defense may have too many needs for Josh McDaniels’ team — which already signed Jimmy Garoppolo to a three-year deal that guarantees him $33.75MM — to take a quarterback in Round 1. Instead, cornerback looks like a strong consideration. The Raiders should be monitored for a corner at 7, Jordan Reid of ESPN.com notes. They hosted Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr. and Maryland’s Deonte Banks on visits, and Reid adds the team has also work on top corners Devon Witherspoon (Illinois) and Christian Gonzalez (Oregon). Mel Kiper Jr.’s most recent mock sends Witherspoon to Vegas.

Robert Spillane (two years, $7MM) could be ticketed for a full-time role with the Raiders, being on the radar to wear the green dot signifying communication. The Raiders should be expected to look into this year’s linebacker class, per Bonsignore, but that will not happen until at least Round 2. On Day 2, Las Vegas holds the Nos. 38, 70 and 100 overall picks.

A Jalen Carter visit surfaced, with word of that meeting coming out shortly after a report indicated the Raiders would not consider the Georgia defensive tackle, and could be in position to select the high-risk proposition. But The Athletic’s Vic Tafur adds the Carter meeting has not yet transpired. The Bears (No. 9) and Eagles (No. 10) have both emerged as potential Carter landing spots, though the Seahawks (No. 5) have as well.

Steelers Host CB Christian Gonzalez

April 6th, 2023 at 3:57pm CST by Adam La Rose

Cornerback has frequently been named as a position of need for the Steelers entering the draft, and the team is unsurprisingly doing its homework on some of the top options in the 2023 class. Among the invitees to Pittsburgh’s Thursday visit is Oregon product Christian Gonzalez (Twitter link via Mark Kaboly of The Athletic).

Gonzalez spent the first two seasons of his career at Colorado, but put himself on the first-round radar in 2022 in his lone campaign with the Ducks. He notched the only four interceptions of his college tenure at Oregon, adding a career-high seven pass breakups along the way. That helped put him in the conversation for the draft’s top corner this year, along with the likes of Devon Witherspoon, Joey Porter Jr., Deonte Banks and Emmanuel Forbes as probable first round-locks.

The Steelers met with Porter on a local visit last week, which came as no surprise given his connections to the team through his father along with his skillset. Gonzalez sports a similar length to Porter (6-2), but is generally viewed as a better athlete. That could give him a higher upside, and put him in contention to hear his name called in the first half of Day 1.

Pittsburgh owns the No. 17 pick, which should put them in range for at least most of the CB prospects available. An early addition at the position would come as no surprise, since the Steelers saw Cameron Sutton depart in free agency. His loss was only partially (and, in all likelihood, temporarily) filled by the signing of Patrick Peterson. The 32-year-old could see time at safety as he moves further into the latter stages of his career.

Peterson is the only outside addition the team has made so far in free agency, so at least one notable selection is likely to be used on bolstering the cornerbacks room. The Steelers hold pick No. 32 (a second-rounder this season), which will give them another opportunity to land an impact cover man, though Gonzalez is expected to be off the board by that point.

Oregon CB Christian Gonzalez Declares For Draft

December 5th, 2022 at 11:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

As the college football bowl schedule emerges, a handful of NFL hopefuls will pass on those games. Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez is one of them. The highly rated cornerback is declaring for the 2023 draft, he announced (on Twitter).

Gonzalez played two seasons at Colorado and one at Oregon, transferring within the Pac-12 this year. He will join several players who are passing on bowl games to guard against injury. Ohio State wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba is passing on a College Football Playoff semifinal, though he has missed most of this season due to injury.

ESPN’s Todd McShay slots Gonzalez as the second-ranked draft-eligible corner — behind only Georgia’s Kelee Ringo — while Mel Kiper Jr. pegs him as the class’ fourth-best corner. Gonzalez’s declaration follows the NCAA exits of Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr. and South Carolina’s Cam Smith; both are consensus top-five prospects at the position and will thus be on the first-round radar. Oregon has not produced a first-round corner since Alex Molden in 1996.

Following the transfer, Gonzalez intercepted four passes — the first four of his career — and finished his 12-game season with a career-high seven passes defensed. While the 6-foot-2 defender only played six games during 2020’s COVID-19-altered Pac-12 season and will pass on his senior year, he closes his career having never missed a contest.

Oregon is set to play North Carolina in the Holiday Bowl. Next season will mark the last of the four-team CFP. The change will further diminish the bowls’ standing and put draft prospects who are on CFP-bound teams’ rosters to tests regarding participation.