The 2023 NFL Draft will be a great event for teams to start building for their future. Here is the Christian Gonzalez 2023 NFL Draft Profile.
Position: Cornerback
School: Oregon
Size: 6-foot-1, 197 pounds
Class: Junior
2022 Stats: 50 total tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 4 interceptions, 7 passes defended
After spending time at Colorado and Oregon, Gonzalez really honed his skills at the collegiate level. He is now in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Out of high school, Gonzalez was a four-star recruit who signed on with Colorado. He started immediately for the Buffaloes, notching 25 total tackles and five passes defended. Gonzalez helped the team win four out of their six games that season. In his sophomore season, he tallied 53 total tackles and five passes defended. Colorado struggled with a 4-8 record. After the season, Gonzalez transferred to Oregon. He had 50 total tackles, four interceptions and seven passes defended for the Ducks. Oregon went 10-3 in Gonzalez’s only season with the team.
Following one season at Oregon, Gonzalez declared for the 2023 NFL Draft. He is a projected first-round pick.
Gonzalez’s athleticism jumps out immediately on tape and he comes from an athletic family. He has great speed, fluid hips, quickness and agility. Gonzalez also has good leaping ability. He shows great recovery speed to guard receivers if they initially beat him. Gonzalez is one of the most athletic corners in the class and showed that on tape along with the NFL Combine.
He has all the tools to play press coverage at the NFL level. Gonzalez has good length and also has the strength to help him in this area. He will jam receivers at the line of scrimmage and can throw them off their routes. In addition, if he falls behind early, he has the burst to recover.
His ability to mirror receivers is great. While he can play both man and zone coverage, Gonzalez has the ability to mirror receivers in man-to-man very well. His fluid hips come into play here as he can change directions quickly to match the route of a wide receiver. With this ability, Gonzalez should be able to run stride for stride with most receivers in the league as they run their routes.
Gonzalez did not have the greatest ball skills early in his career. He did improve on those skills last season at Oregon, but still has a long way to go. He doesn’t track the ball well and could also play with better anticipation to jump routes and make plays on the ball. Working on attacking the catch point will help Gonzalez be more effective early in his career.
He could provide better run support than he currently does. Gonzalez doesn’t show good tracking of where the football will go on the ground and can be out of position. Improving that and playing with more aggression against the run will help him be more of a complete corner.
His tackling is ok at times, but he needs more consistency. Gonzalez could show better form and be in better position to make tackles. There are plays where he will miss tackles or be out of position to make the tackle.
Projected Draft Range: First-Round Pick
Draft Grade: First-Round Pick
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