New England Patriots defensive back Christian Gonzalez still carries the motivation from being the third cornerback taken on the 2023 NFL draft board.
The Patriots traded down to No. 17 on the board and still came away with Gonzalez in the end. It was one of the biggest steals of the draft. Devon Witherspoon and Emmanuel Forbes were the other two cornerbacks drafted ahead of Gonzalez.
Seeing his name fall on the draft board angered Gonzalez, who truly believed he was one of the best cornerbacks in the class. He came in viewing himself and Witherspoon as the 1A and 1B of the draft class, in no particular order.
“I was hot man. I was mad. One because I was already the third corner taken. I know I’m not the third corner of this class. I know I’m not the third corner. …Once I got to CB3, I was like, ‘I appreciate it. I’m happy. but I’m ready to go now.'” Gonzalez said on the Frat Rules Podcast.
Chrisitan Gonzalez was “heated” after being the third cornerback taken on draft night.
The #Patriots All-Pro corner thought he would go within the first ten picks, but instead dropped and went 17th overall.
(Frat Rules Podcast) | #NEPats pic.twitter.com/oqpenosbF9
— Carlos A. Lopez (@LosTalksPats) February 17, 2025
It obviously worked out well for the Patriots with Gonzalez becoming a key staple of their secondary and one of the best cornerbacks in the league. In only his second NFL season, he has already received All-Pro honors.
As for the Commanders, they ended up releasing Forbes from their roster last November.
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New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye believes the two young receivers, Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker, will step up for the team in 2025 after disappointing rookie campaigns.
Both receivers came to New England with expectations of contributing right out of the gates. However, Polk struggled to make plays in his limited opportunities, and Baker was barely on the field.
Polk recorded 12 catches for 87 yards, while Baker tallied one catch for 12 yards in the season finale against the Buffalo Bills. The Patriots are hoping to make drastic improvements at the receiver position, but some of the help the team needs might already be on the roster.
“We brought in two rookie receivers, Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker—were kind of feeling it out this year, and they both battled some injuries,” Maye said on “Green Light with Chris Long.” “But hopefully expecting one of them, if not both, to kind of make a splash this year.”
#Patriots QB Drake Maye on who he wants to have a breakout year:
“We brought in two rookie receivers, Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker, were kind of feeling it out this year and they both battled some injuries. But hopefully expecting one of them, if not both, to kind of make a splash this year.”
(: @greenlight) pic.twitter.com/Q8GuxsOfa8
— New England Sports Fellow (@NESportsFellow) February 20, 2025
Positive contributions from Polk and Baker would go a long way toward helping the Patriots’ offense reach the next level. It would also speed up the rebuilding process by limiting the outside help needed to compete.
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