Coming into Thursday night, the Patriots had used their last five first round picks on offensive players, and hadn’t taken a defensive player in the first round since Malcom Brown in 2015. That trend is now over.

After trading down from 14th to 17th, the Patriots selected Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez on Thursday night. At one point projected to be the clear-cut top cornerback in this draft, this represents a bit of a fall for Gonzalez who is now the 3rd cornerback off the board.

• The first thing that jumps out when watching Gonzalez is how smoothly he moves around the field. Some bigger cornerbacks tend to look clunky when changing direction but at 6-foot-1, 197 pounds Gonzalez glides in his assignments. Although he didn’t run the agility drills at the Combine, he did post a 4.38-second 40-yard dash and 41.5-inch vertical.

  As Gonzalez continues to hone his instincts in coverage, his growth should be exponential. He’s so explosive from a standstill and in changing direction that if and when that part of his game develops, he’ll be able to close on windows very quickly even when beaten initially, allowing him to play more aggressive. That all could see him become a true shutdown corner. The Patriots will also likely task him with becoming a better run defender.

  While Gonzalez is the first pick of the draft for the Patriots, he’s not the first former Oregon Duck to make his way to Foxborough this offseason. Former Ducks offensive line coach and associate head coach Adrian Klemm joined the Patriots’ staff as the new offensive line coach earlier this spring. Gonzalez is the first Duck to be drafted by the Patriots since Patrick Chung in the second round in 2009.

• By making this pick, the Patriots have now built a young core in their cornerback room between these last two drafts. They now have Gonzalez and Jack Jones on the boundary and Marcus Jones in the slot, all under affordable team control for three seasons. They join veterans including Mills, Jonathan Jones, Myles Bryant, and Shaun Wade as the Patriots’ cornerbacks to begin the 2023 season.

  With Gonzalez now in the fold, the Patriots turn their attention to Day 2 of the NFL Draft. They’re scheduled to be back on the clock at 46th overall. For complete draft coverage, be sure to check 985TheSportsHub.com/draft.

• Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at [email protected].

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