The Patriots’ second-year cornerback is among the lowest-rated players at his position.
The New England Patriots’ roster may not be among the NFL’s best top-to-bottom, but that also does not mean it features no blue-chip talent. Christian Gonzalez definitively belongs in that category — and not just that.
The second-year man has a strong case for being the best player on the team right now, and one of the top cornerbacks in all of football. You just wouldn’t know when visiting Pro Football Focus.
According to the site’s widely-publicized grading system, Gonzalez is currently the 127th ranked cornerback in the NFL. Even when eliminating players below a certain playing time threshold — an average of 10 snaps per game — he still only ranks 95th among 112 qualifying players.
Through three games this season, Gonzalez has earned a 53.9 overall grade out of 100 and 53.2 for his coverage work. Those numbers are curious, to say the least.
Fact is, after all, that the 22-year-old has more than just held his own so far this season in one-on-one matchups with some of the best wide receivers in the league. Going up against the likes of Ja’Marr Chase, DK Metcalf and Garrett Wilson over the first three weeks of the season, he surrendered a combined 12 catches on 19 targets for 75 yards, six first downs, and one touchdown.
Therein may lie one of the reasons for his low ranking (which is calculated through a formula PFF keeps secret): when judged simply in terms of those raw numbers at the catch point, Gonzalez has been solid but not necessarily spectacular. Add a pair of penalties, even though they ultimately off-set, and you can see why PFF may be low on the young CB.
Gonzalez himself, of course, is not bothered by any of that.
“People watch the games and see what happens. I don’t really pay attention to the numbers,” he told WEEI earlier this week. “We keep everything in-house. Everything that matters is what’s said inside the locker room, what we do here. We don’t really let any of the outside noise or any of that speak to us.”
What the PFF grading seemingly does not take into account is Gonzalez’s — or any cornerback’s, for that matter — overall body of work. While he has been targeted 19 times between his matchups against Chase, Metcalf and Wilson, and 20 times overall, he has 112 coverage snaps on his résumé that the ball did not come his way.
It goes without saying that his coverage alone may not have been the primary reason for that; factors such as play design, formation strength, post-snap movement all play a part as well. Still, those snaps did happen and should matter when assessing Gonzalez’s play.
Alternatively, one could also just look at it this way. Chase, Metcalf and Wilson have all been targeted at a lower rate versus Gonzalez when compared to their historical per-game averages: if we assign numerical values, the three exited the game at -6.0, -0.9 and -0.2.
Obviously, that is not a perfect way to measure performance either. It does show, however, that cornerback play is more than the final stat-line posted by a receiver versus a particular defender; a player’s impact or lack thereof also has to be taken into consideration — and Gonzalez is seemingly faring very well in that department three games into the 2024 season.
“As a corner you want to go up against the best,” he said. “Being able to go up against the best only makes you better. I’m always up to the challenge, and it’s fun to go out there. I love going up against the league’s best, so it’s a fun matchup.”
Those matchups also looked highly competitive — more so than Gonzalez’s PFF rating would suggest — when looking at the tape. He managed to hold his own whether his opponent be named Ja’Marr Chase,…
For the late-night crowd: Christian Gonzalez in man coverage vs Ja’Marr Chase
Gonzo was sticky in press, anticipated well when playing off, and his only actual losses were when the CB was picked pic.twitter.com/MV0Hizs17C
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) September 9, 2024
…DK Metcalf,…
DK Metcalf is a unicorn, and he won the physical battle with Christian Gonzalez early vs man
But Gonzo showed what makes him special by trusting his fluidity and leverage, playing off, and working to drive on routes
Gave up two just grabs, and one was a vet push-off pic.twitter.com/KuOZviCssV
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) September 16, 2024
…or Garrett Wilson.
It was a back and forth battle between Christian Gonzalez and Garrett Wilson, but you’ve gotta appreciate what Gonzo is doing vs the best WRs in the game
The CB did a great job avoiding collisions, playing to his leverage, and squeezing to the sideline in man coverage pic.twitter.com/xLSgL8H3ro
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) September 21, 2024
“A guy that continues to just keep fighting,” said head coach Jerod Mayo about the former first-round draft pick. “He may not say a lot, but he has all the skills to be one of the top players in the league at his position. I think he still has room to grow, and he’s going to be a very good player for us.”
Three games into his sophomore season, and seven total into his career, he already is just that. His PFF grade be damned.