Christian Gonzalez, CB Oregon: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Gonzalez was a four-star recruit from The Colony High School in The Colony, Texas in the class of 2020

Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez and Illinois’ Devon Witherspoon are competing for the top cornerback spot in the 2023 NFL Draft. Witherspoon is the more physical player, but Gonzalez is the better overall athlete.

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Christian Gonzalez, CB Oregon: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Redshirt sophomore outside cornerback from The Colony, Texas

Background: Gonzalez was a four-star recruit from The Colony High School in The Colony, Texas in the class of 2020. He was the No. 326 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 311 for On3.com. Gonzalez was an unranked four-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked four-star recruit for ESPN with an 80 grade out of 100. He originally committed to Purdue before swapping to Colorado. Gonzalez transferred from Colorado to Oregon for the 2022 season. He played defensive back and wide receiver for The Colony, amassing 46 tackles, 17 passes defensed, three interceptions, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries throughout his career. Gonzalez also totaled 65 receptions for 956 yards and 12 touchdowns and seven carries for 187 yards and two touchdowns on offense. He earned First-Team All-District 5-5A honors as a high school senior for contributing 17 tackles, eight passes defensed, two interceptions, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery on defense. Gonzalez also caught 43 passes for 650 yards and ten touchdowns that year. He returned a kick 75 yards for a score as well. Gonzalez earned First-Team All-District 5-5A honors as a junior for totaling 29 tackles, nine passes defensed, an interception, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery on defense to accompany 22 receptions for 306 yards and two touchdowns. He ran track & field in high school and posted a personal best of 21.6 seconds in the 200-meter dash at the Texas State Championships. His father, Hector, played college basketball at UTEP and went on to play semiprofessional basketball in Colombia. Gonzalez’s older sisters, Melissa and Samantha, ran track and field in college at Texas and Miami, respectively. They were both All-Americans in the 400-meter hurdles and the 4x400 relay and went on to represent the Colombian national track & field team. Gonzalez was born on June 28, 2002.

Injuries & Off-Field: N/A

Awards: 2021 Honorable Mention All-Pac-12, 2022 First-Team All-Pac-12

Pros: Special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, and field goal block units, minimal penalties, age, arm length and wingspan, smooth athlete, loose lower body, explosive athlete with terrific speed, avoids being stacked, rarely stressed vertically, recovery speed, quick corrective footwork, quick and fluid feet, mirrors creative releases, change of direction skills to stay attached at the top of the stem, sticky corner with mirror capability, impact press corner, throws fake punches to throw off receiver’s timing, crowds receivers at the catch point, willing to mix it up with the WR mid-route, owned Michael Wilson (2022) at the catch point and allowed minimal separation, willing contributor in run defense, fires downhill when he reads run or screen, cut down on missed tackles from 2021 to 2022

Cons: One year of ball production, needs to add functional strength, occasionally plays too loose on short in or out routes, feet get a little hoppy in press which compromises his balance, some punches are soft and allow receivers to slip them, Stanford’s Michael Wilson (2022) was able to play through his press punches, punch accuracy needs to improve, gets grabby when his press punches miss the mark, Michael Wilson (2022) deployed a swim move to dodge his hands and win inside leverage, can be a little late to get his head around for the ball, doesn’t finish potential interceptions, sometimes comes downhill at full speed and overruns a tackle try

Overview: Gonzalez took official measurements at the NFL Combine. He’s 6013 and weighs 197 lbs. He has 9 4/8-inch hands, 32-inch arms, and a 76 7/8-inch wingspan. Gonzalez played to the boundary and field sides of the defense at Oregon. He has special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, and field goal block units. Gonzalez won’t turn 21 years old until after the draft. He has ideal arm length and wingspan measurements for a corner. The Texas native is a smooth, explosive athlete with a loose lower body. His speed prevents him from being stressed vertically or stacked. In situations where Gonzalez falls behind the play, he has the recovery speed to track down receivers. His quick and fluid feet help him recover from false steps and avoid giving ground to receivers. The All-Pac-12 selection’s agility and change of direction skills help him mirror creative releases and stay attached at the top of the stem. He’s a sticky corner capable of mirroring receivers throughout the route. Gonzalez makes an impact as a press corner. He’ll even throw fake punches to throw off the receiver’s timing. Gonzalez plays physical at the catch point and is willing to bump receivers off their routes mid-play. He dominated Stanford’s Michael Wilson (2022) at the catch point. Gonzalez is a willing contributor in run defense who fires downhill when he reads run or screen. He cut down on his missed tackles in 2022 but still overruns some tackle attempts. The former four-star recruit must add functional strength to improve his play in press and against the run. He occasionally plays too loose on short in or out routes, allowing free separation. His feet get a little hoppy in press, which impacts his balance. Some of Gonzalez’s punches are soft and easily allow receivers to slip them. Michael Wilson (2022) successfully played through several of Gonzalez’s punches. His punch accuracy also needs to improve. Gonzalez panics and gets grabby when his punches miss the mark. He is late to get his head around for the ball and doesn’t finish potential interceptions.

Overall, Gonzalez is still refining some technical aspects of his game, but he has all the physical tools to be a shutdown corner by the end of his rookie contract. The Oregon product’s physical profile combines ideal height, speed, arm length, and overall athleticism.

Role & Scheme Fit: Press man boundary corner/scheme transcendent  

Round Projection: Top 15 Pick

Player Comparison: N/A

Submitted: 04-11-23