2023 NFL Draft: Christian Gonzalez - Oregon Cornerback

Christian Gonzalez - Oregon

Strengths:

1. Route Accel/Decel - Gonzalez can stick with receivers through varying speeds along the route stem, which shows the fluidity in which he plays. Few of the other top corners in this class can do this with his effectiveness.

2. Quick Pivots - He has excellent change of direction on quick pivots. His burst out of his pivot step is incredible with good technique, body angles, and footwork. He is a fluid mover who can match receivers down the field as well as underneath.

3. Versatility - Gonzalez plays at a high level from the slot and out wide in both zone and man coverage.

Weaknesses:

1. Line Contact - While he may have great balance through contact, he does not redirect receivers often with physicality. He uses positioning well, but prefers soft press where he does not jam or make immediate contact.

2. Opposing False Steps - Gonzalez will put weight into his step when buying into fakes that are sold well. While his recovery burst is effective and immediate the majority of the time, this is still an area in which he can improve. He is a natural enough athlete to where this did not really hurt his efficacy at all in college, but learning to keep his weight balanced before a break will help him against elite separators in the NFL. This is coachable for an athlete of his caliber, and very nitpicky to categorize as a legitimate weakness in his game.

3. Strength at Catch Point - He needs more strength at the catch point, plain and simple. His willingness and athleticism are apparent in contested catch situations, but stronger hands and more experience adjusting to contact will be beneficial in the NFL.

Grade: Top 15 Pick

Pro Comparison: A.J. Terrell

Gonzalez is a similar player to Terrell in most facets, but is also considerably faster.

Film Notes:

Utah (11/19/2022)

Good line contact. Kept eyes on quarterback, but turned very acutely. Unphased by contact, stays hip to hip from soft press. Comfortable pivoting hips in open field. Ran route for receiver. Clearly the best corner on the field. Gives slight cushion underneath at times from soft press. Both feet off ground, but good burst after hip turn. Ran route for assignment again before the break. Initial stance is oddly low, but not a concern. Both feet left ground again on pivot. Quick cuts inside may take advantage of this tendency. Maintains balance through contact at the line, unlike all of his teammates at the position. Looks more comfortable reading receiver in press than in zone, but does performs assignment well in zone. Good change of pace throughout route to stay sticky. Playing in slot a decent amount. Heavier pivot step giving immediate separation from line, but excellent burst caught back up instantly. Split step is something to monitor. Fluid movement skills in open field. Much cleaner pivot that time staying low, resulting in zero separation throughout the route. Has some lazy lateral movements when in zone at times. Can match quick crossing routes and slants without lagging behind. Good positioning to force receiver where he wants him to go. Keeps eyes glued on quarterback when dropping back into zone. Great body angle, but not immediate open field pivot that play. Good pick up from zone, and was not expecting to pivot that quickly, hence the extra two steps. Slow to shed block, and reached out for arm tackle. Excellent coverage on quick slant.

Washington (11/12/2022)

Patient tackle. Allows some separation on comebacks. Keeps eyes on player while hip to hip. Eyes on quarterback in off coverage. Secondary scheme seems to not match his strengths as well. Incredibly fluid movements. Great abrupt acceleration. Not stepping into false moves, albeit the quality of the moves is unimpressive. Still good to see. Poor footwork from blitz on outside. Lock down on boundary. Great ball skills. Looked like an interception anyway. Reacted before ball was released. Made tackle up at line of scrimmage out of zone coverage. Sticky, but elected not to make line contact in tight press. Prefers to drop head for tackle as opposed to wrapping up. Plays from both sides of the field. Hips rotation was very inefficient. Occasionally leans back too far when backpedaling, but makes up for it with athleticism. Still a bit slow on true comeback routes. Excellent split step to break from squat with receiver without rotating hips early.

UCLA (10/22/2022)

Excellent lateral movement throughout the route without needing to commit hips. Reacted early to come inside and make tackle. Good pivot in tight press. Contact at the line would have been icing. Did not adapt well on pass rush. Great coverage down sideline. Got head around to try and make catch. Good hang time and athleticism, but did not come down with it. Only dropped interception of the year. Got one step behind after tentatively going for a jam that was wildly ineffective. Caught back up instantly though. Excellent coverage on crossing route. Very difficult to cover, but he stayed right with his man the entire duration of the route. Kept eyes inside while on his man. Good read in zone, but there is room to improve with positioning within the zone. Slight unnecessary lean back before pivoting, as he occasionally does. Does not appear comfortable rushing the passer across his tape. Needs to be stronger at catch point. Not an overly aggressive player. Calm and collected may be preferred at time, but he could gain some physicality across the board. Allowed catch on comeback, but no concern. Keeps eyes on quarterback in zone. Got bullied a bit at the line on that rep. Did not get head around in time in the flat. Very few negative reps throughout entire tape. Consistently stuck with his man in all types of coverage, and allowed very few receptions on not many targets in games observed.

Attributes (Grade/10):

Coverage	Tight Press	9
	Soft Press	9.5
	Off / Squat	8
	Zone	8

Tight Press: Excellent in press through all levels of the field, but does not use physicality to his advantage at the line.

Soft Press: Gonzalez favors soft press with good reason. He is extremely sticky, and can stay hip to hip with receivers varying their speeds. He has great balance through contact without needing a physical advantage, and can mirror any route from a quick slant to a double move downfield. There are even reps on tape where he breaks before the receiver, practically running their route for them. The only reason this is not a 10/10 is because he has sloppy footwork at times. Nothing that has shown to be an issue in college, but cleaner changes in direction, especially towards the top of the route, could make Gonzalez one of the better lock-down corners in the NFL.

Off/Squat: Great in off-coverage with the ability to track his man while staring down the quarterback. He has clean footwork and smooth movements in the open field. The main reason this grade is not higher is because he often will allow uncontested catches on comeback routes when squatting or in off coverage. He commits too hard to the back pedal at times regardless of what looks the receiver shows. It is usually the right decision, but there is still some room for improvement.

Zone: He is comfortable in zone, and knows how to read a quarterback and make a play. He also has very fluid hips, and moves well throughout the open space without having to look around him. The main reason this grade is lower is because he is occasionally a step or two late to an assignment in his zone, which stems more from positioning within the zone more than anything. A bit more experience should help him in this area without needing too much coaching.

Man	Stickiness	9.5
	Hips	9.5
	Line Contact	6
	Size / Strength	7
	Accel / Decel	10

Stickiness: Sticky in man coverage at every level. His footwork at times is not always perfect, but his body control more than makes up for it.

Hips: Very fluid athlete, but does not always stay low enough. His movement skills on the field cannot be taught, and he is easily deserved of a 9.5/10 grade, if not higher.

Line Contact: He has good balance through line contact, but does not use it to his advantage. Rarely seen jamming at the line in any meaningful capacity.

Size/Strength: Gonzalez has plenty of length at 6'2, but does not play as physically as he could. This may hinder him more in contested catch situations than it will throughout a route. He has good size, but he could certainly develop more play strength.

Accel/Decel: This is why Gonzalez is worthy of an early first round pick. His ability to accelerate and decelerate with receivers throughout the route is special.

Instincts	Anticipation	9.5
	Playmaking	8.5
	Football Intelligence	9

Anticipation: There are a couple of instances throughout his tape that he plays in a unique way that sets him apart from other man-corners. He anticipates not only where the receiver is going to go from zone coverage, but also reads his man well enough to know where they are going before the first break. It is remarkably impressive. This may result in a couple of instances where he is wrong and takes an inefficient step, but his athleticism has made up for it at the collegiate level. The only way this grade increases is from seeing a bit more playmaking from zone coverage.

Playmaking: Great at reading the field and making a play accordingly. He could have had more than four interceptions this last season.

Football Intelligence: Seems to usually understand his role as well as what is going on with any given play. This is another reason why he has the versatility to play all over the field in any coverage type.

Ball Skills	Hands	8.5
	Contested Catch	7

Hands: One dropped interception in 2022.

Contested Catch: He will go up for contested catches with decent aggression and overall effectiveness, but needs more strength at the catch point.

Zone	Route Awareness	9
	Discipline	8
	Jumping Routes	9

Route Awareness: He usually knows where his man is going to be in shallow zone. The only reason this is lower than a 10 is because he occasionally does not immediately pick up a new assignment in his zone. This is not a big issue as it is infrequent throughout his tape, but still is an area in which he could improve.

Discipline: He would prefer to stay on one man, but overall is disciplined in his zone.

Jumping Routes: Reading plays and jumping routes is a strong part of his game.

Open Field	Tackling	8
	Pursuit	7
	Speed	9.5

Tackling: With only three missed tackles in 2022, he has decent numbers. That said, he also prefers diving at the feet of runners when he is able. He may need to work on his tackling technique heading into the NFL.

Pursuit: Fast in pursuit, but he is slower to shed blocks in the open field. Running down a ball carrier to make a solid open field tackle is not a big part of his game.

Speed: Gonzalez just does not get beat down the field. His 4.3 speed shows up on tape.

Full Report:

Gonzalez had a true breakout season in 2022, bolstering his draft stock into the early-mid first round. He has shown the ability to play out wide and from the slot in both man and zone coverage effectively. While he could be considered scheme proof, he thrives in press coverage. Gonzalez can stick with any receiver along the route stem with his ability to seamlessly vary speeds to match his opponent. He has elite change of direction skills to match his 4.3 speed, and can keep up with receivers in shallow routes as well as down the field. In zone, he keeps his eyes on the quarterback. Gonzalez has great anticipation, understanding both how to jump routes from what the quarterback gives as well as how to read the route of his opponent with great effectiveness. There are still a couple of weaknesses displayed throughout his tape that may be more exposed at the next level. While incredibly sticky, Gonzalez is not the most physical player. He will not redirect routes at the line through jams, and lacks hand strength at the catch point. He also will occasionally give too much cushion in off-man coverage, almost as if he is following directions as opposed to playing his man at times. While he excels in man coverage, he is not the elite top 5 type of player like the top corners of the 2022 class. He is deserved of a top 15 pick, but could afford to gain a bit of strength as well as experience against the more aggressive and physical outside wide receivers who he will be up against in the NFL.

NFL Projection:

Gonzalez should be drafted in the top 15 picks, and become a solid outside cornerback throughout his career. If he gains a bit of strength and learns how to win at the line, then he could become one of the better cornerbacks in the NFL.