Rookies drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft tend to have an extra level of 'swagger' and confidence, and for the most part, they aren't afraid to talk themselves up. Patriots first round pick Christian Gonzalez is not one of those rookies.
Many Patriots fans were thrilled with New England's selection of the 21-year-old cornerback, believing the Patriots were lucky he fell to the No. 17 overall pick. Did he let his first-round selection get to his head? His teammates say absolutely not.
“He’s a quiet guy. I like to call him a little ‘silent assassin.' He’s going to go out there and lock down whoever is lined up in front of him, but outside of the game, he’s going to kind of be chill. He’s more observant than anything. It’s like he’s always processing what’s going on,” Patriots veteran safety Adrian Phillips told Mike Reiss of ESPN.
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Phillips went on to say that Gonzalez reminds him of Stephon Gilmore, claiming that you can tell how good a cornerback will be based on how they practice, and if they will let receivers catch balls.
" don’t want to give him the Steph tag -- I know Steph is way farther along -- but I definitely do see some similarities between them," Phillips said of Gonzalez. " ... He’s not going to let you catch any balls.”
Speaking on the rookie, safety Jabrill Peppers also added that "the maturity was there, and you could tell he was coached right."
Gonzalez responded how you'd expect when asked about his personality, answering in a way that must have been music to head coach Bill Belichick's ears.
“I don’t feel the need to express what I can do with my words...Just let your game play and actions speak."
Gonzalez had no issues letting his game do the talking for him in his NFL debut against the star-studded Philadelphia Eagles offense, headlined by Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, and DeVonta Smith. Gonzalez logged 7 tackles, a sack, and a deflected pass in New England's 25-20 loss.