Christian Gonzalez: Patriots Debut 'Woke Me Up'
Christian Gonzalez's summer vacation ended in a hurry.
Gonzalez took an NFL field for the first time on Thursday night, repping the New England Patriots against the Houston Texans in Foxborough's 2023 preseason opener. As one of the most intriguing picks of the first round, with many interested to see how the physical defender will make a name for himself in an admittedly strong defense, Gonzalez has a fair amount of hype around him, especially on a New England group trapped in the gray area between playoff contention and a full-on rebuild.
The most recent 17th overall pick didn't have to wait long for his proverbial "Welcome to the NFL" moment: Gonzalez was the victim of a receiver-defender role reversal on the very first play from scrimmage, thrust backward by charging catcher Nico Collins onto the Patriots sideline after an eight-yard reception.
Gonzalez was officially credited with the tackle on the play, but the optics certainly didn't work in his favor. He later spoke about the play to secondary teammate Jalen Mills, who provided Gonzalez's fellow first-round choice C.J. Stroud his own reality check with an interception that led to New England's only first half points in a 20-9 defeat.
"We talked about that first tackle that he had on the sideline,” Mills said, per Zack Cox of NESN. “He told me it woke him up a little bit, but he said he needed that. But I think Gonzo, he had a pretty good outing.”
Gonzalez recovered well enough from his mistake over the next several defensive possessions, locking up his men, earning three tackles, and helping force the Texans into three punts and a fumble recovered by Calvin Munson. Even another miscue of effort, letting up a 12-yard reception to Steven Sims, offered a preview of Gonzalez's lauded physicality, as he forced a fumble that bounced out of bounds. New England got the ball back two plays later when Munson recovered a botched Davis Mills handoff to Dare Ogunbowale.
In the aftermath, Gonzalez gave himself a cautiously positive self-assessment, thanking the New England receivers' room for preparing him for NFL game speeds.
“It was good,” Gonzalez said. “I had a lot of fun going out there with my teammates and just trying to get better each day, and there is so much more that I can learn. (I'm) ready to get in tomorrow, watch the film, and get back to work.”
“I don’t really think I was too comfortable or the game was too fast,” Gonzalez continued, per Khari Thompson of Boston.com. “I feel like it was a good learning experience for me. Like I said earlier, just ready to get in tomorrow and watch the film and see what the coaches think about it and see how we can learn and grow for next week.”
Gonzalez and the Patriots return to action on Saturday night against the Green Bay Packers (8 p.m. ET, WBZ).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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