Christian Gonzalez

Christian Gonzalez was drafted by the New England Patriots in the first round (17th overall) of the 2023 NFL Draft.

CAREER TRANSACTIONS
Christian Gonzalez was drafted by the New England Patriots in the first round (17th overall) of the 2023 NFL Draft.

COLLEGE

Honors and Awards

• Coaches Pac-12 All-Conference first team
• Phil Steele All-Pac-12 first team
• Associated Press All-Pac-12 second team
• Pro Football Focus All-Pac-12 second team
• Phil Steele All-America fourth team
• Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week (Week 10)

Junior Year (2022):

• Transferred to Oregon in 2022 after spending his first two seasons at Colorado.
• Started Oregon's first 12 games before opting out of the Holiday Bowl and declaring for the 2023 NFL Draft.
• Led the Ducks with four interceptions, third-most in the Pac-12, and finished with 50 total tackles (35 solo) and one tackle for loss.
• Totaled 118 return yards on four interceptions, the most by a Duck in a season since 2001 (Steve Smith).
• Tied for sixth in the Pac-12 with 11 passes defended and tied for ninth with seven passes broken up.
• Recorded first career interception in the second quarter, returning it 11 yards vs. Eastern Washington.
• Broke up a pair of passes and made two tackles in Oregon's top-15 win vs. No12 BYU.
• Made five solo tackles, recorded his first TFL as a Duck and broke up two passes in a top-10 win at Autzen Stadium vs. No. 9 UCLA.
• Set a then-career-high with eight tackles (six solo) and blocked a field goal at California. First Duck to block a field goal in a game since 2017 (Jalen Jelks). One of eight Pac-12 players to block a field goal in 2022.
• Named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week after hauling in two interceptions against his former school at Colorado. It was his first career multi-interception game. Totaled 77 return yards on the two interceptions, running the first one back 36 yards for a near-pick six and the second one 41 yards. Interceptions came on back-to-back drives in the third quarter.
• First career double-digit tackle performance with a career-high 10 tackles, including a career-high seven solo takedowns vs. Washington.
• Finished with five tackles and pulled in interception No. 4 on the season, running it back 30 yards at Oregon State.

As a sophomore at Colorado (2021):

• Coaches Pac-12 All-Conference honorable mention.
• Started all 12 games at cornerback. Finished fifth on the team and first among defensive backs with 53 tackles (42 solo). Led the team with five pass breakups while ending the year third with 5.5 tackles for loss. One of five players in the Pac-12 and one of only three defensive backs with at least five PBUs and five TFLs. Played 811 total snaps – the sixth-most among Pac-12 corners. Made at least three tackles in 10 of the 12 games.
• Recorded six tackles and two TFLs helping hold the Aggies to 191 yards passing and 288 yards of total offense in a 10-7 loss vs. Texas A&M.
• Made a career-high seven tackles (five solo) while adding a TFL at Arizona State.
• Finished with six solo stops while recording one tackle for loss to help the Buffaloes to their first shutout since 2015 and first-ever shutout of a Pac-12 opponent vs. Arizona.
• Broke up a pair of passes while recording a TFL and four total tackles at California. Highest-graded Pac-12 cornerback that week by Pro Football Focus both overall defensively and in coverage
• Matched a career-high with seven tackles (five solo) while adding a PBU at UCLA.

As a sophomore at Colorado (2021):

• Started all six games at cornerback. Only freshman on defense to play and start all six games.
• Sixth on the team with 25 tackles, including 23 solo stops, which were tied for third on the team. Second on the team with five pass breakups.
• Recorded five tackles in collegiate debut, helping CU to a 48-42 win vs. UCLA.
• Finished with five tackles, all solo, while breaking up a pass in a 35-32 win at Stanford.
• Made three solo stops to go along with a PBU in a win at Arizona.
• Matched a season-high with five tackles, all solo, while breaking up a career-high three passes vs. Texas.

High School

• A four-star prospect ranked as one of the top 50 players from Texas by 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN.
• Named to the All-Midlands Regional team by PrepStar … 247Sports gave him a rating of 90 as the No. 307 player nationally, No. 28 safety and No. 42 player from Texas … Rivals rated him at 5.8 and the No. 26 defensive back in the class and No. 33 player from Texas … ESPN gave him a scout grade of 80 as the No. 62 player in the region, No. 19 safety in the class and No. 48 player from Texas.
• Played defensive back and wide receiver for The Colony and coach Rudy Rangel for two seasons, compiling a 17-5 record, including a 12-2 mark in the Division 5A-1 Standings.
• On defense in his career, he had 46 tackles, 17 pass breakups, three interceptions, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
• On offense, he tallied 65 receptions for 956 yards and 12 touchdowns, ran seven times for 187 yards and two touchdowns and racked up 1,394 all-purpose yards and 18 total touchdowns
• Named first-team All-District 5-5A as a senior, making 17 tackles on defense with eight pass breakups, two interceptions, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. 43 receptions for 650 yards and 10 touchdowns, four rushes for 89 yards and one touchdown and he returned a kick 75 yards for a score, giving him 13 total touchdowns
• As a junior, was named first-team All-District 5-5A defense, helping the team to a 9-2 record with 29 tackles, nine pass breakups, one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. 22 receptions for 306 yards with two touchdowns, three carries for 98 yards and another touchdown. Scored five touchdowns and had 580 all-purpose yards with two kick returns for 161 yards.
• Also ran track & field in high school and had a personal best of 21.6 seconds in the 200-meters in the Texas State Championships.

Personal:

• Parents are Hector and Temple Gonzalez.
• Father played college basketball at UTEP and went on to play semiprofessional basketball in Columbia.
• Has two older sisters, Melissa and Samantha, and one younger sister, Lily
• Both older sisters, Melissa (Texas) and Samantha (Miami, Fla.),
• Ran track and field in college and were both all-Americans in the 400 hurdles and the 4x400 relay.