Patriots' Christian Gonzalez Called 'Steal' of the Draft by NFL Twitter After Trade

The New England Patriots filled a major need with their first-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft on Thursday.

After dealing the No. 14 pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Patriots selected former Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez at No. 17 overall.

Gonzalez, widely viewed as one of the best cornerbacks in the class, spent the first two seasons of his career at Colorado before transferring to Oregon for the 2022 campaign. In 12 games last season, the 6'1", 197-pounder posted four interceptions, seven pass breakups and 50 tackles.

Bleacher Report's NFL Scouting Department had Gonzalez ranked as the third-best cornerback in the 2023 class behind Devon Witherspoon and Joey Porter Jr.

B/R NFL Scout Cory Giddings wrote of Gonzalez:

"As one of the top cornerbacks in this year's draft class, Gonzalez shows to have just about every skill needed to have a solid career at the next level. He will need to continue to work on his transitions to have minimal separation in routes, but his elite size and ball skills will make up for some of that. Gonzalez could be taken in the first round. If not, he will definitely be an early Day 2 pick."

After many believed Gonzalez would be selected within the top 10, Patriots fans and members of the media on Twitter were delighted that he fell to No. 17, calling him the "steal" of the draft:

After losing J.C. Jackson to the Los Angeles Chargers in free agency last offseason, the New England secondary took a hit in 2022, so the addition of Gonzalez is certainly a welcomed one.

Gonzalez will join a New England cornerback unit that includes Jack Jones, Jonathan Jones, Shaun Wade, Quandre Mosely and Rodney Randle Jr. The 20-year-old's size was greatly needed in the Patriots secondary, and head coach Bill Belichick should be thrilled he fell to No. 17.