The 2023 NFL Draft takes place April 27-29 this year, emanating LIVE from Kansas City, Missouri. As it stands, the Tennessee Titans have one first round draft pick. New general manager Ran Carthon and head coach Mike Vrabel currently hold the 11th overall selection. Over the next couple of months, I’ll be taking a look at some of the prospects who are either rumored to be tied to, have met with, who make sense for the Titans, or who are for some reason being mocked to the Titans even though they don’t really have a need at the position. Whatever – there are no rules here. Today, we’re lookin’ at Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez.
The Titans don’t seem to be meeting with a whole hell of a lot of cornerbacks leading up to this month’s NFL Draft. But, I’m still not ruling out the possibility of one at #11. I don’t know how they feel about the longterm health of that position group. But, at the very least, they could use a contingency plan for Kristian Fulton and some depth to compete for a starting role. The way they like to play defense, the more guys who can play man coverage, the better. For my money, Gonzalez is the best…man man…in this entire draft class.
Gonzalez played for two years at Colorado before transferring to Oregon for 2022, a season for which he was named First-Team All-Pac-12. You always know you’ve got a good cover guy when you look at the stats and don’t see shit – 17 passes deflected and four interceptions doesn’t look like an awful lot when you look at the box score (all four of those picks came in 2022, mind you). But, when you fire up the tape, you see that offenses just seemed to feel like they were better off not testing Gonzalez. I like that trait in a cornerback. Speaking of traits, Gonzalez has an elite set of traits with the third best RAS among corners at the Combine. He’s 6’1″, 197lbs, and he ran a 4.38 40. That’s something that shows up on his tape as he is as long, athletic, and fluid as they come.
I really liked the Stanford tape. I wanted to see how he’d match up against Michael Wilson (with Tanner McKee throwing the ball to him). I don’t know if they were trying to send a message that they weren’t afraid of Gonzalez or what, but right off the bat…first play on offense…McKee tries throwing to Wilson, who is matched up on Gonzalez.
Turned on the Stanford tape 'cause I wanted to see how Gonzalez fared against Michael Wilson and hubba hubba right out the gate on the first defensive play of the game for Oregon. pic.twitter.com/4FTg78kZ2k
— Stoney Keeley (@StoneyKeeley) March 31, 2023
Yeah, buddy. Look at that mirroring ability. I found that Gonzalez pretty well jammed Wilson at the line of scrimmage and matched him stride for stride down the field pretty consistently throughout this game. The start-stop stuff didn’t seem to effect him either. From a movement standpoint, Gonzalez is like watching a good dancer….he’s able to turn his hips and flow with anyone. He does a masterful job in zone of getting out in front of a threatening receiver and just cutting off their ability to take the route deep. Wilson just couldn’t get behind him.
He’s also a physical cornerback, proving to be a willing and sound tackler in the open field. Oregon used him as a blitzer quite a bit, and he was able to blow up a few plays in that Stanford game (though he did completely whiff on one tackle with the running back dead to rights). He plays with pretty good technique. I like the way he squats and jabs at the line, flashing good leverage and hand usage. He plays a little rope-a-dope with guys before they can get really get into their route, impacting their release. When he’s able to stick with ’em throughout the route, it’s got to be frustrating. In the Utah game, he hung in there with Dalton Kincaid on a route or two and put some good reps on tape.
As for concerns, I noticed a couple of times against Stanford and Washington where he bit a little too hard on double moves and in-breaking routes. Against the Huskies, he allowed a massive reception on a post route that turned into a contested catch situation that he didn’t time his jump well enough to come down with the ball. It seemed like he struggled more in zone coverage, though I wouldn’t say he was a liability at all. He just works better when he can get to you before your release and he has the speed to run with you down the field. He was giving guys more of a cushion in that Washington game, and the Huskies receivers took advantage of it a couple of times. So if you’re drafting Gonzalez, you’d be best served by just lining him up 1:1 with a team’s top receiver.
I know that wide receiver and offensive line are both more pressing needs for the Titans, but I’m not sure there’s a receiver I’d feel comfortable drafting at #11 and depending on how the dominos fall, it’s possible that a left tackle worth drafting at #11 won’t be there either. Meanwhile, if you can luck into the best cornerback in this draft class, why wouldn’t you pull the trigger on him?
Further Reading: Why Christian Gonzalez is the best cornerback in the 2023 NFL Draft
2023 TITANS FIRST ROUND OPTIONS
- Paris Johnson Jr.
- Broderick Jones
- Michael Mayer
- John Michael Schmitz
- Peter Skoronski
- CJ Stroud
- Bryce Young
- Wide receivers
- Tyree Wilson
- Devon Witherspoon
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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.
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