Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez drew a lofty comparison to former New England defender Stephon Gilmore — who just happened to win Defensive Player of the Year during his tenure with the organization.
Gonzalez said he’s spoken with Gilmore a few times and hopes to emulate parts of his game on the field.
“(Gilmore is) one of the best to ever do it,” Gonzalez told reporters after Day 2 of Patriots training camp, per team-provided video. “He plays with great smarts, and he knows the game really well. I spoke to him a couple of times, him telling me that and watching his film, you can see how he played like that. I’m just trying to mimic certain things, but it’s really cool to be able to talk to somebody like that and want to talk about ball.”
The 22-year-old defender had his first season cut short when he suffered a dislocated shoulder and torn labrum during New England’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4 of the Patriots’ season, but did show promising signs.
Gonzalez used his time away from the gridiron to learn and improve his skill set.
“It gave me time to learn more mentally. Obviously, Couldn’t do anything physically or be on the field,” he said. “But, it helped me learn the game more and pick up nuances I might’ve not known.
“I feel like I’ve improved, but I feel like there’s so much more I (can) take my game. I’m excited for it.”
Now fully healthy, Gonzalez is “excited” to be back on the field with the Patriots.
“Being able to do what I love and being held back from it, that’s hard,” he said. “But that’s in the past. I’m so excited just to come out… I’m blessed to be out there (on the field). Excited to take it day by day and get back to where we were at.”
