NFL Rumors: How Patriots Landed Star After Team’s ‘Shouting Match’

Many were surprised when Christian Gonzalez fell to the Patriots at No. 17 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Well, it appears New England was very, very close to missing out on the star cornerback.

Gonzalez was the second consecutive corner taken in the first round two years ago, as Emmanuel Forbes was taken by the Commanders one selection prior. But as NBC Sports Washington’s JP Finlay recently revealed on 106.7 The Fan, Forbes was far from a unanimous target in the Commanders’ war room.

“During the Ron (Rivera) era there was real dissension within that front office on some of the philosophical decision-making as it related to size,” Finlay said, as transcribed by MassLive. “Where they would skew — the easiest thing to point to, and I know there was a screaming match on draft day, about the Forbes decision when Gonzalez was there. They were like ‘This dude (Gonzalez) has prototype size, speed, every measurable you have’. And then you look at a lot of the decisions during Ron era, it seemed like they were not scared to move away from what you would want (with) size and speed.”

Choosing Forbes over Gonzalez proved to be a big mistake by the Commanders, who released the former after he only played six games in his sophomore season. Gonzalez, meanwhile, bounced back and then some from his serious rookie-season injury and earned Second-Team All-Pro honors in 2024.

The vibes at Washington’s facility thanks in large part to Jayden Daniels, but Gonzalez might always be looked at as the one who got away in the nation’s capital.