Patriots’ Mike Vrabel Believes Christian Gonzalez Has Taken His Game To ‘Greater Level’

New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel has high praise for star cornerback Christian Gonzalez.

Gonzalez is the Patriots’ No. 1 cornerback and is a key part of New England’s defense. However, to begin the season, he did have some struggles, but down the stretch and into the playoffs, he’s been dominant.

Ahead of Super Bowl LX, Vrabel believes Gonzalez has started to make more of an impact, and the Patriots will need him to be dominant against the Seattle Seahawks.

“There’s just a presence, I feel like,” Vrabel said on Thursday. “And again, not that there was anything was wrong. I just felt him. I just felt when he blitzed, when he covered, when he – maybe it was just me, but I’ve got a pretty good seat for some of these games.

“And so, I just felt him start to continue to impact at a greater level. You heard him, you saw him and obviously his play. So, that’s no secret that we’ll need him to play well, as well as the rest of our other good players.”

Seattle has a dominant receiving core headlined by Jaxon Smith-Nijigba, who Gonzalez will likely be tasked with trying to slow down.

If Gonzalez can limit Smith-Nijigba’s game, it will hinder the Seahawks’ offense and give New England a chance to win.

The Patriots are 4.5-point underdogs against Seattle in Super Bowl LX.