In the 2023 NFL draft, the New England Patriots selected a stud in the first round, taking cornerback Christian Gonzalez out of Oregon.
Gonzalez earned Rookie of the Month honors for September of his first season before missing the rest of the year with a shoulder injury. In 2024, he came back strong, taking on some of the best that the league had to offer and earned All-Pro honors for his efforts.
While the Patriots ended up with the former Duck in that draft, they weren't the only team with executives interested in bringing the cornerback in, as one team even had a small blowup about it in their draft room.
"Not to give away state secrets, right, but 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," NBC Sports' J.P. Finley said about the Washington Commanders. "The easiest thing to point to, and I know there was a screaming match on draft day about the (Enmanuel) Forbes decision when Gonzalez was there. They're like 'Yo, this dude has prototype size, speed, every measurable you had.' And, then you look at a lot of the decisions during that Ron era, it seemed like they were not scared to move away from what you want (in terms of) size, speed."
New England ended up with an All-Pro, while Washington has already moved on from Forbes less than two full years after they selected him.
Patriots legend was disgusted by the team in 2024
New England makes perplexing decision with returning coach for 2025
Patriots blockbuster trade proposal lands projected $112 million in New England