Welcome to the 10th daily installment of the NFL Draft 1-through-32 series on DK Pittsburgh Sports, intended to introduce you, a prospect at a time, to the top 32 players in the class on a consensus basis, leading right up to the main event.
That, of course, will be April 27-29, in Kansas City, Mo., though all 32 teams, including the Steelers on the South Side, will operate from their local headquarters.
NO. 10: CHRISTIAN GONZALEZ
Oregon cornerback
Gonzalez is the No. 10-rated player on Pro Football Focus' big board. A riser among draft boards because of his athletic traits, Gonzalez is in competition with Illinois' Devon Witherspoon as the top cornerback in the draft.
COLLEGE BACKGROUND
The second-team All-Pac 12 cornerback was Oregon's best defender in a pass-happy conference, which included Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams of USC. Gonzalez's four interceptions were the third-most in the Pac-12, and his 11 passes defended tied for sixth and his seven pass breakups were seventh in the conference.
Gonzalez showed more of his play making ability as a cornerback after transferring to Oregon from Colorado prior to the start of the 2022 season. He returned his four interceptions in 2022 for a total 118 yards, the most by an Oregon player since Steve Smith recorded 104 interception return yards in 2001.
A native of The Colony, Texas, Gonzalez was a consensus four-star recruit out of high school who chose Colorado among 32 offers. He made official visits to Colorado, Notre Dame, and Arizona State during his recruiting process.
He measured at 6-foot-1, 193 pounds and profiled as a safety out of high school.
NFL COMBINE, PRO DAY
Gonzalez checked in at the same height and at 197 pounds at the NFL Combine, where he dazzled scouts with his athleticism in earning an overall grade of 92, which was tops among cornerbacks at the Combine. He earned a prospect grade of 6.70, or a "Year 1 starter," which tied for the seventh-highest prospect grade. He ran a 4.38-second 40-yard dash, jumped a 41.5-inch vertical and 11-foot-1 broad jump, and tossed 14 reps on the 225-pound bench press in Indianapolis.
His vertical jump tied fro second among Combine cornerbacks, while his broad jump tied for fourth.
He only tested in the on-field drills in Oregon's pro day, and he impressed again with his athleticism:
Oregon CB Christian Gonzalez showing off his hands at Pro Day 😤@chrisgonzo28 | @oregonfootball pic.twitter.com/Xdi0hdffkI
— NFL (@NFL) March 14, 2023
MOCK DRAFT
The USA Today mock draft consensus tracker has Gonzalez going at No. 6 overall to Detroit, with an average draft slotting at 7.167.
Our own latest mock draft also has Gonzalez going to Detroit at No. 6.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE STEELERS' STANDPOINT
Similar to Witherspoon, if the Steelers really want to pick Gonzalez, then they would likely have to trade up to get him. They just hosted Maryland cornerback Deonte Banks Tuesday and will reportedly host Miami cornerback Tyrique Stevenson later in the week, so at minimum, their scouting process of first- and second-round defensive backs appears to be ongoing despite signing Patrick Peterson and Keanu Neal to free agent deals and re-upping on Damontae Kazee and James Pierre this offseason.
COREY'S TAKE
As mentioned in our 1-through-32 on Witherspoon, Gonzalez likely would benefit the Steelers with his knack to play man-to-man and with his ability to keep up with the receivers around the AFC North. It's understandable as to why the Steelers would want to boost its depth at cornerback and bring in a sure-fire starter opposite Peterson given the breadth of talent at receiver in the division alone: Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd in Cincinnati; Amari Cooper, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and the newly acquired Elijah Moore in Cleveland; and Rashod Bateman and Devin Duvernay in Baltimore.
