The New England Patriots don’t get no respect.
*insert literally any Rodney Dangerfield joke*
ESPN has been periodically releasing position rankings over the summer, gathering votes by surveying executives, coaches and scouts around the NFL — none of which seem very fond of the talent at One Patriot Place. The Patriots had exactly one member of their roster rank this year, with Christian Gonzalez coming in at No. 6 on the cornerbacks list on Thursday.
“I think Gonzo is the next great one,” a veteran assistant said, per ESPN. “Skills, patience, length. He’s the closest thing to Pat (Surtain II). Smooth, big athlete, travels a lot, can matchup against the best guy.”
Surtain was ranked No. 1, followed by the Houston Texans’ Derek Stingley Jr. (No. 2), Cleveland Browns’ Denzel Ward (No. 3), Kansas City Chiefs’ Trent McDuffie (No. 4) and New York Jets’ Sauce Gardner (No. 5). Gonzalez did receive a first-place vote, but was also left off the list by one voter.
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It’s not a totally ridiculous spot for Gonzalez, but one could argue he deserves to be ranked higher than the likes of Ward and Gardner.
New England only had three other players receive votes at their position: tight end Hunter Henry, safety Kyle Dugger and linebacker Robert Spillane.