Patriots Star Bizarrely Disrespected in Major Rankings

New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez is one of the brightest young stars in the NFL and is coming off of a superb 2024 NFL season.

The former first-round pick played in 16 games during his sophomore campaign, registering 59 tackles, a couple of interceptions and 11 passes defended. He was snubbed from the Pro Bowl, but he did earn a Second-Team All-Pro selection.

For some reason though, Gonzalez is regularly disrespected when it comes to discussing the best cornerbacks in football (see: his Pro Bowl snub), and he was slighted yet again in a recent list.

Jonathon Macri of Pro Football Focus ranked the top 25 players under 25 years old this week, and somehow, Gonzalez did not make the list.

As a matter of fact, five other corners were present in the rankings, with four of them placing inside the top 20. And yet, Gonzalez was nowhere to be found.

This even though PFF itself handed the 22-year-old an impressive 76 overall grade last season. He also earned a 78.2 coverage grade.

Given Gonzalez's youth and the fact that he missed most of his rookie year due to a shoulder injury, you would think that he would automatically qualify for such a list. But he was absent.

Perhaps it's because the Patriots were one of the worst teams in football in 2024. Let's be honest: New England does not carry the same cachet it once did. While that shouldn't matter from an individual perspective, you have to wonder if Gonzalez would earn more national attention if the Pats were a better team (he almost certainly would).

We'll see if the University of Oregon product can shine once again in 2025 and continue to prove he is one of the league's most underrated stars. Or maybe he'll finally start gaining the respect he deserves.