Patriots: 3 best moves of the 2023 offseason

Best Patriots moves of the offseason: 1. Trading down for Christian Gonzalez

On Day 1, the Patriots shipped the 14th overall pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for the 17th overall pick and 120th overall pick.

The move paid off, as cornerback Christian Gonzalez was surprisingly still on the board at No. 17.

I ranked Gonzalez as the second-best cornerback in the class on my big board:

"Gonzalez was excellent in coverage at Oregon. Last season, he allowed a passer rating of 74.7 on 64 targets and had a career-high four interceptions. He solidified his draft stock at the combine. The 6-foot-1 cornerback ran a 4.38-second 40-yard dash and recorded a 41.5-inch vertical."

He has all the tools to be an elite cornerback in the NFL.

Many outlets rated him as a top-10 prospect. NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah placed him at 10th overall on his big board.

The Patriots picked up one of the best players in the class while adding additional draft capital. That is as good as it gets.