Round six of positional previews for training camp will focus on cornerbacks. I've ripped through running backs (earlier this week), tight ends, interior offensive line, inside linebackers, and safeties. Today, a look at the cornerback room, headlined by a budding star.
CBs: Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, Alex Austin, Marcellas Dial, Isaiah Bolden, Marcus Jones, Kobee Minor, Miles Battle, DJ James, Brandon Crossley, Jordan Polk
What I Like About This Group: At their best, the top three (Gonzalez, Davis, and Jones) are stickier than a piece of Big Red gum that's been sitting on the sidewalk during the summer.
What I Dislike About This Group: Injury concerns. Davis hasn't played more than 13 games since 2020 and has never gone wire-to-wire in his seven-year career. Jones has played 15, 2, and 14 games in his first three seasons. You're going to see the backups. Are they any good?
X-Factor: Davis. He's getting paid a lot of money, and he's going to see a lot of targets when he's in there. Can he hold up?
I love going back to what people working in the league told me about why Gonzalez "slid" to the Patriots at the 17th pick (after they traded back).
- "Lack of physicality" and not just in the run game.
- Concerns about his play in big games (he got scorched by Georgia).
- Competitive spirit. Does he have the "want" to be great?
How's that look now? Gonzalez is never going to be a hammer in the run game. The best guys I've ever watched - Sanders, Revis, and Gilmore, to name a few - weren't either. In fact, I thought Sanders was non-competitive at times, and no one cared because he cut off half the field in the passing game. Gonzalez isn't that yet, or maybe ever, but he was an All-Pro caliber player in his first full season in the league and was at least willing to play run force if that's what the call dictated. And besides, he wasn't drafted to be an edge-setter. The former Oregon Duck, however, was selected to be a number one corner, and he is that.
As for his work in big games, well, he hasn't had any of those because the Pats have just eight wins over the last two seasons. But Gonzalez has had some impressive performances against some of the game's best wideouts, and Sean McVay and the Rams wisely schemed away from him when the brainiacs calling the defense last year kept him on the boundary side (that still irritates me, btw).
Finally, the Gonzalez we saw this spring was stronger and had spent the off-season doing Pilates to help his body. He's poised for a monster year, assuming the ball ever goes his way.
If it doesn't, then it's on Davis to hold up. His signing was deemed a little rich for the kind of player he is now - the Lions weren't willing to go to the same lengths New England was - but Mike Vrabel's vision was made clear at the team's free-agent press conference.
"Hopefully a lot of cat coverage," Vrabel smiled when asked about pairing up Davis with Gonzalez. "‘I’ve got this cat. You’ve got this cat. Let’s go to work.’"
The Pats will be a gameplan team, but there's no question they want to have man/zone flexibility. Davis' length and mindset allow him to line up in a WR's face on one play and then fall back on another. The Lions certainly let the 29-year-old be aggressive under then-DC Aaron Glenn, and before Davis suffered a season-ending broken jaw in week 15, he was playing some of the best football of his career.
Of course, the injury aspect is part of the equation with Davis, and when he invariably goes down, the Pats will have to sort through the Austin/Dial/Bolden trio and see if one of them sticks. I like all three, and Dial, in particular, appeared to have made a decent-sized leap from year one to what I saw from him this spring. He was making plays, and it would be nice to see that carry over to training camp. As I reviewed my notes from last summer, Dial was often victimized but tended to be in the right area code. Perhaps this is just a sign of his growth.
Austin has had his moments in each of his first two seasons with the Pats. He's got the requisite length (6'1" and 31 7'8" arms) and isn't lacking confidence. I see him as an outside corner, though he had decent success in the slot in 2024-25 (very small sample size).
Bolden, on the other hand, has dabbled both outside and inside to mixed reviews. In week 17, the Chargers went at him quite a bit - he was targeted eight times and allowed five catches. But Bolden, a former 7th-round pick out of Jackson State, didn't look out of place, and this staff, like the one prior, has made sure to get him looks at multiple spots. He's 6'2" and fast (4.33 40). Plus, there's also some crazy pedigree there. Bolden was a 4-star recruit who attended Florida State before transferring to play under Deion at JSU. Needless to say, the next couple of months are going to be big for him.
The Pats signaled that they wanted to add competition at the nickel spot but didn't manage that in free agency, and the notion that safety Craig Woodson is ready for that role seems overly optimistic at this point. That leaves Jones as the only proven option.
To his credit, the diminutive corner proved that he's not just a gadget player, performing well on defense last season (though PFF has him rated in the back half of slot corners. Don't get me started on their grading again). Jones' speed is the trait he's most known for, but his physicality is also noteworthy. He plays bigger than his 5'8", 188-pound frame. That cost him in 2023 when he tore a labrum in his shoulder and was out for the majority of the year. Jones played the first 14 games before a hip problem ended last season. So yes, health will be a concern with him until he proves otherwise. But Jones opened the coach's eyes this spring, and I'm sold on his ability to match even the best slot receivers in the league. The arrow is pointing up, as far as I'm concerned.
Mr. Irrelevant, Minor, didn't stand out this spring. That's not a bad thing. He was competitive in the reps I saw. He's still got a large hill to climb to make the week one roster, but as we've seen often unless Minor pops off in the preseason, he will likely pass through waivers and end up on the practice squad.
Beyond that, the 6'3" Battle is intriguing and had an impressive NFL debut in week 18's win over the Bills. Yes, it was against backups, but his three passes defensed are noteworthy. Think JoeJuan Williams only with more production in one game than the former second-round pick had maybe ever (I'm exaggerating to make a point).