Concerns with Patriots star laughable after Week 1 masterpiece vs. Bengals

The Patriots' 2023 season will not be remembered fondly for many reasons, but one of the best takeaways was the potential of their rookie players, who shined early and often throughout the year, the main one being cornerback Christian Gonzalez.

Despite only playing in 3.5 games before suffering a season-ending injury, he was so impressive that he had already garnered buzz to be in the running for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Maybe it was a bit premature, but as one of the best cornerbacks of the 2023 draft class and easily locking up the top receivers in the league, it seemed more than fitting to put him in the conversation.

His potential and impressive early production made his injury much more devastating, even if the Patriots still had a solid secondary in his absence. The silver lining, however, was that he would be ready to go as soon as the team returned to Foxboro for spring practices, which is exactly what happened with Gonzalez.

But his return wasn't met with unanimous excitement from reporters who witnessed practice all offseason, with some suggesting the cornerback might have taken a step backward due to the injury.

It was a take that began to catch steam early in the summer, and some of Gonzalez's preseason performances fueled concerns about heading into the regular season, especially since he was expected to lineup against Ja'Marr Chase and/or Tee Higgins.

Luckily for the Patriots, the cornerback played like he hadn't missed a beat against one of the best receivers in the National Football League, adding another incredible performance to his resume.

Christian Gonzalez picks up where he left off with the Patriots against the Bengals in Week 1

With Tee Higgins sidelined with a hamstring injury for the Bengals season opener, Gonzalez was going to have the task of shutting down Ja'Marr Chase throughout the game, and given his history, it seemed like a doable task.

Last season, as a rookie, he lined up against guys like A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Tyreek Hill, and more, ensuring the receivers had some of their least productive games of the year.

He did that again against Chase on Sunday, holding him to just three receptions for 14 yards, becoming the latest standout performance of his young career.

It was an unexpected performance by Gonzalez for those who tried to paint an incoming disappointing year for the second-year cornerback, much to the delight of Patriots fans and his teammates.

While that's an impressive feat in itself, he might deserve even more credit for his performance against Chase due to the receiver hoping to convince the Bengals he deserves a contract extension, so one could argue he's trying to play his best football to prove his worthiness.

Although his performance didn't match that on Sunday, Chase is still one of the best in the league and becomes the latest played added to Gonzalez's list of top names he has locked down, which is something even the most seasoned vets can't do.

His teammates recognized it after the game, making sure they were heard when the cornerback spoke to reporters about the team's win.

It's pretty apparent that the Patriots' defense is still a dominant unit and could wreak havoc on unsuspecting teams this season as they did against the Bengals. That will make this season even more fun to watch.

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