How do you challenge one of the New England Patriots' tallest cornerbacks? Match him up against the team's tallest wide receiver.
That's been the case on several occasions throughout Patriots training camp, with 6-foot-2 rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez often finding himself in coverage on 6-foot-3 wideout DeVante Parker during 1-on-1, 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills.
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The competition has been fierce, with Patriots wide receivers coach Ross Douglas using a boxing analogy to describe Gonzalez's battles with the 30-year-old Parker.
"When you watch Gonzo go up against DP, it's like two heavyweight fighters," Douglas told reporters Friday in video conference. "... DP's made a living so far in his career making those type of contested catches."
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Indeed, Parker has bested Gonzalez on a few jump balls so far in camp. But the Oregon product has held his own and hasn't been shy about using his physicality against a bigger wideout like Parker. More importantly, Gonzalez is using his "heavyweight" bouts with Parker as a learning experience, even picking Parker's brain for tips on how to win jump balls.
"He talks to Parker a lot about certain situations, hand placement, body weight distribution," cornerbacks coach Mike Pellegrino told reporters Friday. "He's learning a lot, and those are the mistakes in practice -- you'd rather have them in practice, right?
"He's gonna get better, he's gonna learn from them, and then do it better in the game. So, every mistake is an opportunity to learn from."
Gonzalez appears to be an eager learner so far.
"You want to go against the best to succeed," Gonzalez told reporters Thursday. "So, being able to use them and learn from them, and then talk to them and see how they see things from their perspective (helps) me as a corner."
At 21 years old, Gonzalez is the youngest player on the roster, but he very well could be the Patriots' starting quarterback in Week 1. While that's a lot of responsibility to put on the first-round pick's plate, Gonzalez appears off to a good start both on and off the field.
"We knew what kind of athlete we were getting out of Oregon; obviously a tall guy that can move fairly well," linebackers coach Jerod Mayo said of Gonzalez. "I would say, the one surprise with him is just how he interacts with his teammates.
"It already seems like he's a good teammate. The guys like him. Now it's just about putting it all together on the field."
