00:00They are about to have an unbelievable amount of money shoved towards several players.
00:07One, Drake May, is going to be demanding a decent amount of money.
00:10And another one is Christian Gonzalez.
00:12And that is right here, right now.
00:15And Ted isn't 100% sure that Christian Gonzalez is going to get the kind of money that he seems
00:21to be looking for.
00:22And what he is looking to do is not only set the market, but according to some reports,
00:25he wants to be one of the highest, if not the highest paid defensive player in the league.
00:31And that's why Jeremy Fowler is joining us today.
00:33Jeremy Fowler, senior NFL writer for ESPN.
00:36He has got a ranking right now of all of his, of the corners.
00:40Jeremy, hey, thanks for coming on with us, man.
00:42We appreciate it.
00:44Hey, anytime, guys.
00:45Appreciate you having me.
00:46Hey, no problem.
00:46Happy summer to you.
00:47Hey, well, thank you.
00:48So, Jeremy, you've got this new ranking right here.
00:51And it was, and I love these more than just your, like somebody's opinion.
00:56You talked to execs, coaches, and scouts, and had them rank the top cornerbacks for 2026.
01:03And where did Christian Gonzalez, after speaking to all of these people, where did they end up ranking Christian Gonzalez?
01:11Yeah, thanks for that.
01:12I spend about two or three months scouring the NFL earth, getting the league's pulse on 11 different positions in
01:20the top 10 and all that.
01:21So, cornerbacks ran yesterday.
01:23Christian Gonzalez was the number three corner behind Patrick Sertan and Derek Stingley.
01:28Pretty good company, I would say.
01:30And Gonzalez is considered, you know, he's in that small group of prototypical outside cover guys, you know.
01:38And there are those three at the top.
01:40I think eventually Quinion Mitchell in Philadelphia will get there.
01:44But those are the three.
01:45And then after that, it's more like pick your flavor, you know, Trent McDuffie in L.A. or Devin Witherspoon
01:53in Seattle.
01:53But those guys are kind of inside-outside, smaller guys.
01:57Denzel Ward in Cleveland is older.
01:58So, you know, Gonzalez is up for a contract or contract eligible at the ideal time.
02:04And the league speaks highly of him.
02:06He's just – the only real knock on him is some evaluators feel like he's a little finesse at times
02:12against the run.
02:13But other than that, he's got everything you absolutely need, and he can wreck a game.
02:17Yeah, and you know what, Jeremy?
02:18You do something really cool on here is you put the highest ranking and the lowest ranking for the people
02:23you talk to.
02:23And the highest is two.
02:25But there is somebody on your list who gave him a 10.
02:28Did they give you any kind of reason as to why?
02:31Because 10 seems a little low for this guy.
02:37Well, 10 seems low, yes.
02:39But it is important to note that if you are a player that was on every ballot – so, in
02:44other words, if your lowest is 10, that's really good.
02:47They're only, like, each position, usually three to five guys max that are on every ballot turned into me.
02:54So, in other words, like, another player in the top 10 would be his lowest ranking is unranked, which means
02:59out of the top 10.
03:00So, even though that's a 10, he was in everybody's top 10, which is a good sign, because opinions really
03:06vary depending on player to player.
03:08And, you know, it really depends on how you're looking at it, too.
03:12Some pick favorites, some like guys with experience.
03:15So, you know, if you're looking at Gonzalez and you say, hey, he doesn't fit the style of cornerback I
03:20like, or I like a more physical player, then you might not take him.
03:24But especially, like, most personnel guys and most defensive coaches specifically love Gonzalez because there are only so many of
03:33those type of players in the world that you can line up on the outside and say, cover this elite
03:39receiver, stride for stride downfield and do it smoothly and with patience.
03:45And also play the ball and get the ball.
03:47And he's one of, like, three guys in the world that can do that.
03:49Well, I think what's fascinating, too, Jeremy, is that it looks like you have Christian Gonzalez in a tier above
03:56both Devon Witherspoon and Trent McDuffie.
03:58McDuffie, who got $31 million a year here recently from the Rams.
04:01And Witherspoon, who's up for a contract as well and has the same agent as Gonzalez.
04:05So, how do you think, if at all, this factors into the money that Christian Gonzalez is going to get?
04:12Yeah, it all factors in.
04:14You know, you basically play the market, right?
04:17And Trent McDuffie was the last to set the market at, I believe, $31 million a year on a new
04:22deal.
04:23So, Christian Gonzalez is looking to surpass that.
04:25There's no doubt about that.
04:26I heard something mentioned earlier in the show about being one of the highest-paid defensive players.
04:32Considering Will Anderson makes $50 million a year, I'd be pretty surprised at that.
04:37But this is a situation and a real test for New England when you have a major player like this,
04:42and the only deal you can do that the player would accept is a market resetter.
04:49You know, I don't know that New England has a lot of experience with that.
04:52I know they've had great players with Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski once upon a time, I think, had a
04:57deal that reset at the time or got close to it.
04:58But most of their moves of late have been more of the free agency variety.
05:03This is a test for them because you now drafted and developed a star.
05:07So, are you willing to pay them what the market bears?
05:10And it's a big number.
05:11You know, these are not easy to do.
05:13And you can always wait.
05:14You know, you can say, hey, look, you're a cornerback.
05:16You weren't a top-five pick.
05:18No matter how great you were, let's play it out and wait a year.
05:22So, that will be a test for Gonzalez at that point if it even gets there.
05:24I'm not saying it is, but if it does, he's got to decide, does he hold out camp?
05:29The trend really lately is to hold in, to show up so you don't get fined, but then don't do
05:33anything and don't practice for weeks to apply some pressure.
05:37So, certainly that's a mechanism I could see him utilizing here if it gets to that.
05:40Well, our buddy Ted Johnson, he doesn't seem 100% convinced that the Patriots are going to pay that kind
05:47of money.
05:49If they were to trade him, because that's obviously another option, if they were to trade him, what do you
05:54think the Patriots could demand for a guy as talented as Christian Gonzalez?
06:03Well, that's an interesting conversation at a different layer.
06:06I would be absolutely shocked if they entertained that.
06:08I just simply don't see that.
06:09This is a really good team.
06:10They feel like they're ready now.
06:13They feel like they're maybe a piece or two away from being right back to where they need, if not
06:18with a stronger roster than a year ago.
06:20I think they'd like another edge rusher if they can make that happen, but otherwise they feel like they're ready
06:25to go.
06:25So, to trade, you know, pound for pound, maybe your best player.
06:29I would say he's their best player.
06:32Better than Drake?
06:33Because if you're ranking the Drake.
06:34Well, I mean, Drake's a top 10 quarterback in the league now.
06:39There's no question about that.
06:40Oh, top 10.
06:41A lot of people are going to get their ears up on that one.
06:43A lot of people think he's better than that around here.
06:47Well, I will.
06:48I mean, you can make an argument of that, certainly.
06:51But Gonzalez is higher at his position, and Drake may be at his position.
06:55That's my point.
06:56So, you could argue that Gonzalez is your best player.
06:59Anyways, to run a tangent, I'd be shocked if they would even entertain trading him at any point.
07:04I think that would be a non-starter for them.
07:06These are complicated deals, and I'm told there hasn't been a lot of progress.
07:10That's probably why he missed part of the OTAs, and it's been a slow summer.
07:15Now, this is a slow time.
07:16We're in July 8th.
07:17There aren't a lot of deals getting done on July 8th.
07:19So, my guess is they'll reconvene around training camp and try this again.
07:24But I know Seattle, with Devin Witherspoon, who's the other corner up, you know, they at least have extended an
07:30olive branch and have tried to sign him.
07:33Yeah, they're not there yet, but I think they've at the very least put an offer in.
07:37So, one of those two deals is probably going to get done at some point, and then it's going to
07:42set the stage for the other.
07:43So, it's pretty simple math in that way.
07:45One guy's going to set the market, top cornerback, and then the next guy's going to surpass that.
07:49Well, real quick, Jeremy, is there a chance they do try to convince Gonzo to play the entire year without
07:56a new deal?
07:56Because McDuffie did do that, right?
07:58And then they traded him.
07:59Do you think Gonzalez would go for that at some point?
08:01Does he have to play?
08:04Well, I don't know if it's a matter of convincing.
08:07It's really a matter of what the player's leverage is and what the rules state.
08:12You know, like if your problem with holding out is you get fined a lot of money.
08:16And most agents would prefer their client not take losses like that, and the player would prefer that, too.
08:24So, you've got to kind of play within the rules while taking sort of a silent protest, which is why
08:29that hold-in has been so effective.
08:32But most guys play.
08:33You know, when you miss games, you miss game checks.
08:36It's complicated.
08:37Now, there are games that can be played with your body and your availability.
08:42You know, the old hamstring injury, right?
08:44My hamstring's tight.
08:45I can't go today.
08:46Right.
08:47I can't go this week.
08:48You know, like those are games that are played.
08:50I'm by no means saying Christian Gonzalez would do that, but I'm saying, like, those are some mechanisms in place.
08:55I don't think Mike Grable will be overly excited about that.
08:57So, at the end of the day, you know, he's an NFL player who I'm guessing will want to be
09:03on the field.
09:03I'd be surprised if it gets that far.
09:07But this is – you have a marquee guy at a marquee position.
09:10Even Trent McDuffie, for as good as he is, that's a little different because Kansas City didn't have a pension
09:14for doing deals that early,
09:16unless your name is Patrick Mahomes, and they didn't typically pay cornerbacks.
09:20So, if you're McDuffie, you knew, hey, I've got to play this fourth year out.
09:23So, where Gonzalez is a little more established at this stage and probably has a little higher value.
09:30So, he can get more squirmy if he wants.
09:32Well, Jeremy Fowler, senior NFL writer for ESPN, if – I'll just – I'll tell you one thing before we
09:37let you go,
09:37is that if for some reason the Patriots let this slip away and they don't give him the money that
09:42he wants,
09:43there might be a riot here.
09:45I mean, like, he is loved in this town, and they know how good he is.
09:50And it's one of those things where I don't want to hear your justification.
09:53None of the excuses matter.
09:55You've got to sign this guy.
09:56So, it'll be an interesting couple of months here, and then, you know, when the season starts, to see how
10:01it goes.
10:02But, my God, it's one of the biggest storylines of the offseason, outside of anything having to do with Diana
10:06Rossini.
10:07So, Jeremy Fowler, great stuff.
10:09Thanks for coming on with us, man.
10:10We really appreciate it.
10:11Thanks, Jeremy.
10:12Hey, anytime, guys.
10:13Appreciate it.
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