Apparently it was no sure thing that Christian Gonzalez was going to fall into New England’s lap at No. 17 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.
On draft night, the Steelers wanted to jump up to take tackle Broderick Jones, so the Patriots traded down from No. 14 to No. 17 overall. At No. 15, the Jets took edge rusher Will McDonald IV.
At No. 16, things got interesting with Washington.
The Commanders were also in the market for a cornerback and opted to draft Emmanuel Forbes, but according to NBC’s JP Finlay, that was far from a unanimous decision in Washington’s draft room. Some wanted to select Gonzalez, and tempers boiled over.
“During the Ron (Rivera) era there was real dissension within that front office on some of the philosophical decision-making as it related to size. Where they would skew — the easiest thing to point to, and I know there was a screaming match on draft day, about the Forbes decision when Gonzalez was there," Finlay said on 106.7 The Fan. “They were like ‘This dude (Gonzalez) has prototype size, speed, every measurable you have’. And then you look at a lot of the decisions during Ron era, it seemed like they were not scared to move away from what you would want (with) size and speed.”
Gonzalez and Forbes both stood 6-foot-1 and the NFL Combine, but Forbes was far smaller, weighing in 31 pounds lighter than Gonzalez (197 to 166 pounds).
Ultimately, the Commanders totally whiffed on the pick. Forbes struggled to the point that he was cut after a season and a half in Washington, while Gonzalez has blossomed into an All-Pro for the Patriots.
