Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll seems to prefer drafting cornerbacks late. It’s tough to blame him, considering he found both Richard Sherman and Tariq Woolen in almost the exact same spot in the fifth round. The 2023 NFL draft class is deepest at cornerback, so Carroll could try to wait around until Day 3 again to find a special talent. Then again, Seattle has been upending all of our expectations thus far in free agency and the same was the case in last year’s draft.
Perhaps it would be wise to throw out what we think we know about this front office and start expecting the unexpected. This new post-free agency mock draft by Doug Farrar at Touchdown Wire has a scenario that certainly qualifies.
While it’s a deep corner group in 2023, the best of them is Christian Gonzalez from Oregon. Farrar has Seattle taking him at No. 5 overall:
“Gonzalez, a ridiculously athletic cornerback with size, aggression, and the ability to shut any receiver down at the boundary, would be an ideal fit as Carroll’s cornerback prototype, and good luck testing the outside combination of Gonzalez and Tariq Woolen in 2023 and beyond.”
After two years at Colorado, Gonzalez transferred to Oregon for the 2022 season and immediately had a breakout year. He went in with zero career interceptions but had four in 2022, plus seven pass breakups and 35 solo tackles.
On some level every prospect is a gamble. However, Gonzalez certainly has the size and athleticism to make it. At the combine he checked in at 6-foot-1, 197 pounds with 32″ arms and 9.5″ hands. He ran a 4.38 forty and posted a 41.5″ vertical and an 11’1″ broad jump.
