Former Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez was selected No. 17 by the New England Patriots in the 2023 NFL Draft on Thursday night.

“I can’t wait until your name is called at the draft and you hug me,” Gonzalez’s mother, Temple Gonzalez, texted her son a year ago. “I’ll probably cry like a baby.”

“We made it Ma,” Gonzalez posted on his instagram story hours before the first round began.  

The Colony, Texas native was the top performing corner at the Combine in late February with a 4.38 second 40-yard dash, 11’1” broad jump and a 41.5” vertical jump. He used his explosive speed and league-caliber size to dominate the Duck’s secondary last season. 

The early-draft-pick hype began early for Gonzales last season and he delivered. After transferring from Colorado in 2021, he led Oregon with four Interceptions and seven pass breakups during the Holiday Bowl winning 2022 season. Although he opted out of the bowl game, his 51 total tackles and blocked field goal against Cal helped pave the way for the program’s first bowl game victory since the 2020 Rose Bowl. 

There are still Ducks on the board to be drafted in the upcoming days including Noah Sewell, Alex Forsyth and Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu.