Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel reveals his hopes for the cornerback duo of Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis
FOXBOROUGH, Mass – The New England Patriots already have an elite cornerback in Christian Gonzalez. But, they needed someone to play opposite of him. And, the Patriots brought in Carlton Davis for that exact reason. So, what is head coach Mike Vrabel's hopes for the new cornerback duo? “Hopefully we can just play cat coverage – […]
FOXBOROUGH, Mass – The New England Patriots already have an elite cornerback in Christian Gonzalez. But, they needed someone to play opposite of him.
And, the Patriots brought in Carlton Davis for that exact reason.
So, what is head coach Mike Vrabel's hopes for the new cornerback duo?
“Hopefully we can just play cat coverage – ‘You’ve got this cat, I’ve got this cat. And we can go to work,’” Vrabel told reporters on Thursday. “I would say the thing I appreciate about watching CD is they might catch a ball on him, but he just lines back up and he competes and he challenges. He tries to play aggressive that’s a play style we embrace. Corners, that’s a tough position in the National Football League.”
And for Davis, he is excited about the opportunity to play with the young cornerback.
“I’m excited, man. I’m excited. He’s a young, great player. I’ve watched his film even when he was coming out of college,” Davis said. “I always do a little background check of the corners coming into the league. I guess it’s a competitive thing. I liked his film. He’s long, rangy. He’s got good ball skills.”
"He had a really good year last year in my opinion," Davis added. "I'm always eager to match up or just kind of team up with guys who have similar skill sets as me and can help push me in practice and I can push him in practice, and it's always iron sharpens iron, so I'm excited for that. I'm excited to get to practice with him, get to know him a little bit, pick his brain, just see how we can help each other grow.”
Across his seven years in the league, Davis has 11 career interceptions and 84 career passes defended. Meanwhile, Gonzalez has one sack, one fumble recovery, three interceptions, and 14 passes defended in his two seasons, which included an injured rookie season. And in 2024, he earned Second-team All-Pro honors.
If that's any indication, it's going to be a dangerous duo on defense for the Patriots.
