The jokes wrote themselves after the New England Patriots seemingly went off the board by taking Chattanooga guard Cole Strange in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

And Patriots fans and reporters were waiting on bated breath to make those same jokes in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft after New England traded down from No. 14 overall and had cornerback Christian Gonzalez and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba sitting there waiting to be picked 17th overall. Of course, the Patriots would instead take some 25-year-old small-school linebacker, right?

No.

New England took the perceived steal in Gonzalez. They managed to fill a major need — perhaps their biggest — while also seemingly getting great value in one of the most talented players in the draft. When you expect the Patriots to zig, they zag. And when you expect them to zag, well, you get the point.

Time, of course, will tell how Gonzalez and Strange pan out in New England. Strange was fine as a rookie in 2022. He started every game at left guard and had a tough stretch midway through the season. Maybe he turns into an All-Pro and everyone who made the “Strange” pick jokes doesn't get the last laugh. Maybe the Los Angeles Rams brass looks foolish for literally laughing at the pick last year.

Gonzalez appears to be set up for success and immediate playing time as New England’s biggest cornerback on the roster. He’s young but has speed to burn and comes with plenty of college experience despite only being 20 years old. As long as the rest of the spring and summer go well for the young cornerback, he should be a starter in 2023.

But taking Gonzalez seemed to be a return to 2021 form when New England went more chalk by drafting Mac Jones in the first round, Christian Barmore in the second round, Ronnie Perkins in the third and Rhamondre Stevenson in the fourth. Results there have been mixed, as well. Jones and Barmore were more promising as rookies, Perkins has yet to play, and Stevenson has been a major steal.

The Patriots could still take some wild cards with one second-round pick, one third-round pick, four fourth-round picks and five Day 3 selections. But at least on paper, they aced their first rounder and navigated the draft process exceptionally well.

Gonzalez wasn’t even expected to be there at No. 14 overall when the Patriots were supposed to pick. Then they traded down with the tackle-needy Pittsburgh Steelers to leapfrog the also tackle-needy New York Jets for Georgia offensive tackle Broderick Jones. The Jets probably weren’t going to draft a cornerback after taking Sauce Gardner early last season, and Patriots director of player personnel Matt Groh said early Friday morning that New England knew the Washington Commanders were going to take cornerback Emmanuel Forbes at No. 16. So, with Gonzalez there at No. 14 overall, chances were strong he’d also be there at No. 17 overall. And he was. And the Patriots now picked up an additional fourth-round pick — which they could package to move up the draft board Friday or Saturday — and don’t have to pay Gonzalez as much as they would have at No. 14 based on the rookie wage scale.

Draft grades mean little, but New England was getting low marks after the first round last year. The consensus is that they aced the Gonzalez pick. It's hard to find an outlet that didn't give them an A after Thursday night's pick.

Now the Patriots still have their own need at offensive tackle that they can fill on Day 2. They also should be looking to add youth at wide receiver, tight end and at edge defender.