Patriots training camp stock watch: Gonzalez doesn't shy from physicality

FOXBORO -- Bill Belichick may be dipping into the world of load management, but for the players who are available to practice, there has been a noticeable uptick in physicality lately.

In Day 8 of Patriots camp practices, the third day of fully-padded practice, Belichick had his team do something they didn't do last summer: one-on-one pursuit drills with live tackling to the ground.

Some of those tackles bled into competitive 11-on-11 reps, and rookie corner Christian Gonzalez ended up drawing the loudest cheer of the day from the defensive sideline after he threw his weight around a little bit. On a swing pass to Raleigh Webb, Gonzalez quickly closed down the space between him and the ball carrier and -- perhaps with the help of Rodney Randle Jr. getting knocked to the ground near Webb's legs -- he leveled the receiver.

His teammates came pouring off the sidelines to celebrate.

On the one hand, the Patriots defense relished the opportunity to have something to celebrate after the offense won the day on Wednesday. On the other hand, it may have been nice for Gonzalez's teammates and coaches to see him turn up the physicality.

Coming out of Oregon, there were coaches and scouts who questioned his willingness to tackle at the next level. That perceived aversion to violence may have helped Gonzalez slip to No. 17 overall. But on that play, he certainly didn't look like a player tip-toeing his way to contact.

That's why, for today, he leads our Stock Watch piece...

Stock Up

Christian Gonzalez

Let's get this out of the way first: Christian Gonzalez in coverage? His stock isn't soaring. He hasn't made a play in coverage in some time. And he's been targeted quite a bit. He was beaten by Kendrick Bourne on a deep out route at one point, and he was in the area when Tre Nixon caught a deep corner route -- both throws coming off the fingertips of Mac Jones. Not ideal.

But Christian Gonzalez the tackler? Stock up. He showed some toughness on Thursday in the play described above, plus he would've had a possible tackle for a loss on JuJu Smith-Schuster when he read a swing pass well and closed quickly. Additionally, he's available, for which he gets some credit. Not every boundary corner on the roster can say the same at the moment. (More on that in a minute.)

Kendrick Bourne

After submitting a relatively quiet camp for the first week of practices, Bourne stood out on Day 8 as among the team's most active wideouts. He caught three of the four targets sent his way, including the toe-tapping snag along the sideline right in front of the front left pylon. He also seems to be trusted by both of the team's top two quarterbacks, since both Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe threw anticipatory throws to Bourne and put said throws on target before Bourne had even gotten out of his break. 

Kyle Dugger

Dugger came down from what appeared to be the free-safety spot to pick off Mac Jones. (He may have bumped the intended target, Tre Nixon, on his way to the football but without the benefit of replay it's hard to say for sure.) He also rushed from the middle of the line of scrimmage and wasn't picked up for what would've been an easy sack. Through more than a week of camp he's been used in a variety of roles and is often around the football.

Fellow safety Adrian Phillips also warrants a mention here after picking off Zappe in the red zone. Jonathan Jones had a pair of pass breakups. And Jalen Mills had a sack. Pretty good day for a number of Patriots defensive backs.

Stock Down

Jack Jones

Why did Jones leave practice? And is that the smartest thing for one to do when one is less than three weeks away from a trial for gun charges? Jones had a rough day of practice on Wednesday when he couldn't stop Bourne in 1-on-1s and was beaten deep by Tre Nixon. Leaving Thursday (apparently on his own) and then returning (but not returning to practice) was extremely odd for a player who should be trying to have as normal a training camp as possible.

Conor McDermott

McDermott had a hard time with Keion White on Wednesday and then on Thursday it was Deatrich Wise who got him in 1-on-1 pass-protection drills. McDermott also went down to the ground with Josh Uche at one point in the practice and tempers flared briefly. Soon thereafter Uche got by McDermott to pressure Mac Jones into a checkdown throw to Rhamondre Stevenson. 

Matt Sokol

The big tight end had a good start to camp with a couple of difficult catches in the first few days of practice. But he's cooled off since then, and on Thursday he fumbled after Ja'Whaun Bentley punched at his hands. To this point, Sokol is still likely the lead dog for the No. 3 tight end role, but it doesn't look like anyone has a stranglehold on that gig.