<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1Nt4Cz_0w85VxjO00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1Nt4Cz_0w85VxjO00" width="1210" height="806" ></figure>The New England Patriots may not have plenty of blue-chip players on their current roster, but Christian Gonzalez definitively belongs in that group. The team’s best player regardless of position, the former first-round cornerback is in the middle of an outstanding sophomore season.The task at hand just got more challenging, however. On Tuesday, after all, two of the Patriots’ division rivals swung big trades to bolster their wide receiver groups.First up were the New York Jets. Having lost three straight games to drop to 2-4 on the season, they decided to reunite quarterback Aaron Rodgers with one of his former pass catchers: Davante Adams was brought aboard from the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for a conditional third-round draft pick.Adams, 31, has been one of the NFL’s most productive wide receivers ever since entering the league with the Green Bay Packers in 2014. A teammate of Rodgers for eight seasons, he earned six Pro Bowl nominations and was named first-team All-Pro three times over that span.Now joining a receiving corps already featuring former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Garrett Wilson, he will give Rodgers another bona fide perimeter weapon. This, in turn, also means that Gonzalez might be getting a new challenge when the two division rivals meet in two weeks; the 22-year-old gave up five catches for 33 yards and a touchdown to Wilson when they squared off in Week 3.New England could elect to keep Gonzalez on Wilson, or move him to Adams instead. Considering the latter’s connection with Rodgers, such a change in procedure would make some sense.Against new Buffalo Bills wideout Amari Cooper, on the other hand, Gonzalez already looks like the clear favorite to draw the matchup. Cooper, who was acquired by the reigning AFC East champions as part of a package deal including a third-rounder going to the Cleveland Brown, immediately becomes Buffalo’s No. 1 outside receiver.A former first-round draft pick, Cooper has been a productive receiver throughout his career. In his first nine seasons, he was voted to five Pro Bowls and crossed the 1,000-yard barrier on seven occasions. Nonetheless, Tuesday marked the third time in his career that he changed teams via trade: he moved from Oakland to Dallas and later to Cleveland in the same fashion.The Patriots will visit the Bills in Week 16, and host them at Gillette Stadium two weeks later.As for Gonzalez, he has gone up against some of the NFL’s best wide receivers this season. Besides the aforementioned Garrett Wilson, he also faced the likes of Ja’Marr Chase, DK Metcalf, Brandon Aiyuk, Tyreek Hill, and, most recently Stefon Diggs.Despite all of them being among the very best the league has to offer in terms of pass catching, he has stood his ground and performed at a Pro Bowl-caliber level. In total, Pro Football Focus has him down with 26 catches given up on 44 targets for 209 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in 240 coverage snaps.</div></body>

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Christian Gonzalez’s task gets more difficult with Davante Adams, Amari Cooper joining AFC East

The New England Patriots may not have plenty of blue-chip players on their current roster, but Christian Gonzalez definitively belongs in that group. The team’s best player regardless of position, the former first-round cornerback is in the middle of an outstanding sophomore season. The task at hand just got...