Christian Gonzalez certainly seems to be on his way to becoming a shutdown cornerback in the NFL with the New England Patriots.
Before Gonzalez, J.C. Jackson emerged as such for New England. Before him, Stephon Gilmore cemented himself as one of the better players to ever play to the position for the Patriots.
Gilmore stepped up several times in the postseason, from his fourth-quarter deflection in the 2017 AFC Championship Game to a momentum-ending interception in Super Bowl LIII. The South Carolina product consistently shut down top receivers in dominated the 2019 season to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year.