FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- When former Oregon Ducks cornerback Christian Gonzalez arrived onstage at the 2023 NFL draft after the New England Patriots picked him 17th overall, he opened his suit jacket and the vibrant colors reflected his roots.
The bright red, blue and yellow inside resembled the flag of Colombia.
There was a <1% chance that Christian Gonzalez was going to be available at pick 17. @chrisgonzo28
— ESPN (@espn) April 28, 2023
New England may have gotten a steal in the #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/feXbbJJJ1j
"I wore it because I'm Colombian," Gonzalez explained in his first interview with Patriots reporters. "It means the world to me.
"To just be able to put it on for South America; they don't really play football over there. So having little kids know they can do what they want if they set their mind to it -- I just want to be able to let them know they have somebody to look up."
Gonzalez said his father, Hector, was born in Colombia and moved to the U.S. to play basketball when he was 18, attending UTEP, and later joining a semi-professional league in Colombia.
Christian Gonzalez's older sisters, Melissa (Texas) and Samantha (Miami), were All-Americans in track and field in college and competed for the Colombian national track and field team. He also has a younger sister, Lily.
Gonzalez, who turns 21 on June 28 and was born in Carrollton, Texas, said of playing in the NFL: "It's been a dream since I was 5, 6 years old when I started playing football. It's kind of surreal. I don't think it's truly hit."