SAN JOSE, Calif. — Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez and Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba have narrowly avoided each other for years, but that should change next Sunday.

The matchup between Gonzalez, one of the Patriots’ top defenders and also a premier NFL cornerback, and Smith-Njigba, the Seahawks’ best playmaker and perhaps the league’s top receiver this season, is the most highly anticipated of Super Bowl LX.

Gonzalez, a Pro Bowl selection and 2024 second-team All-Pro, has been phenomenal this season, especially in the playoffs. He allowed a league-low 4.8 yards per target in 17 games, including the postseason and let up 10 catches on 25 targets for 125 yards with no touchdowns, one interception and three pass breakups in three playoff games.

Overall this year, Gonzalez has allowed 45 catches on 101 targets for 482 yards with one touchdown, one interception and 10 pass breakups, per PFF. He finished second with a 47.2% catch rate and fourth with a 58.3 passer rating against.

Head coach Mike Vrabel said he noticed a difference in Gonzalez late in the season.

“There’s just a presence, I feel like,” Vrabel said. “Not that there was anything wrong. I just felt him. I just felt when he blitzed, when he covered, when he — maybe it was just me, but I’ve got a pretty good seat for some of these games. And so, I just felt him start to continue to impact at a greater level. You heard him, you saw him and obviously his play. So, that’s no secret that we’ll need him to play well, as well as the rest of our other good players.”

Smith-Njigba led the NFL with 1,793 receiving yards on 119 receptions with 10 touchdowns in 2025, earning first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors. It’s his second straight 1,000-yard season, but he took a massive leap from catching 100 passes for 1,130 yards with six touchdowns in 2024. Including the postseason, “JSN” needs just 35 yards in Super Bowl LX to crack 2,000 in 20 games.

“He’s done an amazing job all year,” Gonzalez said. “He’s made a lot of plays. Amazing receiver. Everybody knows what he can do.”

Gonzalez also called Smith-Njigba “smooth” and a “great route runner.”

“Can run all the routes. He’s got a really big route tree,” Gonzalez said. “I mean, he’s a competitor. At the end of the day, he loves going up and getting that competition. So, just got to be myself and go out there and make the plays when my number is called.”

Gonzalez and Smith-Njigba went to high school 40 miles away from each other in the Dallas area but never competed in high school, since Gonzalez’s high school (The Colony) is in the 5A conference, and Smith-Njigba’s high school (Rockwall) is in the 6A conference.

“I mean, I knew of him in high school,” Gonzalez said. “At Rockwall, he was doing amazing things. The things he’s doing now, he was doing it in high school. Dallas is a big city, but it’s pretty small when it comes to football and all that. Most everybody knows everybody.”

Gonzalez played at Colorado before transferring to Oregon in 2022. Smith-Njigba played his entire three-year career at Ohio State, and he played Oregon once, in 2021.

The Patriots and Seahawks faced off early last season. Smith-Njigba caught 12 passes on 16 targets for 117 yards, but none came against Gonzalez. Gonzalez allowed four catches on seven targets for 27 yards to D.K. Metcalf, who now plays for the Steelers. Since Smith-Njigba primarily played in the slot in that game, Gonzalez estimates they only lined up against each other once or twice.

Smith-Njigba played in the slot on 83.6% of passing snaps last season. That number has dropped down to 23.2% this season after the Seahawks added Cooper Kupp. So, Gonzalez should see much more of the fellow Texan in Super Bowl LX

“Just sudden, savvy, competitive, really good play strength for his stature,” Vrabel said of the Seahawks wideout. “You wouldn’t think — he’s not a 6’3″, 220-pound receiver, but he’s got great play strength. He’s a really good contested catch. I think good route craft, understanding the zone and man. Great body control.”

Smith-Njigba, who’s 6-foot, 196 pounds, played bigger than his size, while Gonzalez moves more smoothly than most 6-foot-1, 205-pound cornerbacks, making it an intriguing showdown.

It also reexamines the 2023 NFL Draft, when both players were steals when Gonzalez was selected 17th overall by the Patriots, and Smith-Njigba went 20th overall to the Seahawks.

“Going into the draft, that’s where we officially met,” Smith-Njigba said Monday. “Being able to see the guys who were going to get drafted near where you’re going to get drafted and watching his film, incredible player. He deserved getting drafted where he got drafted. Elite player, for sure.”

The Patriots originally held the 14th overall pick but traded down three spots with the Steelers, who took Georgia offensive tackle Broderick Jones. Iowa State edge defender Will Anderson IV went off the board next to the Jets. Then the Commanders took cornerback Emmanuel Forbes before the Patriots raced to the podium to select Gonzalez.

Jones and McDonald haven’t earned any postseason hardware. Forbes was cut by the Commanders last season.

You can debate whether the Patriots should have taken Gonzalez or Smith-Njigba in that spot or the value of a cornerback vs. a wide receiver, but both players have outplayed their draft slots. Linebacker Jack Campbell (Lions) and defensive tackle Calijah Kancey (Buccaneers) then went off the board before Smith-Njigba.

Gonzalez, who was expected to be a top-10 pick in the 2023 draft, fell due to a perceived lack of physicality. There were also some questions at the time about his personality and drive. Gonzalez is more soft-spoken than most elite cornerbacks, but he has a quiet confidence about him. Physicality and tackling ability have not been issues for the 23-year-old cornerback since he entered the league. He finished the 2025 season with just one missed tackle, and his 24 defensive stops (a PFF metric) ranked 15th at his position.

He was the third cornerback taken in 2023 behind Forbes and Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon, a three-time Pro Bowl selection and 2025 second-team All-Pro who went fifth overall.

Smith-Njigba had a monster sophomore season with the Buckeyes but played just three games, catching five passes for 43 yards while battling a hamstring injury before declaring for the draft. He was also viewed as a slot receiver due to a lack of top-end speed. He’s also proven those question marks wrong.

So, who wins Sunday’s matchup? Time will tell, but if Gonzalez can help neutralize Smith-Njigba’s impact, it would go a long way toward helping the Patriots emerge victorious in Super Bowl LX.