As New England Patriots outside linebacker coach Mike Smith watched Saturday’s preseason game in Minnesota, one play in particular caught his eye.
With the Vikings offense backed up near their goal line, undrafted pass rush Elijah Ponder worked through a pair of blockers to help disrupt Minnesota’s quarterback. It left Smith with goosebumps.
“I’m fired up about that kid. I mean he’s got a vet feel to him,” Smith said Tuesday. “Another guy I mean, just last game something simple as you look at a rush
when he got chipped — but usually when you get chipped the tackle’s sitting back and he’s waiting on you. The tackle set at four yards which is our decision point, but he did something simple as an in-n-out [move] and replaced the step, picked up the towel just like that. No wasted movement. I mean, it just gave me goosebumps.”
Listed at 6-foot-3, 261 pounds, Ponder posted an elite 9.70 out of 10 Relative Athletic Score prior to the draft this offseason. That featured testing numbers including a 41-inch vertical leap, an 11-foot broad jump and a 4.63-second 40-yard dash.
But in a deep edge rusher draft class, Ponder ended up going undrafted where the Patriots, who were transitioning to more four-down aggressive defensive fronts under Mike Vrabel and Terrell Williams, were quick to sign him up.
“Watching him come out, cause he wasn’t a guy that nobody was looking at, but if you look at his athletic ability, it’s off the charts,” Smith said. “He’s a big rusher. He moves great in space. He’s not scared to go put his face right down the middle, like you saw in the game, but he’s got this very rare ability of picking up things quick and look like he’s done it from day one. It’s just remarkable.”
In a room with veterans such as Harold Landry, Keion White, and K’Lavon Chaisson atop the depth chart, Ponder’s first-step explosiveness and bend has been apparent behind them on the practice fields this summer and in the preseason — where he’s tallied at least one pressure in each of New England’s first two contests.
Ponder has also provided versatility across numerous special team units, which should only help his cause when it comes to earning a 53-man roster spot as Smith and the Patriots can then continue to work with the 22-year old as a pass rusher after he piled up nearly 90 quarterback pressures over his final two seasons at Cal Poly.
“That kid is another one that has an extremely bright future. Probably one of the best free agent pickups I’ve ever seen,” said Smith, who has coached pass rushers for 11 years in the NFL. “So I’ll go and throw that out there. He’s got a ways to go though, but don’t get that twisted. But his movement ability and his knowledge and how smart he is, how fast he picks up things is remarkable.”
