The New England Patriots entered the 2025 NFL Draft facing significant questions at multiple positions, including the defensive edge. However, their investments were relatively minimal. In fact, their best contributions from a rookie edge last season came not from a draft pick but an undrafted free agent.
Heading into his second season in the league, Elijah Ponder now is looking ready to play an even more prominent role.
Hard facts
Name: Elijah Ponder
Position: Defensive edge/Outside linebacker
Jersey number: 91
Opening day age: 24 (8/24/2002)
Measurements: 6’2 7/8”, 261 lbs, 10 1/8” hand size, 33 1/8” arm length, 80” wingspan, 4.63s 40-yard dash, 6.99s 3-cone drill, 4.28s short shuttle, 41” vertical jump, 11’0” broad jump, 22 bench press reps, 9.87 Relative Athletic Score
Experience
NFL: New England Patriots (2025-) | College: Cal Poly (2020-24)
A multi-sport athlete at Bishop Amat High School in La Puente, CA, Ponder received some FCS interest as a two-star outside linebacker recruit. Ultimately, however, he decided to head for the FBS and joined Cal Poly. In five seasons with the Mustangs, he saw action in 47 games with 42 starts. He also registered 26.5 sacks and 43.5 tackles for loss, and was named All-Big Sky in all four of his non-redshirt campaigns (first team 2023, 2024; honorable mention 2021, 2022).
Despite his college success, Ponder did not hear his name called in the 2025 NFL Draft. He joined the Patriots as an undrafted free agent afterwards and appeared in 19 games as a rookie with four sacks and three fumble recoveries.
Scouting report
Strengths: Checking in at 6-foot-3 and 261 pounds, Ponder offers good size on the defensive edge. He combines it with an intriguing athletic skillset; his explosivity, agility and speed are rare, and he looks the part on the field as well. He is quick to attack the pocket and has the burst to challenge blockers’ leverage and balance early into a rep, plays with active hands, and can properly bend the corner around the edge. He also has good spatial awareness, which in turn allows him to locate the football effectively even in traffic, and the range to be a factor in pursuit.
Weaknesses: Ponder moves as well as any outside linebacker in football, but he fails to consistently look the part on the field. His game speed and timed speed do not always align, in parts because he is still a developing player from a technical and processing perspective. He also lacks ideal length and is not the most powerful player at the point of attack. He furthermore is a pass-first player whose contributions against the run have been limited so far. When he has been asked to play the run, he has failed to consistently set the edge and contain runs to the inside.
2025 review
Stats: 19 games (0 starts) | 314 defensive snaps (24.5%), 287 special teams snaps (52.4%) | 17 tackles, 1 missed tackle (5.6%), 4 TFLs, 2 FRs | 24 QB pressures (4 sacks, 3 hits, 17 hurries) | 11 special teams tackles, 3 missed tackles (21.4%), 1 FR | 3 penalties (incl. 0 declined/offsetting)
Season recap: Despite his small-school status, Ponder was invited to both the Hula Bowl and the East-West Shrine Bowl heading toward the draft. As noted above, however, he was not selected in any of the seven rounds and had to navigate the free agency waters before finding a home in the NFL. The journey, however, was a rather short one: he joined the Patriots as one of their first-wave UDFA signings.
While that meant he started out buried on the depth chart, Ponder steadily climbed his way up the ranks. Strong showings in training camp and preseason ultimately allowed him to join wide receiver Efton Chism as the only two undrafted rookies to make New England’s initial 53-man roster. Even though he lacked pedigree, he remained there throughout the sesaon.
Early on, Ponder was mostly a special teamer. Even as his defensive role evolved, he kept seeing regular action as a four-unit contributor in the kicking game to eventually finish sixth among his teammates in snaps and third in tackles.
On defense, meanwhile, he saw a handful of snaps over the first half of the season. However, with starting edge Harold Landry starting to deal with nagging injury woes, he managed to grow his role: from Week 12 on, when Landry’s issues started impacting his availability, Ponder was on the field for roughly 36.8% of snaps. Those snaps came predominately in the passing game, with early-down duties falling on fellow edge Anfernee Jennings.
In that relatively specialized role, Ponder delivered some good performances. In fact, his affinity for finding the football and recovering fumbles — his three FRs were tied for the team lead in 2025 — turned out crucial: he helped set up the only touchdown of the Patriots’ AFC Championship win in Denver (and in fact would have scored himself on the play if not for a bad call by the officials).
All in all, Ponder had a very good first season in the NFL. It may not have started as he had hoped by not hearing his name called in the draft, but his effort and playmaking abilities earned him his way onto the Patriots’ roster. Once there, he showed that he belonged.
2026 preview
Position: Outside linebacker | Ability: Depth player/Role player | Contract: Signed through 2027 (2028 RFA)
What will be his role? Ponder has worked as an outside linebacker throughout training camp so far, and in fact has been a regular as the starter opposite Dre’Mont Jones. While Harold Landry’s eventual return from the physically unable to perform list will shake things up, Ponder currently projects as a rotational third or fourth option at the position as well as a key special teamer.
What is his growth potential? From an athletic perspective, Ponder’s ceiling is sky-high. There are, however, questions about how far he can actually still climb and whether he can become more than a depth piece. If he can clean up his own personal operation, there is no reason to believe that he can’t be a serviceable third or fourth member in an edge room.
Does he have positional versatility? Defensively, Ponder’s versatility is somewhat limited; he is mostly a pass rusher at this point in his development. However, the game’s third phase is a different story. On special teams, he played at least 45 snaps on each of the core four units (kickoff return, kickoff coverage, punt return, punt coverage) and there is no reason to believe he can’t play a similar role in 2026.
What is his salary cap situation? Arriving via a standard three-year UDFA deal last offseason, Ponder is carrying a $1.01 million cap number into the coming season. That number consists almost entirely of his $1.005 million base salary as well as a $5,000 signing bonus proration. That bonus is the only part of the deal guaranteed, which means that it also is currently his only trace in New England’s books under the NFL’s Top 51 role.
How safe is his roster spot? Heading into the second preseason game, anything but Ponder making the 53-man roster would be a surprise. He has been the top option to replace Harold Landry in the lineup, after all, and has had some positive moments throughout training camp. Add his special teams role and he should be expected on the active team come the fall.
Summary: Ponder is one of those players who won’t be able to make the game-changing plays or demand special attention on a weekly basis. That said, he is still immensely valuable to the operation but defensively and in the kicking game.
What do you think about Elijah Ponder heading into the 2026 season? Will he increase his role? Or will he cede snaps to rookie Gabe Jacas? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts with the rest of the community.
