New England Patriots - NESN.com
The New England Patriots have an abnormal number of high-quality undrafted players in training camp.
While undrafted wideout Efton Chism III has received all of the hype lately (and deservedly so), New England’s undrafted excellence extends beyond Chism.
One guy turning heads these days is undrafted linebacker Elijah Ponder out of Cal Poly. NESN’s Keagan Stiefel pointed to Ponder’s value back in mid-July:
“Elijah Ponder isn’t getting nearly enough love, but he could have been selected in the fifth round and no one would have batted an eye,” Stiefel wrote.
“He looks the part – standing at 6-foot-3 and weighing 263 pounds – and has the production to back it up – finishing with 17 sacks over the last two seasons.”
“The Patriots have given him plenty of veteran competition in the likes of Harold Landry, Anfernee Jennings and K’Lavon Chaisson – as well as fellow rookie Bradyn Swinson – but you can never rule out a pass-rusher having a dominant camp and stealing a spot out from underneath someone else,” Stiefel added.
On Tuesday, Ponder received more love, this time from within New England’s coaching staff.
Per NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry, Patriots outside linebacker coach Mike Smith praised Ponder.
“He’s got this very rare ability of picking up things quick and look like he’s done it from Day 1… Has an extremely bright future,” Smith said of Ponder, per Perry. “Probably one of the best free agent pickups I’ve ever seen.“
Ponder accumulated 167 tackles, 26.5 sacks and three forced fumbles in 47 games for Cal Poly across five seasons. He led the Big Sky Conference in sacks in 2023 with 10.
