Patriots Rookie Gets High Praise From Coach After Surprising Season

The New England Patriots are gearing up for their home playoff game against the Los Angeles Chargers, and their rookies have played a huge role in getting them to that position.

While Will Campbell, Jared Wilson and TreVeyon Henderson have made a huge impact, Elijah Ponder has also played a huge role. The undrafted free agent has played in 15 games this season after earning a spot on the team in training camp.

He had four sacks in the regular season and recovered two fumbles as well. Outside linebackers coach Mike Smith had high praise for him after seeing him grow as a rookie.

“The game is slowing down for him,” Smith said, according to MassLive’s Chris Mason on Friday. “I think you can see that when he rushes and sets the edges. He’s starting to see things faster. I’m just happy about that kid. I’m excited he’s a Patriot and I think the sky is the limit for that kid. He’s really something special.”

He played just 215 snaps on defense, but 162 of those have come in his last eight games. He has continued to grow as an edge rusher. He has also played 53% of the team’s special teams snaps.

Ponder was a solid player in college. In five seasons at Cal Poly, he played in 47 games and finished with 167 tackles, 261/2 sacks, 7 passes defensed, 3 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 2 blocked kicks. However, he went undrafted and ended up being a diamond in the rough for the Patriots.

In 2023, he led the Big Sky Conference in sacks and earned All-Conference First-Team Defense, FCS All-American Third Team Defense and Walter Camp FCS All-American honors. When the Patriots signed him, he faced an uphill battle to make the team, but he did and has exceeded expectations so far.

The Patriots will hope he can make an impact against the Chargers on Sunday night. It will be the Patriots’ first playoff game since the 2021-2022 season.