D’Angelo Ponds is a cornerback from Indiana who’s ranked No. 32 on my NFL Draft Prime 100 Large Board. This complete scouting report analyzes Ponds’s draft potential, present mock draft tendencies, and the place he ranks among the many high prospects.
D’Angelo Ponds’s NFL Draft Potential
D’Angelo Ponds is 5’9″ and 170 kilos — an enormous dimension outlier — however all the things about his recreation defies the expectations you’d usually have for a participant at that dimension. Ponds is aggressive in press-man, and he doesn’t let bigger receivers bully him.
He performs with disciplined approach and keen physicality, and he has a eager intuition for timing and eye self-discipline when enjoying the ball. Ponds’ athleticism is assuredly a power — he’s ultra-explosive and twitched-up, and a ten.47 100-meter sprint helps convey his velocity — however it’s the comfortable abilities and aggressive disposition that assist him play above his weight class week in and week out.
When your workforce has to dig itself out of a gap, pray D’Angelo Ponds isn’t on the opposite aspect of the sector. Amidst UCLA’s utter dismantling by the hands of Indiana, Ponds was focused six occasions, and solely allowed two catches for 14 yards. Two of these extra targets, he deflected — utilizing his gnat-like man protection abilities and size-defying focused physicality. There are occasions the place Ponds’ plant-and-drive is usually a bit extra environment friendly within the brief vary, however these cases are few and much between.
Total in 2025, Ponds hasn’t been examined a lot. He’s been focused simply 39 occasions in response to TruMedia, with simply 120 complete yards in opposition to attributed to him — good for simply 0.4 yards allowed per protection snap. In run help, Ponds is a bit simpler to direct with poor dimension profile, however there’s no denying simply how efficient he’s in protection. He has the vertical velocity to run with anybody and regain positioning out of stems, he has the fluidity to redirect and modify his monitoring angle, and he performs the ball with exact timing and placement on the catch.
Ponds’ upcoming matchup in opposition to Carnell Tate, Jeremiah Smith, and the Ohio State passing assault will likely be his biggest problem of the 2025 season — and maybe some of the essential for his 2026 NFL Draft projection. So far, his dimension has not been a difficulty, and his profile is nearly devoid of holes outdoors of that. But when Tate and Smith expose him within the Large Ten Championship, extra limitations might come to the forefront.
Nonetheless, as of now, Ponds grades out as a Prime 50 prospect regardless of his dimension, and profiles as a future NFL starter with high-level off-man and zone utility.
The place Is Ponds Being Chosen Most Usually within the PFSN Mock Draft Simulator?
Ponds at present holds the No. 110 total rank amongst prospects, reflecting his standing amongst mid-round prospects. His most up-to-date Common Draft Place (ADP) of 111.7 as of December 6 displays that he’s sometimes being chosen within the center rounds.
This small hole between rank and ADP suggests he’s persistently valued amongst evaluators, even amid fluctuations in participant evaluations at this stage of the draft cycle.
Customers controlling the Cincinnati Bengals have been the workforce that chosen Ponds essentially the most regularly over the previous week, accounting for 0.6% of their picks throughout all seven rounds.
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The place Does D’Angelo Ponds Rank Amongst Different NFL Draft Prospects?
Ponds is at present ranked No. 32 total in my December 2026 NFL Draft Large Board. Amongst CB prospects, Ponds ranks sixth on the place, trailing prospects like Mansoor Delane, Jermod McCoy, Keith Abney II. As a first-round caliber prospect, Ponds is among the many top-tier gamers on this draft class.
Wish to see how we rank all of the draft prospects within the PFSN Mock Draft Simulator? Take a look at our NFL Draft Prospect Rankings web page, which incorporates greater than 750 prospects.
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