Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - PROSPECT SPOTLIGHT: D'Angelo Ponds a Brilliant, but Undersized Prospect for Indianapolis Colts

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Prospect Spotlight series is back as Jake gives us a local legend to the Indianapolis Colts. Let's get to it. You are Locked on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome to Locked on Colts, part of the Locked on Podcast Network. Now, the number one sports podcast network around. Hello, everyone. My name is Zach Hickshaw, Resident Film Nerd of Horseshoe Puddle.com.

Starting point is 00:00:36 And I'm joined, as always, by Jake. Arthur, the boots on the ground in Indianapolis here for round table sports. Today, we are diving into yet another prospect for the Indianapolis Colts in the 2026 NFL draft. And today, Jake is not going too far for this next player. He is taking us to Indiana University and cornerback DeAngelo Pons, the player who does not fit Lou or Chris Ballard's archetype at the position. But he's a freak. He's a playmaker. And he was one of the best players on an Indiana team that just won the national championship. So Jake, again, while this might be a smaller corner,

Starting point is 00:01:13 it's hard not to love DeAngelo Pons in this draft class. Without a doubt. And, you know, Justin Wally wasn't part of their archetype either, and I've never heard either. Slightly, slightly. Either they didn't speak as highly about a draft prospect as they did with him. But no, DeAngelo Pons is undeniable. Like, you just look at his past.

Starting point is 00:01:34 Kurt Signetti gets him to JMU out of my. Miami in 2023, the city, not the school, starts him as a true freshman in 2023 at JMU, brings him with him to IU for these last two years. And lo and behold, within a couple years, they're national champions. So Pons, diminutive stature, 59, 182, 29 and 3 eighth inch arms. And the 59, we need that. But the 182 is a good weight for him. Is that actually his playing weight?

Starting point is 00:02:06 I don't know, but if a guy is that small, you want to see him north of 180. I think it gives you more confidence that he is going to be able to kind of withstand the physicality of the game, especially with how physical he is as a player. So a little guy like that, you might think, you know, shifty little, you know, nickel or slot defender, not the case. He lines up on the outside primarily, and he plays with big attitude. He's one of the hardest hitters on the field at all times, despite being. the size of, you know, your little brother. It's like getting lit up by your little brother

Starting point is 00:02:39 playing back here at football all the time. But super athletic as well. Like he made a lot of noise today jumping 43 and a half inches on the vertical. That's the only thing he's done to the point of we're recording right now. So he might be lighting the field on fire even more so at Lucas Oil. Now when I've talked to him yesterday, I feel like he said he wasn't going to run the gamut of the drills and he's going to save a lot of the stuff, at least the 40 for Bloomington and I use Pro Day on April 1st. So I don't think we're going to get a whole workload from him today. But still, this is a guy that his tape is elite.

Starting point is 00:03:16 And I don't think there's any doubt about it. If this guy was 511, 190, he's probably a top 15 pick. You know what I mean? So I'm searching around my brain. Like, if you even go to last year, is he in a comparable situation to Judi Barron from Texas. Again, his tape was undeniable, and you just had to deal with the fact that he was undersized.

Starting point is 00:03:41 Barron didn't make it out of the first round. So that's kind of where I'm sitting out with Pons right now. Yeah, I totally see it. Ponds is the type of corner that I typically don't love. I'm a big corner guy, Tariq Wullen, Isaiah Oliver, back in the day, I always talk about being very high on him. Even Juju Brent's to a degree.

Starting point is 00:03:59 I liked him. I like the tall, lengthy, athletic, powerful corners. And for me to like a player that is 5 foot 9, 182 pounds of 29 inch arms, they have to do something special. And I think it's hard to argue that Pons isn't special when you turn on that film. You don't have to watch the film. Just watch a game on Saturday and come away with that game, not like thinking that he's not the best player on that team.

Starting point is 00:04:23 Like he was just incredible in the national championship game throughout that whole playoff run. Obviously that statement picks six against Oregon, multiple big hits that dislodge football from man. in the championship game against Miami. He just plays like Antoine Winfield Senior to me. And if you're a DB guy, that is like DB legend right there. That's a smaller corner who played like Bob Sanders at the quarterback position,

Starting point is 00:04:48 threw his body around, got involved in the running game, took the football away. It's hard not to see that in DeAngelo Pons's game. So even for someone like me who is kind of like a size queen when it comes to the cornerback position, DeAngelo Pons is hard to quit, man. And he just plays the game with such a tenacity and ferocity that you wish that every player had. So I don't care if he was five foot six, 150. Like the way that he plays on film, I just want that on my team. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:05:18 And I think one of the biggest things for me is I love a defensive back who you can tell they are one step ahead of their opponent mentally. you look you look at him and at no point is he playing catch up does he not look like he understands what's coming and what has just happened but he he said when i talked to him the other day uh someone asked him you know what are a couple like defining plays of your career and he said just turn on that organ film with the pick six the first play of the game where he baited dante more uh into that dante more who was a heisman contender you know what i mean And so he's able to watch the film, digest the film, understand what his opponent does, what their tendencies are, how they're going to try and attack him and use it against them to make him pay. And to me, that reminds me of Kenny Moore. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:06:11 You know, I feel like Kenny is such a cerebral player. They have similar frames. Kenny's got much longer arms. But they're just so smart. They play so much bigger than they are. Great verticals. they're so physical and like not only willing to hit hard, but they want to. They set a tone like where you may think Zyre Franklin is like the hardest hitter on the Colts defense or what have you.

Starting point is 00:06:38 Kenny Moore makes just big hit after big hit. Like sends guys twice his size up into the air, you know, and that's what you see with Ponds. So whether it's a wind field, which is like a got to be the highest honor for undersized defensive backs. or Kenny Moore or anyone like that. Like this dude is just special. And he has no business being around where the Colts are going to be at 47, which we'll talk about in a moment. But, you know, teams out smart themselves all the time, Zay.

Starting point is 00:07:09 Yeah. And coming up, we're going to talk about his draft projection and how he would fit in with this Colts defense. And Lou Anirumo, who, again, if we think that I'm a size queen, Lou Anirumo loves them big corners. So how does DeAngel Pons fit into that scheme? and we'll talk about that in just a second. But first, have you ever wanted to experience the NBA finals live and in-person?

Starting point is 00:07:33 Fandall is giving you the chance to turn that dream into reality with their NBA sweepstakes. Here's how it works. Use your profit boost on any NBA future, and you'll automatically be entered for a shot to win an NBA final trip for two. That's right. Flights, tickets, the whole experience. And if you're already looking at the board and thinking about which team can make that deep run, this is the perfect time to lock it in.

Starting point is 00:07:54 I love futures this time of year, whether it's picking a team to win the championship or grab a conference title, it adds that extra layer of excitement to every single game down the stretch. And now, not only can you pick cash, but I can also send you to the finals. Visit fandle.com to get started. Use your profit boost on an NBA future and get entered for a chance to win a trip to the NBA finals. Play your game with Fandual, an official sports betting partner of the NBA. And welcome to the five hour. energy flavor draft with 18 different flavors to choose from, including new options like confetti craze, fruity rainbow, or cotton candy. There's something for everyone.

Starting point is 00:08:34 The board has set. The flavors are ready. And I've got my number one pick for the five hour energy flavor draft. I'm going to have to agree with Jake on his recent pick, strawberry banana. It brings a tropical delight with strawberry, a taste that goes in everything from smoothies and milkshakes to cakes and ice cream, sweet strawberry flavor up front with a soft, mellow banana finish. It's got smooth, creamy fruit profile reminiscent of a fruit smoothie. It's got very low acidity and it's very, very easy to drink. There's a gentle sweet aftertaste to it as well.

Starting point is 00:09:05 Five-hour energy shots give you a boost with zero sugar. Find your new favorite flavor of five-hour energy shots available online at five-hourenergy.com or on Amazon. All righty, locked on Colts Everdaers. We are back with this prospect spotlight. And of course, Jake had to go back close to home with DeAngelo Ponds, everyone's favorite little corner out there that plays a lot bigger than his size. So, Jake, before we get into just his overall fit in this defense, there's been a lot of speculation on where he could go in this draft. Quite frankly, I have no clue where his draft projection is. You could see big boards with him in the top 20, some with the top 50, top 70. I think he's comfortably in that day one or day two conversation.

Starting point is 00:09:50 But like you said, with Judi Barron and with other smaller corners in the past, we've seen smaller players fall. I mean, Brian Branch is a different type of player, but he was small for the safety position and the NFL had no clue what to do with him. And he felt a mid-round two when he should have been a top 15 player. So we have seen guys with weird size profiles fall before. So do we think the Colts taken, I mean, I guess it were the Colts we'd take him at 47, right? But like, would the Colts take him at 47? I guess that's more of the question here. I think so because, again, it comes down to special traits. And it's like, he's, he's, he's got multiple you know he is he takes the ball away uh he's smarter than most of the people

Starting point is 00:10:32 he's playing against uh he's physical like all the reasons they gave us for why they fell in love with just and wally i don't see why they wouldn't have all those same reasons about d'angelo ponds uh now you look at the fit with them because like you want to take the best players but like you also have to have a place for them so either just Justin Walley or Danilo Pons, the plan has to be a big Keny Moore's successor in 2027. You can get both guys on the field because you're usually going to be running with a ton of defensive backs on the field. But, you know, whether it's Justin Wally, eventually taking over for Kenny Moore, or I think Wally's even bigger than Pons. So like maybe you have Wally on the outside and Pons is the next nickel, what have you.

Starting point is 00:11:20 There's a place for him. It's maybe just not a significant role right off the bat because you can. can't just kick any more to the curb right away. You know, it's at a certain point, his contract's going to be up after this coming season, and he'll be over 30, and, you know, things will just take over naturally how they, how they do, and that will be the fit. But, yeah, it's, I think they would like pretty much everything about him, but I do wonder if they're like, we love him, but not until round three or something, you know.

Starting point is 00:11:53 Yeah, well, we have to keep in mind, too, with, like, you mentioned Wall being a bit of an outlier for Lou Anurumo as well. With Wally being an outlier, he was like half an inch short. He was like maybe 10 pounds underweight from the type. And maybe half an inch on arm length. Pons is like three inches short on arm length, like three inches short on height,

Starting point is 00:12:13 like 20 pounds short on weight. So there's like levels to this outlier aspect of it. But I understand with what you're saying about him being a potential successor to Kenny Moore. The size profiles are fairly similar. the play style is very similar and you can see that one-to-one transition but it's just i guess when you're a team that's so win now right now do you take a successor in round two when your whole front seven needs starters right like day one starters you know uh so that could be kind of the debate whereas

Starting point is 00:12:44 like none of us would be saying that pawns isn't the best player on the board if he's there at 47 but is he the best player that fits what the colts need for this upcoming season and the future because they have such heavy needs across that front seven on defense. Yeah, I mean, that's fair. I mean, Chris Ballard always says he's never going to put the organization's future in a tough spot. And, like, needing to win now, according to him, he's never going to, like, that's never going to jeopardize decisions he makes.

Starting point is 00:13:15 Now, I think that influences, like, the splashes he goes for in free agency. So I think their aggressive intentions, or what, we think are going to be somewhat aggressive intentions and pre-agency, will maybe allow for some wiggle room in the draft because it's not like Pons isn't going to contribute at all. He's just not going to play 750 snaps probably. You may get 250, 300 out of him as a rookie, but he's not going to play as much as like Kenny would, for example.

Starting point is 00:13:43 Yeah, I mean, with how often the Colts corners were injured last year, he could play a thousand snaps in year one. For sure. But I think the Colts would find a way to get him on the field. They play a lot of dime defense, ways to get him out. out there just a blitz. You can spell Kenny a little bit more if they're both here. So there would be ways to get them on the field. And there's no denying the talent. It's just the Colts have so many needs in that front seven right now that it makes it difficult.

Starting point is 00:14:06 But DeAngelo Pons, fantastic player. Jake and I would both take him at 47 in a heartbeat just because look, add talent, add talent, you know? You're never in a place when you're non-playoff team to just bypass talent, regardless of what position we're talking about here. I mean, look, the Philadelphia Eagles, a couple years after going to the Super Bowl, with Carson, Carson Wends leading into the playoffs, then Nick Ful is winning it for them, took Jalen Hertz in round two, and that ended up being their franchise quarterback, and they moved on from Carson Wenz. So you're never in a place to bypass talent. If talent can just help you go forward, you take it, and Gangelio Pons, to me, it's a top 20 player in this draft. Like, I think he's an incredible football player.

Starting point is 00:14:48 So that is all we have for today, though, guys, make sure that you like it, subscribe to the show and also leave a comment about how much you love DeAngelo Pons below as well. Thanks again for tuning into today's bonus episode of Lockdown Colts. We'll be back yet again tomorrow. So make sure you subscribe to our show so you get all the latest episodes. And you've done already. Make sure you're following at Locked on Colts, at Jake Arthur, NFL and at Zach Higgs too, all on socials.

Starting point is 00:15:13 And if you never miss an episode, then remember, the Every Day Club is built for you. So get Lock on Colts audio ad free plus members only Discord access and much more. head to locked on colds.supercast.com to join the club or follow the link in our show notes right now. And we'll see you guys back here tomorrow afternoon.

Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - PROSPECT SPOTLIGHT: D'Angelo Ponds a Brilliant, but Undersized Prospect for Indianapolis Colts

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.