A small school athletic freak visited the Colts for a pre-draft visit.
The Indianapolis Colts brought in Cal Poly defensive end Elijah Ponder on a Top 30 visit, Tony Pauline of Sportskeeda reported.
First and foremost, Ponder is an elite athlete who showcased as much at his Pro Day. Sporting ideal hand size (10”) and arm length (33”), Ponder ran a 4.57-second 40-yard dash (to pair with an elite 1.56 10-second split) and lit up the explosive testings with 99th percentile rankings in both the vertical and broad jumps.
Ponder also participated in the East-West Shrine Bowl All-Star and was named one of Chad Reuter of NFL.com’s top performers of the event.
While Ponder’s prospect profile will inevitably be critiqued due to playing inferior competition in the FCS, his athletic profile is certainly up to NFL standards.
Elijah Ponder is a DE prospect in the 2025 draft class. He scored a 9.70 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 62 out of 2012 DE from 1987 to 2025.https://t.co/uVqWCjKhTE pic.twitter.com/Pvic81UWio
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 31, 2025
While Ponder is a bit undersized as a modern-day NFL edge defender, standing at 6’2” tall and weighing a modest 251 lbs, his experience, durability, and sound tackling off the edge are what solidify him as an NFL prospect.
As a key member of the Cal Poly Mustangs’ defense for four straight seasons, Ponder exemplified his consistency and reliability by racking up 2,500 defensive snaps across four healthy seasons. Not only that, Ponder became a secure tackler during his last two seasons at Cal Poly, sporting a 9.5% missed tackle rate in 2023 and following that up with a 3.2% missed tackle rate this past season.
As a pass rusher, Ponder had his most productive season in 2023, where he totaled 51 pressures and nine sacks, though his regression to the 2024 season dwindled only slightly — 38 pressures and seven sacks — while he blossomed into a more formidable run-stopper.
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, mastermind behind the illustrious annual NFL Draft guide known as The Beast, even named Ponder as his highest-ranked non-Combine prospect at his position.
My highest-ranked non-Combine prospects on defense:
EDGE: Elijah Ponder, Cal Poly
DT: Kyonte Hamilton, Rutgers
LB: Jailin Walker, Indiana
CB: Korie Black, Oklahoma State
SAF: Dan Jackson, Georgia pic.twitter.com/MA9jqYVtbG— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) April 16, 2025
While the Colts are returning most of their starting production from the past two seasons, the loss of Dayo Odeyingbo to free agency, as well as the bleak contractual future of the defensive room, makes adding depth across the defensive line and especially at edge necessary.
Ponder is currently projected as a late Day 3 (rounds 4-7) draft selection, but don’t be surprised if you hear his name called earlier than that.