The Seattle Seahawks are in need of boosting their secondary at some point during the NFL draft.
A player that could make sense for the team is Indiana cornerback D’Angelo Ponds, who helped the school win a national championship this past season. Ponds is someone that could help fill the void by the players likely leaving in free agency.
“Ponds is a productive perimeter cornerback trapped in a smaller body, but he’s not lacking in confidence or coverage tenacity. He’s tremendously competitive and winning seems to follow him at each stop. He matches press releases with good slide quickness and has the speed to stay in-phase as routes travel vertically,” NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein wrote.
“Eye discipline, instincts and trigger quickness fuel his zone work and catch disruption. Size limitations will likely push him to nickelback, where mismatches against bigger bodies and physical challenges from run games will test his playmaking/durability. Ponds is a likely Day 2 pick who will be an above-average starting nickelback in the NFL.”
Ponds got a lot of attention this past season as Indiana went undefeated throughout the year. Ponds started his collegiate career at James Madison but transferred to Indiana when head coach Curt Cignetti went over to Bloomington.
Cignetti had very kind things to say about Ponds during the season.
“Ponds is a great player,” Cignetti said Jan. 17 in Miami via Indiana Hoosiers On SI reporter Daniel Flick.
“He might be the best player I’ve ever coached that was with me throughout his entire career in terms of consistency, production.”
Ponds may be slightly undersized, but he makes up for it in other areas and projects to be someone who could have a long career in the NFL if he goes to the right team.
If Ponds were to join the dark side with the Seahawks, he could be placed in the right situation by head coach Mike Macdonald, who is one of the brightest defensive minds in the NFL. Ponds proved in college that the right coach could take him far, which is why it might be in his best scenario to join the Super Bowl champs in the Seahawks.
The NFL draft is scheduled for April 23-25.
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