NFL draft profile 2026: D’Angelo Ponds (Cornerback, Indiana)

BLOOMINGTON, IN - NOVEMBER 30: Indiana Hoosiers DB D'Angelo Ponds (5) during a college football game between the Purdue Boilermakers and Indiana Hoosiers on November 30, 2024 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, IN (Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images The 2026 NFL Draft is in Pittsburgh! This draft season, we’ll be scouting as many of the top prospects that the Pittsburgh Steelers could have their eye on. We’ll break down the prospects themselves, strengths and weaknesses, projected draft capital, and their fit with the Steelers.

The nickel cornerback position is essentially a starter in the modern NFL, and not many 2026 draft prospects have more hype there than D’Angelo Ponds. Could he be in play for the Steelers? The basics on D’Angelo Ponds Position : Cornerback Class : Junior Size : 5’9, 182 pounds Age : 22 Projected draft round : 2 Defensive stats via Sports Reference D’Angelo Ponds scouting report I’m not sure if there’s a prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft more universally loved than Indiana’s D’Angelo Ponds.

And if you watched him this season, you’d understand why. Ponds is the embodiment of the “ got that dog in me ” memes with the pit bull photo-shopped over a chest X-ray. He’s an undersized defender at 5’9, 182 pounds, sure, but he plays so much bigger and was one of the best cornerbacks in the country on a National Championship team that had to play a lot of good offenses to get that far.

The biggest constant in the games I watched of Ponds is that he makes plays. He finished 2025 with 61 total tackles, four tackles for loss, two interceptions, and 11 passes defensed. He’s a high-effort player who can defend both the run and pass.