| No. 91 – New England Patriots | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Linebacker |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | August 24, 2002 Pomona, California, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight: | 261 lb (118 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Bishop Amat (La Puente, California) |
| College: | Cal Poly (2021-2024) |
| NFL draft: | 2025: undrafted |
| Career history | |
| |
| Roster status: | Active |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
Elijah Ponder (born August 24, 2002) is an American professional football linebacker for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Cal Poly Mustangs.
Ponder graduated from Bishop Amat High in La Puente, California. [1]
Ponder played for Cal Poly, collecting 27 sacks and blocking a field goal attempt and an extra point try while a Mustang. He scored one touchdown, a 75-yard interception return versus San Diego in 2021. [2] He earned two first-team All-Big Sky selections in his career, in 2023 [3] and 2024. [4] Ponder was additionally named a 2023 Walter Camp FCS All-American.
He recorded a sack and two passes defensed in the 2025 East–West Shrine Bowl. [5]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2+7⁄8 in (1.90 m) | 251 lb (114 kg) | 33+1⁄8 in (0.84 m) | 10+1⁄8 in (0.26 m) | 4.63 s | 1.56 s | 2.63 s | 4.28 s | 6.99 s | 41.0 in (1.04 m) | 11 ft 0 in (3.35 m) | 22 reps | |
| All values from Pro Day [6] [7] | ||||||||||||
At his pro day, Ponder compiled a relative athletic score of 9.70, featuring a vertical jump of 41 inches, a broad jump of 11 feet, and a 10-yard split time of 1.56 seconds. [8]
Ponder signed as an undrafted free agent with New England in April 2025. [9]