Through five games, the New England Patriots may have found something they weren’t expected to have: real juice off the edge.
That’s a welcome development for a team whose offseason hunt for defensive end help was one of the most obvious talking points around the league. Instead, the Patriots have gotten strong early returns from Elijah Ponder and Gabe Jacas, two young players who are changing the conversation around the position.
Ponder, a second-year undrafted free agent from California Polytechnic, had the loudest performance on the defense in Sunday’s win over the Las Vegas Raiders. He sacked the quarterback twice, forced a fumble, and finished as PFF’s highest graded pass rusher from Week 5 with a 92.2 mark.
The production isn’t limited to one game, either. Ponder’s two sacks pushed him to 4.5 on the season, which leads the team.
He also owns a team-best four QB knockdowns and is tied for fourth on the roster in total tackles. Among players who are not defensive backs or middle linebackers, he has the most tackles on the team.
That kind of output is no fluke when you zoom out to last season. In 15 games, Ponder logged four sacks, and he’s now looking like the Patriots’ most reliable source of backfield disruption. Opponents are going to have to account for him.
The contrast on the other side of the line is pretty stark. Dre’Mont Jones, brought in on a three-year, $36.5 million deal, has yet to make much of a dent. In four games, he has just two solo tackles and one sack.
The more encouraging offseason addition may have come in the draft. With the 55th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Patriots selected Gabe Jacas out of Illinois, and he has already started to look like a real difference-maker.
Jacas has racked up 1.5 sacks, 17 total tackles, and an interception in Week 2 against Pittsburgh. He’s also flashed serious pass-rush impact: against Buffalo in Week 4, three of his 14 snaps resulted in quarterback pressures, and he ranked fifth in the league that week in pass rush win rate.
Sunday’s rout of the Raiders showed what the Patriots can look like when both young edge defenders are rolling. Ponder and Jacas combined for nine QB pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, along with eight combined tackles. Each posted a 26.1% pass rush win rate.
And the broader numbers back it up. Among edge rushers with two seasons or less in the league, Ponder ranks second in the NFL with 18 total pressures. Jacas is fourth with 14 pressures, and he’s done it in just five games.
For a Patriots front office that has been searching for elite edge play for years, this is exactly the kind of early progress it wanted to see. Ponder and Jacas, ages 24 and 22, respectively, may be the kind of young defensive ends who can grow into something bigger for New England.
In Other News...
Patriots May Have An O-Line Decision They Didn't Expect
The Patriots thought they were adding depth when they took Caleb Lomu out of Utah in the 2026 NFL Draft, a left tackle prospect who could handle swing duties and maybe eventually step in for Morgan Moses. Instead, the rookie has been pressed into a bigger role sooner than expected, with Will Campbell out and the line already feeling the impact of another key absence. Campbell had been playing well before getting hurt, which is what made the early look at Lomu so interesting in the first place.
Lomu made the most of his opportunity against the Raiders, enough to turn a temporary fill-in job into a real question for New England. Once Campbell is healthy enough to return, the Patriots may have a decision they did not exactly plan for at left tackle, because the rookies play has at least made the coaching staff think twice about handing the spot right back. [Read more 🡒]
Bill Belichick Hall Of Fame Tension Just Got More Frustrating
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Dungy pointed to the voting process and cited past examples of greats who did not get in right away, which only adds to the sense that this is bigger than one name on one ballot. For New England followers, Belichick's place among football's all-time coaching legends is not really in doubt, but the silence around an actual vote has kept the story alive and given fans another reason to wonder what is still being left unsaid. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Mourn A Franchise Great Who Helped Shape Their Early Years
The Patriots are mourning one of the franchises early pillars after former offensive lineman Jon Morris died at 84, the team announced. Morris spent 11 seasons in New England and became a familiar figure in the organization long before the franchise reached its modern heights, earning six AFL All-Star nods and later remaining connected to the club as a radio broadcaster.
His legacy was already secure in New England by the time he entered the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2011, a fitting recognition for a player who helped shape the teams formative years. Morris also carried a place in league history as the first Patriots player selected to the Pro Bowl after the AFL-NFL merger, another reminder of how long his impact lingered beyond his playing days. [Read more 🡒]