Aaron Glenn couldn't help but draft himself with D'Angelo Ponds selection

AG may see a bit of himself in Ponds.

Charlie Baduini

New York Jets cornerback D'Angelo Ponds / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The New York entered Night 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft at No. 44 overall, before striking a deal with the Detroit Lions to move back to No. 50 overall. New York netted an extra fourth-rounder, receiving the 128th overall pick.

With No. 50 overall, the Jets landed Indiana cornerback D'Angelo Ponds, the second Hoosier they grabbed in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Ponds, at 5-foot-9, bears a striking resemblance to Jets head coach Aaron Glenn when he was coming out of Texas A&M in 1994.

Glenn will be able to show Ponds how a small cornerback can not just make it in the NFL, but thrive.

New Jets CB D'Angelo Ponds is the same size as Aaron Glenn

Ponds, a national champion with Indiana last season, is certainly smaller than your average cornerback.

But he doesn't play like it.

The Hoosier started his collegiate career at James Madison before following head coach Curt Cignetti to Indiana when he got the gig in 2024. In three years in college football, Ponds hauled in seven interceptions and broke up 33 passes.

He clearly has a nose for the football, something the Jets could desperately use. As you may or may not have heard, New York was unable to record a single interception last season.

The 2025 season was Ponds best season by far, finishing the season as Pro Football Focus's eighth-highest rated cornerback among 897 qualified players.

He was a key contributor in Indiana's run to the College Football National Championship this past season, picking off Oregon quarterback Dante Moore in the Peach Bowl and breaking up three passes in the title game against Miami.

Ponds walks into a Jets cornerback room with no clear starter across from Brandon Stephens. New York has 2025 third-round pick Azareye'h Thomas
in-house, and signed Nahshon Wright to a one-year deal this offseason.

It's not out of the realm of possibility that Ponds could compete for a starting spot right away, considering Thomas' inexperience and Wright being a volatile defender in coverage.

We'll see how things play out for Ponds in New York, but Glenn may be able to take him under his wing right away thanks to their physical similarities.

Charlie Baduini

Charlie Baduini covers the New York Jets as a site expert for The Jet Press and FanSided. He is a sports journalist based in Northern New Jersey with a wide variety of sports reporting experience in print and broadcast journalism. Baduini’s byline can also be seen on Heavy and The Sporting News, where he covers several teams across the NFL and NBA. His work has been featured in Heavy, Athlon Sports, The Sporting News, Yahoo Sports, MSN, and Yardbarker. He also serves as a seasonal intern for ESPN, working as a production assistant for the Heisman Trophy Ceremony every year since 2022. Baduini has been a Jets fan for as long as he can remember, with his family's fandom dating back to the 1960s when his grandfather, Louis, became a season ticket holder. His family has since held on to the tickets to this day. He is an avid fan of the New York Knicks and New York Mets.