D'Angelo Ponds' latest absence has Jets fans wanting far more

In All-American cornerback D’Angelo Ponds’ defense, it’s not solely his fault that we still don’t have photos of him in a New York Jets uniform.

Although a July calf injury sidelined Ponds for the season’s first two games, we had envisioned his snap count would gradually increase following his Week 3 debut. Outside of former Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik, the second-round defensive back was arguably the Jets’ most discussed rookie this summer. 

Those wanting the Ponds hype train to get back on track are still waiting at the station. He surprisingly played only two snaps and didn’t record a stat in Sunday’s comeback victory over the AFC North-leading Cleveland Browns. 

The Jets never said Ponds was hurt, and he saw a career-high nine special teams snaps. So why hasn’t Glenn fully unleashed the secondary’s newest dynamic weapon? 

Why didn’t New York Jets rookie D’Angelo Ponds earn more defensive snaps in Week 5?

After only logging four snaps (two defensive, two on special teams) in his Week 3 debut, Ponds played nearly 20% of the Jets’ defensive snaps last week. He even grabbed his first interception before officials brought it back on a holding call. 

Ponds’ first chance at extended action against the Bears came largely because Jarvis Brownlee Jr. entered concussion protocol. The latter played 59 of the Jets’ 68 defensive snaps on Sunday afternoon. 

In most situations, there’s your answer: Ponds played far less because the cornerback ahead of him was healthy. To his credit, Brownlee had six tackles, two for a loss, and broke up a pass upon returning to the lineup. 

But then you remember how often Glenn praised Ponds throughout the offseason. All we heard was how the embattled head coach saw himself in Ponds; both had height working against them as defensive backs, yet clawed their way to the NFL. Glenn even acknowledged the similarities multiple times leading up to Week 1. 

The Jets’ defense looked mostly fine without Ponds, holding Cleveland below 200 yards of total offense. Penalties nonetheless remain a significant problem, and it’s unclear whether last week’s holding flag impacted his playing time. 

There is no indication that the Jets plan to make any significant changes in the secondary next week against the Patriots. Starting corners Azareye’h Thomas and Brandon Stephens both played all 68 defensive snaps on Sunday. 

That said, we imagine Stephens’ tendency for flags could eventually impact his snap count. Officials penalized him for pass interference on a failed third-down conversion, giving the Browns new life and setting them up to take a 12-10 fourth-quarter lead. 

Officials called Stephens for a facemask last Sunday. The Jets have committed 22 penalties for nearly 200 yards in their past two games.

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