ESPN surprisingly snubs D’Angelo Ponds in latest Jets insult

In yet another reminder that the NFL remains king, ESPN’s Field Yates published a story on Monday projecting which non-first-round rookies will have the greatest Day 1 impact.

Remember: We’re not even at Memorial Day.

Yates chose 20 players, 10 on each side of the ball, and some of the names aren’t overly surprising. Texans defensive tackle Kayden McDonald and Colts linebacker CJ Allen are likely to compete for immediate snaps.

The same goes for Chargers guard Jake Slaughter, a second-round pick from Florida.

However, none of the New York Jets’ five qualified rookies cracked Yates’ list — and cornerback D’Angelo Ponds’ exclusion is especially egregious.

Field Yates and ESPN snubbed Jets rookie D’Angelo Ponds

In fairness to Yates, he really only could have picked from four Jets rookies rather than five.

Even if Geno Smith suffers an offseason injury, that almost certainly wouldn’t propel fourth-round pick Cade Klubnik into the starting role.

Barring any roster changes, Brady Cook or Bailey Zappe would be the likely starter in Smith’s place.

That still doesn’t excuse Yates omitting Ponds, a national champion and All-American at Indiana.

Ponds, the No. 50 selection, is widely expected to have a major role within the Jets' defense.

That alone should have guaranteed Ponds a spot among the 10 defensive players who Yates picked.

With respect to Giants rookie defensive tackle Bobby Jamison-Travis, he’ll still be playing behind D.J. Reader and Shelby Harris.

It seems odd, then, that a sixth-round backup defensive tackle would earn a spot over a presumptive rookie starter.

The excuse of the Jets’ current rebuild doesn’t apply here, either. Not when the Giants, Cardinals, Raiders, and Titans all had one player among the 20.

We must note that the Jets weren’t the only team that failed to make the list. In fact, Yates included three Dolphins players, two of whom — linebackers Jacob Rodriguez and Kyle Louis — play the same position.

Granted, Rodriguez is an inside linebacker, and Louis is more of an off-ball linebacker, but the point remains.

We get it: the Jets are a punchline, as has been the case since a certain Thanksgiving night collision in 2012.

And, at the end of the day, Yates’ article is a meaningless offseason list that fans will forget about in 48 hours.

Both of those things can be true, as is the fact that Ponds deserves far more respect than he’s getting.

None of this is to say that Ponds is going to follow Sauce Gardner as an All-Pro cornerback.

We’re not suggesting he’s the next Darrelle Revis. Of course not.

Still, when you’re likely to open training camp with the first-team defense, isn’t that enough to earn you some recognition?

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