Last season, the Jets became the first team ever to go an entire season without recording a single interception.

They hope cornerback D’Angelo Ponds can help with that.

Gang Green selected Ponds in the second round (50th overall) out of Indiana and his style of play has reminded people of his new coach Aaron Glenn.

“I think I would describe myself as someone that really wanted to be the best there is in what they do,” Glenn said. “And that’s just not playing the corner position, but being able to play corner and nickel, and at some point in my career, I actually transitioned to play a little bit of safety, but more or less, it’s how do you lead the team from an action standpoint and from a verbal standpoint. He has all those attributes.

“Listen, I’m not throwing all that on him right now, but man, you clearly see those are some of the things that he has. It’s innate, it’s a part of who he is. Listen, it makes me proud that when people see him, and they say, I mean, I wish people looked at me and said I played like him because, heck, he’s a damn good player. We are going to take it slow with him, allow him to really learn outside and inside, and, man, I’m glad we have him.”

After trading both Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams at the trade deadline last November, the Jets needed to add young defensive talent to their roster. They did that with Ponds, who plays bigger than his 5-9, 182-pound frame. He has already signed his rookie deal, worth roughly $9.8 million, with $8.7 million of that guaranteed.

Ponds, 21, was one of the nation’s best cornerbacks last season. Although his size would suggest he’s strictly a slot cornerback, Ponds shut down some of the best receivers in the Big Ten last year, playing on the outside. He also faced Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith, who was his high school teammate at Chaminade-Madonna College Prep in Hollywood, Fla.

“Going up against top-caliber guys like Jeremiah Smith kind of prepared me for this level,” Ponds said. “I consider him one of the best in the game. So I feel like when I had that in high school, it definitely prepared me for this level.”

On the way to helping the Hoosiers win their first national championship, Ponds did not allow a single touchdown in coverage throughout the entire 2025 season. In 15 games, he registered 61 tackles, 11 pass breakups and two interceptions on his way to earning First-Team All-American and First-Team All-Big Ten honors. Ponds was also the Defensive MVP of both the Rose Bowl and the Peach Bowl.

Much like Glenn during his playing days, Ponds is a tough, scrappy cornerback who doesn’t back down from any receiver. He’s a physical and aggressive player who displays fearlessness both in coverage and as a run defender near the line of scrimmage.

Ponds doesn’t have a ton of experience as a slot cornerback, but could be the Jets starter in nickel situations in a secondary with Azareye’h Thomas, Brandon Stephens and Jarvis Brownlee. He can play both on the outside and at the slot, but Ponds says he is willing to play whatever role Glenn envisions for him.

“I’ve been proving people wrong my whole life,” Ponds said. “I embrace it, but I feel like at this point, I’m proving myself right. In that process, I’m proving them wrong because they didn’t expect me to do it. I’m just dedicated to the process and I’m just proving them wrong.”

Ponds has seen a familiar face in the Jets’ offseason program this spring after his Indiana teammate Omar Cooper Jr. was also selected by the team (30th overall) in last month’s draft. The Jets were originally scheduled to draft at No. 33 overall, but traded up in the first round to secure the 30th pick from the 49ers, which allowed them to draft Cooper.

A night later, the Jets traded down from No. 44 to No. 50, where they traded with the Lions, then drafted Ponds. Cooper and Ponds have competed against each other at Indiana during practices and believe Cooper will also bring a lot to an offense that finished 29th in yards and points per game.

“He’s a dynamic player,” Ponds said about Cooper. “He’s a guy that can catch the ball and create yards after the catch.

“He’s a guy that can go up and get it as well. He kind of has that dynamic twist to him as well. He can do everything basically.”