As one could expect for the No. 1 team in college football, the Indiana Hoosiers are loaded with future NFL Draft picks on both sides of the ball. One of their top performers has been cornerback D’Angelo Ponds.
In his two seasons at Indiana, he’s been first-team All-Big Ten both years, and he was a first-team All-American in 2025. He’s only a junior, so there’s a nonzero chance he’ll come back for his senior year. If the Hoosiers win it all this year, though, he could try his luck in the 2026 NFL Draft.
These are five teams that make sense as the best landing spots for Indiana’s top cornerback, ranked in order of how often he gets picked by each team in the PFSN NFL Mock Draft Simulator.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Heading into the CFP semifinals, D’Angelo Ponds is ranked No. 55 in PFSN’s NFL Draft Hub, and his current ADP in our draft simulator is 77.7. That’s a far cry from the 151.0 ADP he had at the beginning of the year, but the point remains he’s a consensus Day 2 pick. That means there’s usually more diversity in which teams pick him in different ranges, but the team with the highest concentration of Ponds selections is the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Interestingly enough, the Jaguars got solid play out of their cornerbacks in 2025. Both Montaric Brown and Jarrian Jones graded in the top 20 according to PFSN’s CFB CB Impact Score. That said, Brown is a projected free agent his offseason, as is Greg Newsome II. Jacksonville is nearly $8 million in the red in cap space, and with Devin Lloyd still needing an extension, they could go to a younger, athletic CB option like Ponds to fill those gaps.
Miami Dolphins
Like the aforementioned Jaguars, the Miami Dolphins are also deep into the red heading into the 2026 offseason. They have moves they can make to free up space, but they can’t afford to extend everybody with expiring contracts. In particular, their two cornerbacks who played the most snaps in 2025, Rasul Douglas and Jack Jones, are both impending free agents.
Outside of Douglas, nobody in Miami’s secondary finished with a top-60 CB Impact score in 2025. Ponds would have a clear path to a starting opportunity in Miami. Their secondary is weak, and his fluidity and route-recognition skills would come in handy as they look to turn their defense around.
Cincinnati Bengals
With a bottom-five Defense Impact Score to end 2025 and a bottom-two score throughout most of the regular season, it’s no surprise the Cincinnati Bengals have a weak secondary. DJ Turner II quietly looked like one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL this year, but the rest of their group is pretty lackluster. It’s never a good sign for your pass coverage when your defense gives up nearly 30 points per game.
The Bengals return both Turner and Dax Hill in 2026, but their cornerback room could use another upgrade to help their defense limit big plays. With an allowed passer rating of just 57.0 over the course of his collegiate career, Ponds would be a stellar addition to Cincinnati’s secondary.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers actually had each of the top two performers by CB Impact in 2025. Joey Porter Jr. led the NFL with a stellar 95.3 grade, while James Pierre came in second with a very strong 91.6 grade of his own. Considering the fact that Jalen Ramsey had to switch over to safety this year, things turned out all right for the Steelers’ cornerback room.
MORE: Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr. Earns Recognition for Stellar Outing vs Bengals
That said, Pierre is slated to hit free agency this year, and as a breakout cornerback at 29 years old with a pedestrian resume outside of 2025, he’s a risky extension candidate. The rest of Pittsburgh’s cornerback room looks pretty considering, which could make Ponds an enticing addition for them on Day 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Atlanta Falcons
A.J. Terrell reminded the NFL of who he was in 2025, breaking up 12 passes and finishing sixth in the league in CB Impact. It’s a good thing for the Atlanta Falcons that they had him out there, because the rest of their cornerback room failed to finish with top-64 grades in CB Impact this season.
Of the two that came close, Mike Hughes and Dee Alford, the latter is slated to hit free agency this offseason. He’s a shorter cornerback with a penchant for making plays on the ball, which is an archetype that Ponds fits perfectly. One could argue he has more upside as a more consistent cover corner in the NFL, making him a smart selection for Atlanta in this year’s draft.