Giardi: NFL Notebook - Is second-year pro about to take a big step forward for the Patriots? Plus, last ride in NO

Aside from the obvious - Drake Maye and A.J. Brown - I’m not sure any player on the Patriots got as much shine during mandatory minicamp as Elijah Ponder. The cynic in me wonders if the coaching staff went a little overboard, perhaps sending a message to second-round pick Gabe Jacas.

Then I pop in the first of his four sacks from last season. Ponder blows by Tampa Bay All-Pro LT Tristan Wirfs like he was some slappy from Utah Tech. It’s a speed rush, but when Baker Mayfield slips out of the tackle, Ponder basically crawls to stay alive and eventually gets his man. 

A week later, the UDFA out of Cal Poly got a clean-up sack of Justin Fields. Ponder added takedowns of Jaxson Dart in week 13 and Quinn Ewers in week 18, delivering on the faith Mike Vrabel, Zak Kuhr and the defensive braintrust showed in him.

But now, with Harold Landry sidelined all of the spring after knee surgery, and Jacas unsigned while he recovers from a knee procedure, the Pats turned to Ponder to run with the ones, and safe to say, they liked the look of it.

“Elijah Ponder has been a phenomenal pro this spring,” Kuhr said. “He's taken great steps to improve his technique, his play demeanor.”

That was something Vrabel singled out, not just for Ponder but also for a number of young players in the Patriots ecosystem for a second year. So much growth can happen now, from the weight-room work, diet, overall understanding of what is expected of them as pros, and, of course, knowledge of the playbook.

“Young players that work hard and have a full offseason to train, sometimes that’s a great window of opportunity for a guy that is 22, 23 years old, to make some significant improvement in their speed, in their strength, and explosion,” Vrabel noted. “So, hopefully that is what we will see.”

Ponder agreed with that assessment.

“I think it's just more comfortability. Just gaining the connections with all the players, having, you know, that year (under his belt).”

Playing at a lower level collegiately, it’s hard to know how quickly a player like Ponder can make the adjustment, but as you saw, by the second half of last season, he was a productive rotational piece. To his credit, nothing the staff asked him to do seemed to put him out over his skis, and now, having been here for a full calendar year (and then some), it appears his high-level athleticism - Ponder had a 9.7 relative athletic score, which ranked him 67th out of over 2000 edge rushers from 1987 to 2025 -  has really blossomed.

“I’ve got very high expectations for him. Very,” outside linebacker coach Mike Smith said. “All these guys have done great all spring, but he really, really looks comfortable out there. It has really slowed down for him. And again, we’re June 9th or 10th, but I got high expectations for him. He’s always gonna fight. He’s not gonna say much. He’s very intelligent. When you’re very intelligent like that, he’s big. He’s as athletic. He’s done some kind of freaky stuff the spring around the edge, the top of his rush that you’re like, ‘Oh, wow, that’s pretty nice to see.’”

Ponder was humble when asked about that - “I can't single a pass rush rep out, but I mean, we put it in work this offseason” -  and is just hoping that translates to the field on a more consistent basis. Based on the lack of depth at that position, not only would it be nice, but it very well may be necessary.

ONE, FINAL RIDE

After trading for former first-round pick Tyree Wilson and signing Anfernee Jennings (the room misses him here in NE), it looked like Cam Jordan’s 15-year run in New Orleans was coming to an end.

Jordan had expressed to the Saints that he would not play for them under the same incentive-laden deal he did the year prior, but after some serious soul searching and “humbling” himself, the 36-year-old accepted something similar to, he says, finish where he started.

"I'm going to treat it like it's the final season with intention because I believe between God and my wife, that's the only two people that can get me back through," Jordan said in a post on social media.

"I think that in any negotiation, there's always going to be things that you want and can get through. And at the end of the day, it was more along the lines of what our family felt. So I kept sort of deferring to not only my foundation but to my wife. ... Contract-wise, there was a couple bumps that we just cleared up recently."

Jordan may not be the same stout two-way player he was in his prime, but he still logged a boatload of snaps for first-year head coach Kellen Moore and finished with 10.5 sacks. That added to his franchise-leading total of 132 (didn’t become an official stat until 1982). Jordan is also tops in tackles for loss, fifth in fumbles forced and 10th in fumble recoveries. He is staying with a team that showed real life a season ago, winning four in a row in December behind rookie QB Tyler Shough (he might be good).

"In my mind, I'm all into the idea of 2026 Saints go to the Super Bowl,” Jordan said. “It might be too early to call it, but I feel like I call it every year and I'm going to keep on believing where I think we can. I thought we had promise to shock some people last year. I think we have promise to build upon what we did last year."

ALL IS FINE?

After skipping voluntary workouts, George Pickens showed up for mandatory mini-camp. That, in and of itself, should not be a surprise. Mandatory means unforgivable fines. But the volatile wideout insisted it was never even a thought, even though he doesn’t have the long-term extension he desires and instead will play under the franchise tag.

"Like the tag and all that, it's just football first," Pickens said. "So, definitely play football first, kind of like I did last year, and then worry about [the contract] ... Well, let my agent worry about it really."

Pickens will make $27.3 million on the tag, so no need to hold any bake sales. But owner Jerry Jones wants the year to play out before committing multiple years to the talented pass catcher, whom they acquired in a trade from Pittsburgh a little over a year ago. All Pickens did was catch 93 passes for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns. All those numbers were career highs. 

"I'm just here to make the best decision for the team and myself. ... If you keep showing it, or they already have a hint of who you are, that's when they'll start speaking on JSN [Jaxon Smith-Njigba's market-resetting four-year, $168.6 million extension] contracts and stuff like that. I just keep doing what is best for me."

The Cowboys held Pickens out of 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills to avoid injury, but head coach Brian Schottenheimer said they expect he’ll be a full-go come training camp. In the meantime, everyone is just happy to have the big target back.

"As you guys know, OTAs and the offseason program is voluntary. This is the one part of it that's mandatory. He's not the only player that hasn't been at camps around the league. It just shows his commitment to the guys in that locker room and helping us win a Super Bowl."

“We were all glad to see him back,’ added running back Javonte Williams. “We know how hard he works. … people might think different of him, but we know he's a great person, and we love having him back."

COMING TOGETHER

A year ago at this time, the reports coming out of Chicago were concerning for Bears fans. Caleb Williams was being schooled by first-year head coach Ben Johnson, and to say it didn’t look the way anyone wanted would be an understatement.

Johnson’s idea then was to force-feed Williams as much of his playbook as possible and see what stuck. Turns out, quite a bit. Williams took a step forward in year two, especially in late-game situations. That showed in the Bears' Wild Card round playoff win at Green Bay, when the former number one overall pick rallied the Bears from 18 points down to win 31-27. 

A week later, Williams pulled another rabbit out of his hat, completing an improbable 4th quarter touchdown pass to force overtime against the Rams, a game Chicago eventually lost 20-17. Armed with that experience, the 24-year-old is poised for an even bigger season under Johnson’s tutelage. 

"It's a hell of a lot more fun for me than it was last year just because it was - I was saying it to [running backs coach Eric Studesville], 'Dude, I feel like I was drowning trying to breathe or stay alive and wait for a boat to come around last year,'" Williams said. "Now this year, it's being able to start where we finished last year, playcalls and words and verbiage and speak the same language, and now it's being able to grow more from an earlier stage than maybe doing it a little bit earlier in the season or halfway through the season, speaking on things that really help throughout the year. That's the advantage."

It was a bit surprising to look at Williams' primary stat line and see he completed just 58% of his passes (down from 62% as a rookie). For someone with arguably the strongest arm in the league, occasionally, he bypasses a small profit for something greater (we had the same conversations about Drake Maye at times), or loses grasp of his fundamentals and misses a layup or three. That’s been a primary focus this spring.

"It's just get the completion percentage up," Williams said, "keep the offense on the field more, score as many points as possible, be the highest-scoring offense because that's my part in the team ... Whether it's handoffs or passes, whatever, that doesn't matter. It's just being able to put up as many points as possible to help our team win as many games as possible and then keeping the turnovers very low."

I have no doubt Williams is capable. His physical talent is undeniable, and we saw him play his best football in critical moments (7 4th quarter comebacks). His coach thinks you’ll see even more of it in 2026 as they chase the ultimate goal.

"He wants to win here in Chicago and he wants to win Super Bowls," Johnson said. "That's really his motivating factor. He's been very clear and consistent with that message over the last year and a half that I've gotten to know him.

"That's what we're pursuing. His portion of that is to be the best leader this team can get from the quarterback position. [Lift] this offense to the next level. Be a good supportive teammate throughout the whole thing."

NEWS NUGGETS 

- Big news for Kansas City. Wide receiver Rashee Rice was released from jail. He was allowed to rehab his surgically repaired knee (clean-up procedure) while behind bars. No word on whether the city will hold a parade.

- Cincinnati executive vice president Katie Blackburn told a handful of reporters that the team decided to proceed with GM Duke Tobin and head coach Zac Taylor because “they deserve another opportunity,” adding “I think there’s also that element of consistency that hopefully will prove out to be beneficial, too. I think those are the things that we would rather try to take advantage of and build on rather than having to regroup and figure things out a little bit from scratch.”

The Bengals missed the playoffs three straight seasons.

- Vita Vea is another player displeased with his contract. The Bucs star DT conducted a “hold-in” for mandatory minicamp. He is set to earn $17 million in the final year of his deal, and none of those dollars are guaranteed.

- The Broncos told edge rusher Jonathon Cooper to stay home from minicamp after he was arrested twice within a week on domestic violence charges. He will not be fined for his absence. 

Cooper could also face a league suspension for violating the personal conduct policy.

“He's taking this time, obviously, he's got to work on himself,'' Sean Payton said. "Clearly, from an ownership standpoint, head coach, organizationally, there's a bar that we have, and an expectation that we have, that's very high. We'll consider all of that as we continue to gather the information ... we're continuing to go through that process, and we take it very seriously.''