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New England Patriots outside linebackers coach Mike Smith shared his early thoughts on Elijah Ponder and rookie Quintayvious Hutchins after the spring practices.
According to CLNS’ Taylor Kyles, Smith told media members that he has high expectations for Ponder amid the strong showing that he has put forth this spring, and he also expects Hutchins to play some off-ball linebacker this year.
Ponder played in 15 games for New England last season and finished third on the team in sacks with four, despite not starting in a single game. The California native approaches his second season in the league and will have the opportunity to build upon the year he had as a rookie in 2025 with a strong showing in 2026.
“I’ve got very high expectations for him—very," Smith said of Ponder. "I mean 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 in June 9th or 10th, but I got high expectations for him. I mean, he’s always going to fight. He’s not going to say much. He’s very intelligent.
"When you’re very intelligent like that, he’s big, he’s athletic. He’s done some kind of freaky stuff this spring, coming around the edge, the top of his rush that you’re like, ‘Oh, wow. That’s pretty nice to see.’ But again, let’s get the pads on and let’s see if we can do that stuff when the bullets are flying. But he’s had a really good camp, and he’s made some big, big strides.”
The Patriots selected Hutchins with the No. 247 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. He recorded two sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss in 2025 at Boston College and was brought in by New England to add depth at the edge rusher position for next season. He will vie for time behind Harold Landry and Dre’Mont Jones in 2026.
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Patriots OLB coach has 'very high expectations' for Year 2 edge rusher
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According to CLNS’ Taylor Kyles, Smith told media members that he has high expectations for Ponder amid the strong showing that he has put forth this spring, and he also expects Hutchins to play some off-ball linebacker this year.
Ponder played in 15 games for New England last season and finished third on the team in sacks with four, despite not starting in a single game. The California native approaches his second season in the league and will have the opportunity to build upon the year he had as a rookie in 2025 with a strong showing in 2026.
“I’ve got very high expectations for him—very," Smith said of Ponder. "I mean 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 in June 9th or 10th, but I got high expectations for him. I mean, he’s always going to fight. He’s not going to say much. He’s very intelligent.
"When you’re very intelligent like that, he’s big, he’s athletic. He’s done some kind of freaky stuff this spring, coming around the edge, the top of his rush that you’re like, ‘Oh, wow. That’s pretty nice to see.’ But again, let’s get the pads on and let’s see if we can do that stuff when the bullets are flying. But he’s had a really good camp, and he’s made some big, big strides.”
The Patriots selected Hutchins with the No. 247 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. He recorded two sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss in 2025 at Boston College and was brought in by New England to add depth at the edge rusher position for next season. He will vie for time behind Harold Landry and Dre’Mont Jones in 2026.
Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Patriots OLB coach has 'very high expectations' for Year 2 edge rusher
Continue reading...
