Heading into every NFL season, prognosticators dissect each team's strengths and weaknesses after watching training camp and the preseason over the summer.
As always, each team's biggest concerns start to surface, with many pundits pointing to the Patriots' edge-rusher group as a potential weak link in New England's defense. However, head coach Mike Vrabel didn't seem concerned about his outside linebackers back in June, and although it's early days in the regular season, Vrabel seems to be on the right side of history.
"That's a good group. I'm excited about adding (Dre'Mont Jones), the development of (Elijah) Ponder," Vrabel said during Patriots minicamp. "That group has done a nice job."
During the first four weeks, the Patriots rank 15th among all 32 edge groups with a pressure rate of 12.4%, according to NextGen Stats. The Pats trio of Jones, Ponder, and second-rounder Gabe Jacas has tallied five sacks, 31 total pressures, 10 stuffed runs, a fumble-recovery touchdown (Ponder), and an interception (Jacas). Although it's not league-leading production just yet, it's certainly better than many expected.
As the veteran in the room, Jones has fit in seamlessly, and the free-agent addition ranks second among qualified edge rushers with a 23.3% pass-rush win rate. Only Lions star pass-rusher Aidan Hutchinson is beating blockers in the pass rush at a higher rate than Jones, who tallied a team-high six pressures in New England's season opener vs. the Seahawks and posted five pressures after returning from a one-week absence due to a shoulder injury in a statement win over the Bills in Week 4.
Ponder, an undrafted rookie signing in 2025, is making the year-two leap with a team-high 13 pressures while he's on pace for double-digit sacks. And then there's Jacas. The exciting rookie is tied for eighth among edge rushers with six stuffed runs and his 10 pressures are the most by a first-year Patriot in his first four games since New England drafted Chandler Jones in 2012.
Beyond box-score production, the Patriots' edge rushers are doing things that don't show up on the stat sheet. Last week, a big reason New England upset the Bills was holding Allen to just one 4-yard scramble, keeping the Bills QB from taking over the game with his legs, a feat Vrabel credited to discipline in keeping Allen in the pocket.
"They pretty much took one for the team. You can't just come under over there and then Spencer Brown throws you inside, Josh goes and extends and guys uncover. They were very unselfish, and that's what you have to be if you want to win football games," Vrabel said. "When you show him as many plays as we did of him going out to his right and making explosive plays, either running for 20 yards or throwing the ball for much more than that, they realized, 'Okay, yeah, this is an issue. This is going to be an issue if this guy gets out there.'"
After limiting Bills QB Josh Allen in a huge 29-26 win in Buffalo last week, Jones, an eight-year veteran, knows the Patriots can't rest on their laurels. Still, the veteran voice in the Patriots outside linebacker room knew there were doubters outside the building.
"I said it before when I was asked during camp, these boys are underrated," Jones said of Jacas and Ponder. "People talk about how we're underrated and I think we're showing that. We have a lot more to prove. It's only been a month. There's no time to hang up a jersey and say we're the best ever. But I think we've done a good job so far and we have to keep going – we're trying to win more than two games."
Although players try to tune out the outside noise, Ponder said he was motivated by the Patriots outside linebackers being overlooked heading into the season.
"It was motivating for sure, but I don't really pay attention to social media per se. Everybody has something to say. I'm trying not to worry about what other people think," said Ponder.
After emerging as a situational pass-rusher in his rookie season, Ponder leads the group in sacks (2.5) and snap rate (76.8%) through four games. The Cal Poly product made a strong first impression as a pass rusher, but he's rounded out his game as an edge-setter on early downs against the run, making him a three-down player in the Patriots defense in his second season.