Draft season is upon us, and the Washington Commanders have a chance to grab one of the best playmakers in this year's class.

The Commanders' 2025 season did not go as planned following their NFC Championship performance in 2024. A mixture of injuries and overall performance resulted in them finishing with a 5-12 record, including an eight-game losing streak from Weeks 6-14. Head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Adam Peters promised that changes would be coming, and so far, they have restructured their coaching staff with David Blough and Daronte Jones in as the new offensive and defensive coordinators, respectively. Their next task is to retool the roster, with changes likely coming on both sides of the ball.

The Commanders' first-round pick, which is the No. 7 overall selection this year, will play a critical role in that. There are several positions they could address with the pick, from pass rusher to receiver, but regardless of who they take, there's a good chance that player will be an immediate contributor.

Over the next few months, Commanders.com will highlight one mock draft from a draft expert each week to delve into how that player would fit with Washington. We're starting things off with a mock draft from NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah, who has the Commanders adding someone from Ohio State's defense to their unit.

Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State

While there are a few foundational pieces among the Commanders' defensive players, they lacked playmakers who can impact offenses both in coverage and up front. It was made more apparent because of the injuries they sustained, particularly at defensive end, but the players they did put on the field orchestrated a unit that finished 28th against the pass, 30th against the run and 26th in pressure rate.

Styles, a First Team All-American and All-Big Ten selection, can impact all three areas, and the 21-year-old is already drawing some lofty comparisons.

"Styles reminds me of Fred Warner, who was drafted by the 49ers when current Commanders GM Adam Peters was an executive in San Francisco's front office," **Jeremiah wrote in his Jan. 26 mock draft.**

Jeremiah isn't the only one to compare Styles to Warner -- a four-time Pro Bowler and First Team All-Pro over the last eight years. NFL.com's Lance Zierlein also made the connection, and it's easy to see why. Both players can move sideline-to-sideline in coverage and know how to fill gaps in the run game. They can shed blockers and know how to match up against running backs, tight ends and receivers alike. While Warner has been a key cog in San Francisco's defense, Styles was a star on Ohio State's defense, which finished as the best in college football.

The main difference is that Styles is two inches taller and about 15 pounds heavier than Warner, which makes it all the more impressive.

"He's improved in diagnosing play development," Zierlein wrote. "The former Buckeye diffuses block attempts with crisp hand strikes and leverages run fits with force/anchor strength. There are times when he slips back into a containment-based approach, but he has plenty of short-area quickness and pursuit speed to get where he needs to go. He can make an impact from multiple spots on the field and is a plus man-cover talent."

In terms of raw stats, Styles was more impactful in 2024 (100 tackles and six sacks to go with a forced fumble) compared to last season's 83 tackles with one sack and an interception, but you would be hard-pressed to find a linebacker who impacted each level of the defense as much as him. He earned grades of at least 87 from Pro Football Focus in run defense, tackling (he had an FBS-best 92.2) and coverage. PFF also notes that he is the only defensive player with at least 50 tackles to have a miss rate of zero.

That could provide a noticeable boost to a Commanders defense that ranked 31st in total missed tackles (131).

"Styles is an emerging player with the traits and versatility to garner longer looks by NFL evaluators. He could see his stock soar leading up to draft day," Zierlein wrote.

Styles' age might be one of his bigger selling points for NFL teams. At 21 years old, he's one of the younger prospects in this year's class and still has four years of experience. Styles has shown a high level of maturity, which led to him being a unanimous selection for Ohio State's "Block O" award -- a distinction given to Ohio State players who exemplify "the core values of being a Buckeye: toughness, leadership, and character."

"This is somebody that cares a lot about his teammates, loves Ohio State, loves the Buckeyes, but has become a tremendous leader and an excellent player," said Ohio State head coach Ryan Day. "All those things wrapped into one show why he deserves that award."

As productive as he was, Styles still has plenty of room to grow and plenty of time to improve. ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. has Styles ranked as the ninth-best player in the draft and the second-best off-ball linebacker, but his stock could rise even higher as the draft process continues.

"Watch for him to dominate at the combine and in predraft testing," Kiper wrote. "Styles is also a dependable tackler and closes in a flash. He really took the next step this season, even as he adapted to a new system under defensive coordinator Matt Patricia."