The Washington Commanders selected Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles with the No. 7 overall pick. Here are five things to know about their newest defender.
1. He's an athletic freak.
There was little doubt that Styles was one of the best players in the draft prior to the combine in Indianapolis. He recorded 183 tackles in his final two seasons at Ohio State and was a First-Team All-American and All-Big Ten selection in 2025. One of the only questions that remained was whether he had the athleticism to thrive in the NFL.
Styles answered that question emphatically with one of the best combine performances in league history.
ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. wrote that Styles would "dominate" the combine, and that's exactly what he did. He recorded a 4.46 40-yard dash at 244 pounds with a 43.5-inch vertical and an 11-foot-2 broad jump. The vertical number was the highest mark of any player at any position since 1999 who weighed more than 240 pounds, while the broad jump was tied for the second best in the class.
As a result, Styles recorded a Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of 9.99, which ranked fourth out of 3,480 linebackers from 1987 to 2026. Now, Styles brings that athleticism to the Commanders' defense.
2. He's still learning the position.
Here's the craziest thing about Styles: although he was the best linebacker in college football last year, he hasn't been at the position for that long.
Styles, who was the No. 3-ranked high school player in Ohio before committing to the Buckeyes, was a safety at Pickerington Central and had natural instincts in coverage. He had four interceptions in seven games as a sophomore. The following year, he had two interceptions, two passes defended, a block punt and one forced fumble. He even started his college career as a safety before switching to linebacker in 2024.
"I think Sonny's made a really smooth transition to linebacker," Ohio State linebackers coach James Laurinaitis said in 2024. "He's so used to breaking and going from safety, you had to slow him down. He's so explosive. And so he's really gotten his footwork under control. It's a never-ending process. But for a guy that played – and look, I think playing at safety, seeing the game from that perspective now moving up, he has a good idea of the whole scheme and how everything kind of works together. So, it's been a really smooth transition for Sonny."
The move certainly worked out. He finished his career with 244 career tackles, most of which came after switching to linebacker. He was also highly disruptive with 22.5 tackles for loss in his career, resulting in a total loss of 91 yards.
3. He wore the "BlockO" last year.
Styles wasn't just a successful player on the field; he was a highly regarded person in Ohio State's locker room, which is why it was an easy decision for the Buckeyes' coaching staff to give Styles one of the highest honors they can bestow to a player.
Styles wore the "Block O" last year, which is given annually to the Ohio State player who exemplifies "the core values of being a Buckeye: toughness, leadership, and character." The tradition was started in honor of former Ohio State defensive end Bill Willis, who played for the Buckeyes from 1942-44. He later played for the Cleveland Browns and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Willis was known for his toughness, accountability and the highest of character, and Styles possesses those same traits.
"Being able to wear the Block O would be an honor," Styles said last August. "I think the biggest thing, obviously, wearing the Block O is about the integrity and character of a person. But I think for me, just seeing the guys that wore that number before me and having a personal relationship with them and knowing the kind of men they were, they were great men."
Styles was the sixth "Block O" recipient, joining defensive end Jonathan Cooper, offensive line Thayer Munford, wide receiver Kamryn Babb, wide receiver Xavier Johnson and linebacker Cody Simon.
4. He impacted Ohio State's defense at every level.
You would be hard-pressed to find a linebacker who impacted each level of the defense as much as him.
Styles filled the stat sheet during his time with the Buckeyes. He finished his college career with nearly 250 stops, nine pass breakups, nine sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception. 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.
Styles wasn't used often as a blitzer, but there could be more of that in his future. General manager Adam Peters said that Styles was going to be an excellent blitzer thanks to his short-area quickness and explosiveness. Styles can also cover sideline-to-sideline -- a trait the Commanders' linebackers lacked last season -- and can cover "a lot of ground," according to Peters.
"That's a big deal in this league," Peters said.
Styles has often been compared to linebacker Fred Warner, who Peters also helped draft when he was with the San Francisco 49ers. Peters didn't want to make that comparison, but it's plain to see that Styles and Warner share many of the same qualities.
"He can make an impact from multiple spots on the field and is a plus man-cover talent. Styles is an emerging player with the traits and versatility to garner longer looks by NFL evaluators," wrote NFL.com's Lance Zierlein.
5. He elevates a defense in need of playmakers.
The Commanders' defensive struggles are well-known by now, so there's no need to rehash those issues. It was clear that the team wanted to inject the unit with talent this offseason, and to their credit, they did that in free agency.
Washington put itself in position to add the best player available in the draft, and that ended up being Styles, even though Peters thought the chances of him getting to them were low. Peters said he's been smiling since they drafted Styles, and it's easy to see why. The linebacker is the same height as Calvin Johnson and had the same 40-yard dash time as Bijan Robinson as well as the same broad jump as Julio Jones all while being just eight pounds lighter than Derrick Henry.
Styles' best trait, however, is that he might be the best playmaker in the draft. The Commanders were in serious need of that on defense, and Styles now joins a unit led by a coordinator in Daronte Jones who has a history of using creativity in his scheme.
