Commanders select Ohio State LB Sonny Styles with the 7th pick in the NFL draft

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Sonny Styles told family members hours before the NFL draft he thought he’d be going to the Washington Commanders.

“I just had this feeling,” Styles said.

On Thursday night, they made it a reality, taking the Ohio State linebacker with the seventh pick. Styles is a welcome addition to Washington’s defense, which ranked last in the league last season.

Commanders general manager Adam Peters said he initially didn’t think Styles would be available where they picked but did not hesitate when the linebacker was still on the board.

“He’s the type of person who will reach whatever potential he has,” Peters said. “He’s humble, he’s driven, he checks every box, so that made it an easy pick.”

Styles played 55 games and made 41 starts over his four years with the Buckeyes. He was a co-captain as a senior in 2025 and led the team with 82 tackles and 46 solo tackles. The 21-year-old earned first-team All-America and first-team All-Big Ten Conference honors.

In Styles, Washington adds one of the most athletic players in the draft. At 6-foot-5 and 244 lbs., Styles ran a 4.46-second 40-yard dash and had a 43 1/2-inch vertical jump at the combine.

“He’s an elite athlete, elite size, elite length,” Peters said. “He’s just scratching the surface as a linebacker. He’s already really good and he’s only going to get better.”

Styles began his career in Columbus as a safety before switching to linebacker in the spring of 2024. In his first year playing the position full time, he started all 16 games for Ohio State en route to a national championship. Styles finished the year with 100 total tackles, 10 1/2 tackles for loss and six sacks.

Moving closer to the line of scrimmage was initially an adjustment for him, but the new position allowed him to unlock more of his potential.

“At safety, you are 10 yards away from the ball,” Styles said. “Things are happening a little slower; you have more time and space to make things happen. Now you’re moving to 5 yards; now things are happening faster. You have to get off blocks, make tackles, offensive linemen are climbing to you. That was an adjustment, really, just being closer to the ball. Things are happening faster.”

Styles’s elite athleticism helped his transition to linebacker; he played all three positions over his final two years in Columbus. His versatility is something the Commanders coveted.

“Sonny is a guy who can play off the ball, he can play on the ball, he can mug up and blitz,” Peters said. “There are so many different things he can do. … He’s got the size to play on the edge. He’s really versatile. We can kind of mix and match how we deploy those guys and play as many linebackers as we can on the field.”

Styles joins linebackers Frankie Luvu and Leo Chenal, creating a trio of versatile linebackers the Commanders are excited to deploy.

“That room, we feel great about it,” Peters said. “We felt good about it going in, but we feel great about it (now). I love the guys in that room already. They are competitive guys. They’re all really athletic. They’re all guys you want to have on your team. Adding more competition — the theme of our program is competition — I know those guys will all fight and create roles for themselves.”

Peters was also impressed by Styles’ game-to-game improvement throughout last season, specifically emphasizing his 12-tackle performance against Indiana in the Big Ten title game.

“He played his best ball at the end of the year,” Peters said. “He’s still ascending. It’s fun to watch his progression and just seeing how much better he got and how much better he still can get.”

The Commanders don’t have another pick until the third round after trading their second-rounder to Houston last March as part of the trade to get standout left tackle Laremy Tunsil.

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