Ohio State defenders Reese, Styles and Downs all land in the NFC East

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Sharing the field for two college seasons, Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles and Caleb Downs helped Ohio State win a national title powered by a dominant defense.

More than a year removed from that celebration, as Downs reminded his two former teammates on NFL draft night, they are now the competition.

A domino effect in the first round landed them all in the same division, the NFC East. Reese fell to the New York Giants at No. 5, the Washington Commanders took Styles two picks later after Kansas City leapfrogged them for another prospect and the Dallas Cowboys traded up to get Downs at No. 11.

“It’s a blessing,” Reese said at his introductory news conference Friday. “That means a lot that we get to play in the same division, grow against each other, compete with each other. That’s all we ever did at Ohio State.”

They also did a lot of winning together, going 30-4 at Ohio State, including the College Football Playoff national championship game victory against Notre Dame in January 2025.

“We had like-minded people: guys who love football, love to win, love their brothers,” Styles said Friday at the Commanders’ facility in Ashburn, Virginia. “When you have good people off the field and like-minded on the field, good things happen and it’s easy to gel.”

The Buckeyes had four players chosen in the top 11, with Carnell Tate being the first wide receiver taken at No. 4 by Tennessee, where his new offensive coordinator is former Giants coach Brian Daboll. A total of 99 Ohio State products have gone in the first round, the most of any school, including 20 since Ryan Day took over as coach in 2019.

“I think it probably speaks to most great, big accomplishments done as part of a team,” Commanders coach Dan Quinn said, recalling Styles and Downs complimenting each other in the pre-draft process when they were apart. “That spoke to these two players’ humility, who were probably the biggest pieces of the communication hub for Matt (Patricia) and their defense at Ohio State.”

After all the hoopla of putting on new hats, shaking Commissioner Roger Goodell’s hand and posing for pictures, Reese, Styles and Downs got to enjoy a moment together at the hotel in Pittsburgh following the first round on Thursday night.

“We are excited for each other,” Styles said. “Can’t wait to get to work. Obviously, we’re going to get after them.”

They’ll be seeing a lot of each other over the next several years: twice a season if they’re healthy and playing. Downs on Friday at his Cowboys intro news conference said he jokingly told Styles to get away from him because they’re on different sides of a heated rivalry.

Their championship bond will last forever, but the trash talk has already begun.

“It happened the moment I had seen them,” Downs said. “It’s an awesome feeling to know that they both got picked, along with Carnell. Looking forward to playing against them.”

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AP Pro Football Writer Schuyler Dixon in Frisco, Texas, and AP freelance writer Ethan Cadeaux in Ashburn, Virginia, contributed to this report.

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