2026 NFL Draft: Sonny Styles Selected Seventh Overall By Washington Commanders

After a four-year career at Ohio State, linebacker Sonny Styles has been drafted with the seventh overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft by the Washington Commanders.

He is the third Buckeye to come off the board after Carnell Tate was picked fourth by the Tennessee Titans and Arvell Reese was selected fifth by the New York Giants.

Before the NFL combine, Styles was viewed as a likely mid to late first-round selection, but he raised his draft stock immensely with his performance there. He also said that his performance in meetings with teams helped him as well.

“I had high expectations for myself,” Styles said of his testing at the combine. “I think what you put on the film and then the person you are in the meeting room, that’s what’s more important. And I thought (what I did in the) meetings and my film was a lot better than the testing was.”

Styles came to Ohio State in the 2022 recruiting class as a highly-rated five-star prospect after reclassifying from the 2023 cycle. Because of that, he began his career at OSU as a 17-year old safety.

He played at the safety position for the first two seasons he was in Columbus, starting there alongside Lathan Ransom when he was a sophomore. That year, he played in 13 games and had 53 tackles, 4.5 for loss, two sacks and one pass broken up.

Then, when the Buckeyes landed Caleb Downs in the portal, it gave them the ability to slide Styles to linebacker, where he thrived. His first season as Will linebacker, he had 100 tackles, which was second on the team behind Cody Simon, including 10.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, five passes broken up and a forced fumble, helping the Buckeyes win a national championship.

His senior season, the Buckeye defense was on the field for much fewer snaps, which contributed to loss overall production. Still, he led Ohio State with 82 tackles, with 6.5 for loss, one sack, three passes defended and an interception. He was also named a first-team All-American, earning a tree in Buckeye Grove.

Styles was also one of the leaders of the 2025 team, and was the recipient of the Block “O” jersey.

Now Styles joins the linebacker depth chart for the Chiefs and will compete for a spot alongside the likes of Odafe Oweh, Frankie Luvu, Leo Chanel and K’Lavon Chiasson, where he will be led by head coach Dan Quinn. Washington finished with a 5-12 record in 2025, third in the NFC East.