NFL Draft Profile: LB Sonny Styles

Breaking down Ohio State LB Sonny Styles

Ohio State has three high profile defensive players that could all be drafted within the top 10 picks in this month’s NFL Draft: Arvel Reese, Sonny Styles and Caleb Downs. All three have been linked to the Washington Commanders at certain points, so this week I’ll be doing breakdowns on all three. I already broke down the fourth Ohio State player, Carnell Tate, when I looked at wide receivers last week, so check out that post if you missed it. But today I’m going to be starting the week with linebacker Sonny Styles.

Sonny Styles is one of the most athletic linebacker prospects in NFL history. That sounds over the top, but it’s true according to RAS (relative athletic score). RAS is a site that records NFL combine measurements for each prospect as far back as 1987. At 6-foot-5, 244 pounds, Styles ran an outstanding 4.46 40-yard dash, but also had elite numbers in the explosive measurements like his 43.5-inch vertical jump and agility testing like his 4.26 20-yard shuttle. They’re impressive numbers if you’re familiar with the combine, but if you’re not, RAS puts it into great perspective. Out of the 3460 linebacker prospects from 1987 to 2026, RAS ranked Styles as the fourth best athlete.

Given his athleticism, it might not surprise you to hear that Styles actually entered college playing safety before transitioning into a linebacker. When you think of a safety converting to linebacker, you often associate it with 220-230 pound players that are good in coverage and ok chasing down running backs but can get overpowered a bit in the run game when taking on blocks. That’s not Styles. Styles has a bit of extra weight to him at 244 pounds, but he also has a violent and physical playstyle which means he’s not afraid to take on blockers much bigger than him and stand them up with good pop.

This play is a great example of that pop. Styles is the solo linebacker in a 5-1 defensive front. The offense runs a power scheme with the left guard pulling to the right side of the line and wrapping around for Styles. Ohio State are in a light box meaning they don’t have a spare defender to fill every gap. With the guard pulling, if Styles is slow or late to take on his block, the offense should have a free gap for the running back. But Styles reads the pull and quickly works his way up to the line of scrimmage.

He arrives at the line of scrimmage before the puller and explodes up into the blocker, standing him up. The runner tries to find the free gap but because Styles stood the blocker up in the hole, the back had nowhere to go. Styles works off the block and makes the tackle at the line of scrimmage for no gain.

That’s not a one-off play for Styles either. He consistently shows a willingness to attack blockers and take them on, instead of just trying to work around them.

This time we see Styles working against a GT counter scheme, where the offense pulls both the right guard and right tackle to the left side of the line. Styles is again the one linebacker in a 5-1 front, so with two lineman pulling, he has to be quick to not only fill his gap, but squeeze the free gap. The right guard pulls and looks to kick out the edge defender, who does a good job getting low and standing him up. The right tackle follows the guard and looks to wrap around for Styles. With the guard being stood up on the edge, the lane inside is closed a bit, but if Styles gets sealed inside then it will open up again.

Fortunately, Styles is quick enough to get over there and then arrives with enough pop to knock the right tackle backwards. Between Styles and the edge defender, they squeeze the blockers enough to close the gap between them. Styles actually manages to drive the tackle back into the running back as he hits the hole, closing the hole and preventing the back from running through it. He then works under the tackle and gets through to make the tackle on the running back at the line of scrimmage, preventing him from making any gain at all.

Of course, just because Styles can provide pop and work through blocks doesn’t mean he can’t also use his athleticism to avoid blockers too. Styles generally does a good job mirroring the movements of the running back and if he needs to, he can make quick movements to avoid blockers in his pursuit of the back.