Getty
Linebacker Sonny Styles of the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Circumstances for the upcoming NFL draft are playing out swimmingly for the Washington Commanders, a team with just one pick in the top 70 selections — No. 7 in Round 1.
The NFC East Division rival New York Giants own the No. 5 pick in the proceedings, which begin on Thursday evening, April 23. The Giants also just traded defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals for the 10th overall selection, putting New York in control of the top half of this year’s draft.
Those were initially poor developments for Washington given the Giants’ needs on defense and the potential that they would select Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles in the fifth spot. However, multiple prominent insiders have recently reported that New York is out on the OSU star — at least at No. 5 overall.
“I was told they were not going to take Styles,” Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network said on The Ryen Russillo Show podcast this week. “That was one that I was told that [he] was not their guy. So that came from a couple of different places.”
“I was told they were not going to take (Sonny) Styles. That was one that I was told that that was not their guy. So that came from a couple of different places.”
– @MoveTheSticks on the @TheRyenRussillo podcast.
That is now 3 different times today where a different person has
“That is now 3 different times today where a different person has said that the Giants are not in on Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles,” Doug Rush of FanSided posted to X. “Heading into this week, Styles was a frequently mentioned name for the Giants, especially for the No. 5 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.”
GettyLinebacker Sonny Styles of the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Todd McShay of The Ringer also reported via “The Rich Eisen Show” on ESPN that he heard New York is not interested in Styles at fifth overall.
McShay was adamant earlier this week on his own podcast that Washington is extremely high on the Buckeyes linebacker and will select him with the 7th pick, regardless of who else might be available there.
“If Sonny Styles is sitting there for the Washington Commanders, I’m told on pretty damn good authority — Dan Quinn, that’s his guy,” McShay said. “Styles is going No. 7 to Washington if he’s on the board. And I actually believe that’s if [Notre Dame running back] Jeremiah Love were on the board, too. That’s what I’m hearing, strong.”
GettyLinebacker Sonny Styles of the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Styles plays a position as a traditional linebacker that is generally undervalued in the NFL, which means teams rarely look to that spot early in Round 1 — particularly inside of the top 10.
But there can be overcorrections with regards to positional value that create opportunities for teams to take advantage of market inefficiencies.
For instance, the Detroit Lions spent the 12th pick and 18th pick in Round 1 in 2023 on running back Jahmyr Gibbs and linebacker Jack Campbell, respectively. The franchise caught flak for both selections, though each has proven an elite performer over his three years in the league for one of the best teams in football across that stretch.
Gibbs is in line to potentially ink the richest contract ever for a running back after three straight Pro Bowls, while Campbell was a first-team All-Pro last season.
Washington invested heavily in free agency at the pass-rusher position, so adding Styles to the second level of the defense on a contract with five cost-controlled campaigns would make plenty of sense.
The Giants are the most viable suitor for Styles’ services ahead of the Commanders in the upcoming draft. Thus, New York’s reported lack of interest in the OSU star could pay huge dividends for Washington later this week, as well as for years to come.
Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group's family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible
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