Interesting. From what I have seen Styles is the one player in that grouping that could turn out to be a tweener and disappoint. He's 6'5 and 244 but he's never put up the kind of production numbers you are talking about in the Downs discussion of why he may simply be very good to excellent rather than a consistent pro bowler or all-pro. There are questions about where exactly he fits in the NFL.
I don't quite buy the argument that some make that a player like Styles doesn't need a position and the DC can just move him around from edge, to linebacker to covering guys in the slot and then he becomes this monster Swiss Army knife.
Not many players envisioned in that role are actually as successful making an impact as fans tend to think coming in.
If I am the GM at #7 and have the Tate/Downs choice or Love/Downs, ANY of those three players has the chance to come in and make an immediate impact at a set position they are ideally suited to play at the NFL level.
Of the 4 players in question Styles has IMO the greatest bust potential.
The way you describe Styles fits really Reese IMO not Styles.
Styles isn't a man looking for a position, he's a middle LB who wore the green dot, called the plays. If you like Downs which clearly you do -- you should like Styles IMO even more. Styles at LB is almost at Downs level mentally, but is the absolutely physical freak that Downs isn't even close to being.
Styles also has intangible and leardership skills through the roof. these aren't the type of guys who bust.
His read and react skills are almost at Downs level -- watch the Indiana game for example, he's the dude that's part of the action on almost every play, more so than Downs actually, he had almost zero missed tackles in the whole season. He's a freak athlete. Smart dude.
And just an off the charts leader on and off the field. Culture setter type of player who can call the defense for hopefully 10 plus years and has the freakish ability to both help shut down the run and cover TEs, etc.
Buckeyes linebackers coach James Laurinaitis details why projected top-10 pick Sonny Styles will be "very scary" in the NFL.
www.foxsports.com
2026 NFL Draft: Sonny Styles’ Ohio State LB Coach Reveals What Makes Him 'Very Scary'
"He has a really uncanny sense of when it’s time to pull your trigger," Laurinaitis told me.
But Laurinaitis pointed to Styles’ approach and processing ability as evidence of his desire to be "special."
As the green dot in Ohio State’s defense, Styles communicated everything. With the OSU offense on the field, the defensive coaching staff would watch the previous defensive series together on their tablets. By the time the coaches finished talking, Styles already had a tablet in hand, knowing the corrections that needed to be made.
"I’ll just go over to him and be like, ‘Hey, you see play 3?' [He’s like,] ‘Yeah, I already saw. I have to get here or so-and-so has got to get here, or maybe I should make this stunt call,’" Laurinaitis told me. "It’s already been processed in his brain, so it’s more collaborative.
"He didn’t need a ton of reps at practice to go see [a tweak]. He would just go in the next series, and you could expect him to adjust and start changing up the stunts just because he’s super smart."
A five-star recruit in high school, Styles played his first two college seasons as a safety. But Laurinaitis, who was an OSU graduate assistant in 2023, never projected him as a safety at the NFL level. He saw a future first-round pick as an "elite cover linebacker." He’d tell him, too.
Laurinaitis, the former NFL linebacker and Ohio State great, saw Styles as a player with the size and skills to make a seamless transition.
Over the past two years as a linebacker, Styles recorded 182 tackles (17 for loss), seven sacks, three pass breakups, two forced fumbles and an interception.
"Every NFL person I’ve talked to about Sonny Styles, I’ve said, ‘Look, he’s only played linebacker two seasons of his entire life,’" Laurinaitis told me. "So you’re getting a guy who’s going to get way more comfortable [because] the game is finally slowing down for him at that level on the defense. You’re not getting a fully formed guy yet, which I think is very scary."
In addition to Styles being an incredible athlete, Laurinaitis said the team that drafts him will also be getting a "first class" individual.
"He balances that looseness of clowning around and having fun with the guys with this seriousness of locking in and when to lock in," Laurinaitis told me. "He has a good feel for both. So you’re never too uptight at practice, but I think he’s tuned into what’s happening to everybody around him. He’s always paying attention. He’s always inquiring.
"He’ll be at every single community outreach and charity function that an organization does. And then you match all the freakish athletic ability to it with the work ethic, you’re like, ‘Holy smokes, no wonder this dude is such a special talent and person.’"
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