The 2026 Draft Thread - 1st Round - 7th overall

[skinsinparadise]

I've spent a lot of time on Styles this weekend. I don't know myself if I'd call it lack of intensity. But lack of mean streak. He's a really nice guy or so is his reputation and how he comes off in interviews.

People like to say both Styles and Downs are cut from the same cloth, mature, leaders, smart, good guys, etc. But when you watch their interviews you can see that Downs is arrogant as heck. Styles on the other hand as humble as can be.

Bruce Feldman, from the college freaks, said on draft show I watched that a coach from a school that played Ohio State told him, that people like to say Caleb Downs is their best defender but to him its Styles.

Is Styles too nice? Maybe. But the dude flies all over the field -- laterally, backpeddling, going forward, you see him keep pace with TE and WRs like its nothing.

He's a super freakish talent. As for a Marvel hero, lol, he'd be the one without a darkside. Spiderman? Not sure. But he IMO is likely going to be a great player.

You see some thumping tackles, so lol there is some of it in him, so I wonder if a coach can bring it out of him. But regardless he clearly gets the job done, regardless.

 

[RexTomb]

Long story, for anyone who has seen the movie Face Off, that's sort of what happened here. But I can't dive into the details, lives are at stake.

That movie is probably one of my favorite action movies from the 90s. In spite of all the holes in the plot and the cheesy dialogue, John Woo as like, f'it let's just make this an over the top action banger.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

I have a better shot at Dakota Johnson than EMW being there in the 3rd I think.

Man, you really dig Dakota. Don't sell yourself short. She just broke up with Chris Martin. You have as much of a shot as anybody.

 

[Primus Porcus]

I think the Dolphins are a possibility just cause they have four 3rd rounders 75, 87, 90, and 94. The Dolphins would likely be trading up for the last of the three big edges though corner or WR is also a possibility. You could possible get 11, 75, and like 151 for 7 or another possible deal would 11, 87 and 94 for 7 and 187 or something like that. But I think a trade up is most likely for a Edge just cause there is a decent drop off after the first three. It could be for Styles or Love too, but in that case I am less sure we are willing to trade.

With the amount of dead money the Dolphins are carrying, I would seriously consider it malpractice for them to trade multiple draft picks for anything. They're flat out not going to be competitive next year, and likely not in 2027. They need to stock pile as much young, roster constructing talent as they can to get them through the next couple years. Trading up for a difference maker on defense that you're throwing away their first 2 seasons of a 5 year contract is terrifying to imagine.

 

[skinsinparadise]

Jeremiyah Love is still 20.

 

[Dlts20]

Wrapping up does not create a tackle.

Leverage, with technique and active feet creates tackles.

Styles is a damn good tackler. I love him as a prospect. But he doesn’t strike. He catches. In the NFL, ball carriers are going to run through that contact. While he likely tackles them in most cases, they will fall forward more often than they did in college.

This play stands out against Miami, which I watched live and cheered as Fletch bowled him over.



This shit matters. You can’t poo poo it away.

Now…

Can he fix it? Yes. If it’s a technique issue, fixing this shouldn’t be an issue. Bobby Okereke just hired a rugby tackling coach to help correct his form and his videos they’ve posted make it look so much more clean and technical. We’ll see if there is carry over.

If it’s “will” that is harder to clean up. I’m not sure it is, though. So I think he’ll be a prototype green dot in 2-3 seasons, with a solid rookie year.

Man I can find one play like that for anyone. It wasn't even straight up. He took on the blocker first and came off high.t Syles has also become underrated around here when it comes to that.

He still has made a number of plays where he is knocking guys back. I'm just not with the cherry picking single plays when you have a million others to the contrary. We can literally do that for any great player.

 

[skinsinparadise]

I wished I loved Bain because yeah on the aggregate I am in the defensive front >> secondary as far as importance.

 

[Primus Porcus]

Man I can find one play like that for anyone. It wasn't even straight up. He took on the blocker first and came off high.t Syles has also become underrated around here when it comes to that.

He still has made a number of plays where he is knocking guys back. I'm just not with the cherry picking single plays when you have a million others to the contrary. We can literally do that for any great player.

That's the play that it backfired.

To KDawg s point, there are a lot of tackles he makes where he is not the aggressor. He's a sure tackler, but he's going backward when he's making that tackle. Yes, he gets the guy to the ground, but he's giving ground to do it. There is something to be said for technique and consistency, but I think it's fair to have some concerns regarding that fact without saying it's a cherry picked low-light.

I'm not a huge fan of First Round Mock, as I think he's a bit of a blow hard with his takes, but he's a former NFL scout, and he's very down on Styles, specifically surrounding some of the stuff KDAWG pointed out. He goes so far to say that the tape doesn't warrant a 1st round pick, let alone top 10.

Sonny Styles Lacks Motivation

Watch 14 games of Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles during the 2025 season embedded in this article.

firstroundmock.com

Again, i think this is a bit hot take-ish and click baity, but I don't think it's flat out false either.

 

[philibusters]

I watched Monroe Freeling against Texas and came away thinking it was a solid game, even if it didn’t quite scream first-rounder on tape. You can absolutely see why he’s in that conversation though—the size, the length, and especially the feet all show up. It was also a good test with a lot of quality competition, going up against Colin Simmons (who could be a first-rounder next year) and Ethan Burke (likely a Day 3 guy this year), so it wasn’t like he was beating up on lesser talent.

In pass protection, the first thing that stands out is how good his feet are for a guy his size. He takes small, light steps, can redirect easily, and does a good job mirroring rushers. The length is obvious on film and helps him control reps when he gets his hands right. His anchor was mostly solid—there were a couple early reps where Burke pushed him back and Simmons knocked him back a few steps on first contact, but he showed the core strength to re-anchor and recover. That ability to reset after giving a little ground is encouraging. His hand placement was generally good, though there were some inconsistencies. Against wider alignments, he tends to shoot his hands a bit early, and he prefers using his outside hand as the dominant hand, which is a bit unconventional. When he’s at his best, he latches just under the collar with his arms at about 45 degrees, keeping them tight and hard to swipe. His eyes are also very good—he picked up delayed stunts and blitzes well and showed strong awareness. There was one clear loss on an inside counter where he got too wide with his base. The rusher was in a wide alignment, and instead of staying in a half-man relationship, Freeling set in full man from the start with a deeper drop to account for the width. That created too much space and caused his base to widen as he tried to match the arc, which opened him up to the inside counter. Once his base got that wide, he didn’t have the ability to redirect cleanly back inside and got beaten. It was really the only rep where he lost cleanly, but it’s a good example of how his set points and base can get compromised against wider rushers. Why he went full man rather than half man given his good feet is difficult to say, but it was fatal on that play.

As a run blocker, he was a bit less impressive, though not bad. The pop in his hands is more average than dominant, and similar to pass pro, he can be a little impatient—especially when climbing to the second level. He also has a tendency to get out over his skis, which showed up multiple times as he ended up on the ground three or four times without actually finishing blocks. His grip strength and ability to sustain weren’t great either, as defenders were able to stack and shed him more than you’d like. That said, he’s clearly athletic and mobile in space, so if he can clean up the timing and balance, there’s something to work with there. Leverage is a challenge for him at 6’7—he tends to play a bit high, which lets defenders win the leverage battle and limits displacement. There were a couple reps where he got his pad level right and showed what it can look like, but it wasn’t consistent. When he tries to compensate by getting lower, that’s often when he gets out over his skis.

Overall, it was a good but not dominant performance. He didn’t look like a finished product or a clear-cut first-rounder based on this game alone, but the traits are easy to see. The combination of length, foot quickness, and recovery ability gives him a high ceiling, even if the play strength, hand consistency, and run blocking still need development. He feels like a classic projection—someone who may not dominate in college but has the tools that make teams comfortable taking him in the first round. From a Commanders standpoint, I don't think he is worth taking in the first 6 picks even though it would be nice for the Commanders if Cleveland or some other team used a top pick 6 on him.

 

[skinsinparadise]

That's the play that it backfired.

To KDawg s point, there are a lot of tackles he makes where he is not the aggressor. He's a sure tackler, but he's going backward when he's making that tackle. Yes, he gets the guy to the ground, but he's giving ground to do it. There is something to be said for technique and consistency, but I think it's fair to have some concerns regarding that fact without saying it's a cherry picked low-light.

I'm not a huge fan of First Round Mock, as I think he's a bit of a blow hard with his takes, but he's a former NFL scout, and he's very down on Styles, specifically surrounding some of the stuff KDAWG pointed out. He goes so far to say that the tape doesn't warrant a 1st round pick, let alone top 10.

Sonny Styles Lacks Motivation

Watch 14 games of Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles during the 2025 season embedded in this article.

firstroundmock.com

Again, i think this is a bit hot take-ish and click baity, but I don't think it's flat out false either.

Yeah I recall Kelly for the third round grade on Jayden Daniels. I think on twitter he likes to get attention for going against the grain. He had some other wild ones but forgetting on which players.

I read just now his report on Styles, the biggest thing that makes it feel either lazy or a hatchet job on him is focusing on his one sack and extrapolating that he has no pass rushing moves.

They didn't blitz him a heck of a lot last year, that was Reese's duty (and the Ohio State LB coach talked about it), he had 6 sacks the season before, and I watched an interview of his where he talked about how he worked with the D line coach on developing pass rushing moves including a cross chop. So Kelly had no idea about his sack production the season before, which is odd-lazy.

When a player is coming right at him, he often will grab the player versus level him or push him back hard. It works for him. does it work in the NFL? At his size, probably, but will see. There are some plays where he does level the player, so he has it in him, he needs to pushed to do it more. To me its more about attitude than ability. I'd worry more if the issue was he doesn't have the size and athleticism to play as a thumper type.

The debate sort of reminds me of the Jordan Tyson versus Tate debate. That is, you can pick a variable or two and say this one is more important and if the player doesn't meet that then some are lower on the player.

Kelly dinged him for not going hard. I saw what he's talking about but I described it as him being afraid to over shoot the target. You can see him taper down his runs but to me it looked like he didn't want to overshoot the play like his teammate Downs does from time to time. And as I mentioned yesteday he overdoes that. I mentioned he needs to risk overshooting the play more.

Why do I think he will ge a really good LB -- has all the off the field intangibles and smarts and on the field his range is insane. He isn't a thumper of a tackler. But I can't recall seeing a LB with more diving tackles. He tackles better when he's moving laterally than when players are coming right at him. For anyone here who has played the outfield -- I have back in college for my dorm for fun -- its easier to catch the ball moving away from you than a line drive coming right at you. Styles looks like that.

But the sideline to sideline range and the ability to run with WRs and TEs are special.

 

[DogofWar1]

Still not sold but man's got a point.

 

[Primus Porcus]

Yeah I recall Kelly for the third round grade on Jayden Daniels. I think on twitter he likes to get attention for going against the grain. He had some other wild ones but forgetting on which players.

I read just now his report on Styles, the biggest thing that makes it feel either lazy or a hatchet job on him is focusing on his one sack and extrapolating that he has no pass rushing moves.

They didn't blitz him a heck of a lot last year, that was Reese's duty (and the Ohio State LB coach talked about it), he had 6 sacks the season before, and I watched an interview of his where he talked about how he worked with the D line coach on developing pass rushing moves including a cross chop. So Kelly had no idea about his sack production the season before, which is odd-lazy.

When a player is coming right at him, he often will grab the player versus level him or push him back hard. It works for him. does it work in the NFL? At his size, probably, but will see. There are some plays where he does level the player, so he has it in him, he needs to pushed to do it more. To me its more about attitude than ability. I'd worry more if the issue was he doesn't have the size and athleticism to play as a thumper type.

The debate sort of reminds me of the Jordan Tyson versus Tate debate. That is, you can pick a variable or two and say this one is more important to me and if the player doesn't meet that then some are lower on the player.

Kelly dinged him for not going hard. I saw what he's talking about but I described it as him being afraid to over shoot the target. You can see him taper down his runs but to me it looked like he didn't want to overshoot the play like his teammate Downs does from time to time. And as I mentioned yesteday he overdoes that. Risk overshooting the play more.

Why do I think he will ge a really good LB -- has all the off the field intangibles and smarts and on the field his range is insane. He isn't a thumper of a tackler. But I can't recall seeing a LB with more diving tackles. He tackles better when he's moving laterally than when players are coming right at him. For anyone here who has played the outfield -- I have back in college for my dorm for fun -- its easier to catch the move moving away from you than a line drive coming right at you. Styles looks like that.

But the sideline to sideline range and the ability to run with WRs and TEs are special.

He said Caleb Williams is 100% a bust. He said Spencer Rattler was the best QB in his class. He also ranked Xavier Leggette ahead of Malik Nabers, and had Johnny Newton as a top 10 value in the 2024 draft.

 

[skinsinparadise]

Still not sold but man's got a point.

Reuben Bain, just screams Dan Quinn. The toughness-attitude, etc. I wished i loved him. But I don't dislike him. I just don't know. But if they take him and it doesn't work out at least we have KDawg to blame.

But in general, I would take an edge, especially one who can stop the run over a MLB, S, or CB. I want to build a monster D line.

I don't think there is much chance Bailey falls to 7. But his profile, is very similar to Chaison and Oweh. Bain is a different cat -- but to me he's a wildcard. But if they end up taking him, I'd be cool with it, I'd trust it.

 

[skinsinparadise]

He said Caleb Williams is 100% a bust. He said Spencer Rattler was the best QB in his class. He also ranked Xavier Leggette ahead of Malik Nabers, and had Johnny Newton as a top 10 value in the 2024 draft.

Not to pick on the Jets -- but ex-scout of the Jets doesn't scream success.

I don't mind disagreement. But the one sack stuff is so lazy. Heck I am not a scout obviously, but I actually look at more than one season for stats like that let alone just take one number from one season and make some grand generalization about it.

 

[RexTomb]

Still not sold but man's got a point.

 

[Dlts20]

That's the play that it backfired.

To KDawg s point, there are a lot of tackles he makes where he is not the aggressor. He's a sure tackler, but he's going backward when he's making that tackle. Yes, he gets the guy to the ground, but he's giving ground to do it. There is something to be said for technique and consistency, but I think it's fair to have some concerns regarding that fact without saying it's a cherry picked low-light.

I'm not a huge fan of First Round Mock, as I think he's a bit of a blow hard with his takes, but he's a former NFL scout, and he's very down on Styles, specifically surrounding some of the stuff KDAWG pointed out. He goes so far to say that the tape doesn't warrant a 1st round pick, let alone top 10.

Sonny Styles Lacks Motivation

Watch 14 games of Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles during the 2025 season embedded in this article.

firstroundmock.com

Again, i think this is a bit hot take-ish and click baity, but I don't think it's flat out false either.

That's just a guy who has more upside but the attributes aren't there. Coaches like Jones and DQ can easily put that fire in him. He's probably got the most explosive legs in the draft. There is no reason why he can't turn that into stronger tackling.

People have to remember that he's 6'5. He's going to be higher than a 6ft Wagner. His tackling is going to be different at that position compared to everyone else. It's still new for him. He's only going to get better

 

[Primus Porcus]

Not to pick on the Jets -- but ex-scout of the Jets doesn't scream success.

I don't mind disagreement. But the one sack stuff is so lazy. Heck I am not a scout obviously, but I actually look at more than one season for stats like that let alone just take one number from one season and make some grand generalization about it.

100%, again, I'm not the biggest fan of him, but 1 of 32 teams, whether I want to acknowledge it or not, it's still likely he's seen a lot more than I ever has... so I will listen to what he says a bit, grain of salt and all.

That's just a guy who has more upside but the attributes aren't there. Coaches like Jones and DQ can easily put that fire in him. He's probably got the most explosive legs in the draft. There is no reason why he can't turn that into stronger tackling.

People have to remember that he's 6'5. He's going to be higher than a 6ft Wagner. His tackling is going to be different at that position compared to everyone else. It's still new for him. He's only going to get better

Absolutely, I don't think it's a deal breaker at all, and we're only watching clips. Interviews, as well as a lot of other interactions we're all not privy to will be a major part of evaluating him. I will not be 'upset' if we draft Styles, this is all purely objective evaluation and trying to look at everything involved to come up with who projects better in the league. As KDawg also said, there is a precedent of players training up to develop their game play.

 

[method man]

Didn’t Megatron say that the hardest he’d ever been hit was London Fletcher?



I’d prefer a big hitter, because if nothing else, they are fun to watch, and this is entertainment. But I think I’ve overvalued striking ability. Loved Rey Maualuga for instance.

In today’s NFL, coverage ability is much more important than being a hit stick. And Styles has the potential to be a beast in coverage. He can take on blocks. Is awesome sideline to sideline.


On a separate note, Jeremy Greene was on Grant and Danny and was saying that Love was the best case scenario for us. Not exactly a hot take, but was also SUPER high on Mansoor Delane. I second this. I’d be pretty thrilled with Delane.

I’m glad Jeremy Greene is getting his shine. Seems like a hard worker and a great guy. Props to Logan for giving him airtime last year

 

[skinsinparadise]

100%, again, I'm not the biggest fan of him, but 1 of 32 teams, whether I want to acknowledge it or not, it's still likely he's seen a lot more than I ever has... so I will listen to what he says a bit, grain of salt and all.




Absolutely, I don't think it's a deal breaker at all, and we're only watching clips. Interviews, as well as a lot of other interactions we're all not privy to will be a major part of evaluating him. I will not be 'upset' if we draft Styles, this is all purely objective evaluation and trying to look at everything involved to come up with who projects better in the league. As KDawg also said, there is a precedent of players training up to develop their game play.

I am sure he knows his way around scouting of course more than us. But....

A. Based on his comments, I doubt he spent much time on Styles
B. He seems like an attention grabber, hot takes

Speaking for myself, if I have the opportunity to watch 5-6 games or heck even better on occasion via this site called Just The Tape I can watch every game -- it makes all the difference in the world. You can really get a feel for the player.

If its just a game or two, or just highlights, or extrapolating from a profile, its really hard to get a good feel for a player IMO or the feel could be misleading.

The dude was a scout but considering how he presented his case against Styles as a push rusher, he either spent less time than I have diving into the player or is going for a hot take.

I don't think its really hard to have a good feel for any player if you can watch most of their games, whether you are a scout or not. We aren't scouts, but lol if you ask us about Bobby Wagner we can give a detail take about his strengths and weaknesses. If that dude watched a couple of games of Wagner and made some generalizations about him based on it -- I'd ride with our takes over him.
More is more.

 

[method man]

They don't KNOW that. If they have Lemon rated higher than Tate, what's not to say that 15 other teams have Lemon rated higher than Tate and he goes before they pick again?

They might suspect that. But they don't KNOW that.

If they have Lemon or Cooper as their target, and he's the highest WR ranked on their board, then they should pick him at 7 and move on. If you dilly dally around and trade back, there's a good chance the guy you want will be gone.

Something I think a lot of folks forget is the NFL teams do not follow the consensus boards. They do look at them, but they have their own boards, their own rankings and ratings, and they all might differ significantly, even by rounds, team to team.

This is why I hate the "it was a reach" comment. It's never a reach. Because to say it's a reach means you have to compare where the player is selected to something. And what the person saying "it's a reach" is comparing the placement of the pick to is his/her own rankings/big board.

And there is nothing saying that 10-20 of the NFL teams might be VIOLENTLY different than that particular big board.

Let's just say for the sake of argument that Washington has Lemon as it's top WR, over Tate. What's not to say that 10 other teams have the same decision?

If they get to 7, and Lemon is the best WR on their board, they should just take him there.

If NFL GMs shared your philosophy, we would never see them trade back in the draft. The take lacks nuance. Let's say they don't particularly like Tate but they like both Lemon and Cooper and have them very close to one another on their board. If one guy gets taken, they can go draft the other so trading back carries less risk than you're suggesting.

Your argument revolves around "what ifs" and the idea that teams should play it safe given all this perceived uncertainty. But I'd want my GM to be aggressive and decisive, not paralyzed by it. Study the landscape, get reads from the Schefters and Rappaports of the world, have scouts and coaches talk to their counterparts at other teams, and then make the best decision possible to optimize value on draft day. Yes, that intelligence is imperfect because teams have every incentive to deceive each other but the answer to imperfect information is better decision-making, not defaulting to the safe pick every time.