Ohio State Linebacker Sonny Styles Declares For 2026 NFL Draft

Sonny Styles made it official on Wednesday, announcing he’s taking his terrifying blend of speed and power to the pros, declaring for the 2026 NFL Draft. It wasn’t exactly a shocker—when you’re Mel Kiper’s No. 7 overall prospect, you don’t stick around for extra credit assignments—but it still hits the Buckeye faithful right in the feels.

Why Styles Is More Than Just a Stat Sheet

Styles racked up 83 tackles in 2025. He was also the team’s leading tackler with 100 stops during that magical national championship run a season ago. But numbers are cold. They don’t tell you about the lineage.

If you’re a football nerd, the name “Styles” carries weight. His dad, Lorenzo Styles Sr., didn’t just play the game; he won a Super Bowl with the St. Louis Rams. Sonny didn’t just stumble into being an athletic freak; he was forged in it.

“When I was younger, I did a lot of explosive training with my dad,” Styles once said. “At 5, 6 years old, we were doing ladders, running with the parachutes, doing broad jumps up hills… He always made everything a competition.”

A Swiss Army Knife On Defense

The NFL has changed. It’s no longer a league where you can just be a thumper at linebacker or a pure coverage guy at safety. You need to be versatile.

Styles is a unicorn in shoulder pads. Bruce Feldman over at The Athletic had him on his “Freaks List” for a reason. We’re talking about a guy who broad jumped 11 feet and has a vertical leap of 40 inches. This versatility is why draft pundits are losing their minds. Yahoo Sports already has him mocked at No. 13 to the Rams, noting that his range and speed are exactly what modern defenses crave.

The Buckeye Exodus Continues

Styles isn’t leaving the locker room empty-handed, though. He’s part of a massive wave of talent exiting Columbus. He joins Linebacker Arvell Reese, Safety Caleb Downs, and others in chasing the NFL dream.

It’s bittersweet for Head Coach Ryan Day. On one hand, you’re losing the backbone of a defense that allowed just 9.3 points per game in 2025. On the other hand, there’s no better recruiting pitch than pointing at the TV during the NFL Draft and saying, “We did that.”

Styles put it best in his farewell on Instagram, thanking his coaches and the fans. “I never took for granted the opportunity to put on that jersey every Saturday, and I will cherish the memories in the Shoe and every moment we shared forever.”

What’s Next For Styles?

So, where does he land? A top-10 pick seems likely. A long, lucrative career seems even likelier. But for now, Ohio State fans are left with the memories. The hits that sounded like car crashes. The coverage skills that made quarterbacks second-guess themselves. The realization that the kid who was running parachute sprints at age six is now ready to fly on the biggest stage of them all.