Sonny Styles Compared to NFL Legends, Commanders' Fallbacks Revealed in Rumors as Big Board Leaks

One NFL executive lavished high praise on Washington Commanders rookie linebacker Sonny Styles.

"He is Bobby Wagner, but bigger and faster," the exec told Mike Sando of The Athletic. "He has as good of traits for an inside 'backer that I have ever seen."

The exec went on to compare Styles to Brian Urlacher: "He is 6'5", 240 pounds, gonna run 4.4. Really smart, makes all the calls, very instinctive and has some untapped pass-rush ability. He was top-five on our board all the way."

Wagner and Urlacher are two of the best linebackers of their generation. The latter is a Hall of Famer, and the former is bound to join him in Canton, Ohio.

Washington, which coincidentally had Wagner the last two years, would be over the moon if Styles reached that level.

He was the Commanders' preferred pick from the jump. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported that Ohio State safety Caleb Downs and LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane were both pre-draft alternatives if he had been unavailable.

Grading Sonny Styles Pick

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The Kansas City Chiefs traded up to get Delane one pick before Washington was on the clock, so that avenue closed anyway.

Styles was the No. 6 overall player on Bleacher Report's final big board. A safety to start his Buckeyes career, he made as seamless a transition to linebacker as you could expect ahead of the 2024 season.

While the 21-year-old is a work in progress, being a former defensive back points to how he has impressive athleticism at his current position. The instincts he utilized as a safety aren't that much different from how he reads the game at linebacker, either.

In terms of defense, off-ball linebackers simply aren't as valuable as edge-rushers or cornerbacks, which is the biggest reason Styles slipped out of the top five. If he's as good as advertised, he'll more than pay back Washington's investment.