Commanders found their 'alpha' in Sonny Styles
The Commanders did a ton of work on Sonny Styles before making him the No. 7 overall pick.
If you doubted that Sonny Styles is the player the Washington Commanders wanted all along, you can put those concerns to rest. In his latest column for Sports Illustrated, NFL insider Albert Breer gives some insight into all of the work that Washington general manager Adam Peters put into Styles. And that work didn't begin during the 2025 college football season.
It began back when Styles was a lanky 17-year-old true freshman safety at Ohio State. When Styles was a freshman in 2022, Peters was the assistant general manager of the San Francisco 49ers, when an area scout told him, "That's Sonny Styles. " Styles would become a starter the next season, and that's when Peters began to follow his career.
In 2024, Styles moved to linebacker. In two years as a starting linebacker for the Buckeyes, Styles recorded 182 tackles, including 7 for loss, seven sacks, one interception and eight passes defensed. He earned All-Big Ten honors and was named first-team All-American in 2025.
Styles was also a big part of Ohio State's 2024 national championship squad. During Styles' final season at Ohio State, former Lions head coach and Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia served as his defensive coordinator. Considering Peters' history with Patricia, they go back a long time, when they were both in New England, which gave him some unique insight.