Sonny Styles is a name to keep in mind.
The Ohio State Buckeyes have won the College Football National Championship. The Buckeyes have one of the most loaded rosters in college football, with several playmakers on all levels. The offense gets much of the attention with premier receivers and running backs, but their defense has fueled their national championship. Their linebacking corps, in particular, has been outstanding. One linebacker is the feature of today’s prospect profile, Sonny Styles.
The big linebacker has football in his blood. His father, Lorenzo, played in the NFL for six seasons and won a Super Bowl with the St. Louis Rams. Sonny Styles is a second-team All-American with an enticing athletic profile the Cowboys should be interested in. Here’s the scoop on the junior linebacker.
Strengths
The first thing that stands out about Styles is his size. Styles is listed at 6’4 ”and 235 lbs. He and Cody Simon work well together to give Ohio State a formidable tandem with great versatility. Styles has the upper body strength in the running game to hold up offensive linemen at the line of scrimmage.
As an athlete, Styles is exceptionally fluid in defending the run from sideline to sideline, and his quickness to get around offensive linemen allows him to make big plays in the running game. He routinely makes himself skinny in pursuit of the ball carrier to get around blockers.
As a tackler, Styles can also fill the gap and meet the running back in the hole. Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson is one of the premier runners in the nation. It’s one-on-one in the hole, and Styles takes him down. He also fits the proper gap to make the tackle and stop Johnson dead in his tracks.
In coverage, Styles is very alert. He understands when to pass off receivers through his zone and retrace back to his area. Styles is very light on his feet and effortlessly glides from his backpedal to playing downhill to close in on would-be receivers. In man coverage, he can easily carry running backs and tight ends up the field.
Weaknesses
As for negatives, when Styles carries receivers and tight ends, he can be handsy for an extended time when playing near the line of scrimmage. When rushing from the interior, Styles needs to get under his pads more. He comes in to rush upright, and it gives interior linemen a clean strike zone to reroute him off his track. With his change of direction, he could be more effective as a rusher. Also with his traits, you wonder if there’s some upside with him as a speed rusher in select sub packages with his length and quick first step.
Fit
Some draft boards have Styles listed as a safety. However, with his physicality near the line of scrimmage and ability to cover underneath patterns, a permanent move to linebacker in the NFL makes a lot of sense. He started for the Buckeyes as a Will linebacker. DeMarvion Overshown and Marist Liufau are good starting blocks and possess terrific athleticism. However, Overshown is in recovery from another ACL injury and Liufau is still developing. Styles would give Dallas immediate depth at an area of need with traits a defensive coordinator could develop.
