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Sonny Styles Snubbed From No. 1 Spot in 2026 NFL Draft LB Rankings

Sonny Styles missed the nod as the top Draft-Eligible linebacker.
Joe Cox|
Despite an impressive 2025 season, Sonny Styles didn't get the nod as the top 2026 Draft-eligible linebacker from Nate Tice and Charles McDonald.
Despite an impressive 2025 season, Sonny Styles didn't get the nod as the top 2026 Draft-eligible linebacker from Nate Tice and Charles McDonald. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

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Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State had a wealth of talent in 2025, and nowhere might that be more obvious than in the Buckeye linebacking corps. Well-regarded OSU linebacker Sonny Styles recently surprised by NOT getting the nod as the top Draft-eligible linebacker prospect for the 2026 NFL Draft in a ranking from Yahoo Sports's Nate Tice and Charles McDonald.

Styles Denied Top LB Spot

But Ohio State fans can't stay angry long at the slight-- the linebacker who Tice and McDonald ranked above Styles is fellow Buckeye Arvell Reese. Yes, Ohio State claims the top two linebackers in the Draft, at least according to Tice and McDonald.

Styles' and Reese's NFL Paths

Styles was highly sought after as a recruit in the 2022 class- Rivals ranked him as the No. 4 player in the nation and the No. 2 athlete. Styles began his OSU career at safety and after seeing more snaps there in 2023, moved to linebacker ahead of the 2024 season.

Styles recorded 100 tackles, including 10.5 tackles for loss in helping Ohio State to the CFP title. His senior season included 82 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss. While Ohio State finished the season in disappointing fashion, Styles remains one of the top linebacker prospects in the country-- No. 2 by the account of Tice and McDonald.

Reese was a four-star recruit in the 2023 class, tucked barely into the national top 200 by Rivals. After an uneventful freshman season in which he didn't post a single tackle, Reese steadily improved. He had 43 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss in 2024. In 2025, he upped his production to 69 tackles with 10 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks, which helped him earn All-American honors.

Styles ran a 4.46 second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, and while Reese didn't run there, his athleticism and physicality has impressed NFL evaluators.

Other Top LB Prospects

The other top linebakers in the class per Tice and McDonald were Georgia's CJ Allen, who they ranked third, and then Texas's Anthony Hill Jr. and Missouri's Josiah Trotter. Allen posted 88 tackles and eight tackles for loss in pacing Georgia's outstanding defense. Hill actually had a fairly quiet 2025 season, but in 2024, he grabbed national attention with 113 tackles, including 16.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks. Trotter transferred from West Virginia to Missouri and posted exceptional seasons in each of the last two years, with 84 tackles, including 13 tackles for loss, for the Tigers in 2025.

Reese
Arvell Reese may have lapped Styles as the top linebacker in the 2026 NFL Draft class. | Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Joe Cox
JOE COX

Joe is a journalist and writer who covers college and professional sports. He has written or co-written over a dozen sports books, including several regional best sellers. His last book, A Fine Team Man, is about Jackie Robinson and the lives he changed. Joe has been a guest on MLB Network, the Paul Finebaum show and numerous other television and radio shows. He has been inside MLB dugouts, covered bowl games and conference tournaments with Saturday Down South and still loves telling the stories of sports past and present.

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