The Big Question Facing Giants' Draft Target Sonny Styles

It’s defense or bust, it would seem, among the NFL draft analysts, many of whom strongly believe that Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles is heading to East Rutherford in a few weeks.

The latest to be on that train is Bruce Feldman of The Athletic who projects Styles, who came in at No. 10 on Feldman’s Freaks List at the start of the 2025 season, to land in the middle of the New York Giants defense.

“The fit here makes a lot of sense with the Giants’ talent up front and Styles’ ability to roam the field as a former safety,” Feldman said.

“At 6-5, 244 pounds, with almost 33-inch arms, he ran a 4.46 40 in Indianapolis and his jump numbers were even more impressive — 11-2 in the broad jump and 43 1/2 in the vertical.”

So impressive was Styles at the combine that he rested his case for NFL talent evaluators by choosing to skip working out at Ohio State’s pro day.

But that hasn’t dampened the enthusiasm for Styles, who projects to be a top 10 draft pick in a few weeks and who has been mocked to teams ranging from second, where the New York Jets currently sit, to as low as eighth.

Especially for the Giants. Although New York signed Tremaine Edmunds in free agency, Styles is a bit more versatile of a player given his early career origins as a safety.

Can Styles answer the big question?

Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Sonny Styles | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Among the 21-year-old’s strengths include elite speed, good tackling ability, a physicality against the run–something that has been missing from the Giants run defense for a while–and an ability to carry tight ends, another area in which the Giants have struggled.

“He’s a beautiful athlete, like he was created in a lab,” a Big Ten running backs coach told Feldman.

The one drawback with Styles is that he’s still relatively new to the linebacker position. But that hasn’t appeared to dampen the spirits of many talent evaluators who see Styles as a Top-5 prospect.

The enthusiasm for Styles is understandable, but what’s interesting is that, at least in Feldman's write up, the term “athlete” is used quite often to describe him.

But there is a difference between being an athlete and being a football player as not all athletes are football players, as the Giants have on more than a handful of occasions discovered from past drafts.

That doesn’t appear to be an issue with Styles, though only time will tell once he gets to the NFL as it will regarding how much of an impact he can make out of the gate.

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