Titans Could Draft Future Face of Defense at No. 4 Overall

For a while following the NFL Combine, the Tennessee Titans were tirelessly tied to Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love for their top-shelf selection at No. 4 overall. Yet in the aftermath of a report from Adam Schefter that seemed to suggest Tennessee is moving in a different direction, the previously assumed defensive view for the pick has come back into focus.

Names like Rueben Bain Jr. and David Bailey have come into rotation as if they never left, but a probable candidate with a few unmatched metrics is consistently flying under the radar, at least as far as his relation to the Titans goes, in breakout Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Sonny Styles.

Styles hasn't been seen as a slouch, by any means, with most every projection placing him within the top 10 range, if not the top five. It's just that, for whatever reason, the Titans have been arranged with the aforementioned edge rushers in lieu of a more agile phenotype in Styles.

An Agile Disruptor

Titans fans shouldn't be so quick to dismiss the Buckeyes LB, though. According to RAS numbers, Styles scored a perfect 10.00 when it comes to the combined reading of his tangibles and intangibles following the combine.

Of every LB ranked since 1987 - a staggering 3215 players - Styles came in first overall amongst the group. He's the highest-graded at his position in a sea of prospects that extends back nearly four decades. That alone should turn every head in the state of Tennessee.

Sonny Styles is a LB prospect in the 2026 draft class. He scored an unofficial 10.00 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 1 out of 3215 LB from 1987 to 2026.

Splits projected, all times unofficial, agilities left, bench tmrw, but 10.00 RAS watch is officially on!… pic.twitter.com/f2JFhymsXH
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) February 27, 2026

Not only that, but having forced a fumble, generated a sack, and picked off a pass in his final season at Ohio State, the defender has proved his ability to disrupt in essentially every facet of the game. Given the right system and solid surrounding pieces, Styles has the chance to become a real superstar at the next level.

A Preemptive Answer

In Tennessee, given that Robert Saleh and Gus Bradley are pulling the strings on the defensive end in the coaching ranks while Jeffery Simmons and (now) John Franklin-Myers cause trouble on the defensive line, the question of Styles' fit would be answered before his arrival.

Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles (LB25) | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

If it's true that the Titans are inching away from drafting an apparently generational offensive talent in Love, doing the same thing on the defensive end, with Styles, is the next best thing.

If Tennessee has the LB in for a pre-draft visit, especially, folks should turn their eyes to this potential as one with distinct, sensible plausibility.

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