3) The next Fred Warner? Top LB prospect warmly welcomes the comp. A five-star recruit from the suburbs of Columbus, Sonny Styles arrived at Ohio State with plenty of fanfare. The son of Lorenzo Styles — who starred for the Buckeyes in the 1990s as an All-Big Ten linebacker — Sonny actually spent his first two years with the program at safety. But in the spring of 2024, he converted to his father’s position, and OSU LBs coach James Laurinaitis made a prediction.
“When I first switched from safety to linebacker,” Styles recalled on Wednesday at the NFL Scouting Combine, “Coach Laurinaitis sent me a text, he said, ‘Hey, man — you’re gonna be a first-round linebacker.’ “
A couple years later, that assessment appears quite prescient, with Styles being one of the most universally acclaimed prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft. Ranked as Daniel Jeremiah’s No. 5 overall player in the class, Styles is a mock mainstay. At this point, the question isn’t whether he’ll go in Round 1, but rather, how high? Off-ball linebackers seldom crack the top 10 these days, but Styles offers rare athleticism and versatility in a 6-5, 243-pound frame, garnering regular comparisons to the current gold standard at the position, Fred Warner.
“He’s a great player, one of the best linebackers in the NFL, so I don’t mind the comp at all,” Styles said.
Styles particularly appreciates Warner’s football IQ. And he models his game after another cerebral linebacking great, Luke Kuechly.
“He was so smart that people forgot he was such a great athlete, and that’s kind of what I want for myself,” Styles said. “I think I’m a great athlete, but I want my football intelligence to stick out more than my athleticism.”
Kuechly, who will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame this August, was the ninth overall pick in the 2012 draft. Could Styles hear his name called as early in April? It’s a popular topic of conversation in this draft cycle.
