Coming into the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine, no player was viewed as a better dream scenario option for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the No. 15 overall pick than Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Sonny Styles, but he may have just played himself out of their hands with his performance in Indianapolis.
Teammate Arvell Reese, owing to his upside as a pass rusher, was viewed as a top five pick and elite level prospect, but now Styles has joined him in that bracket as a nearly sure fire top 10 pick after blowing everyone away at the combine, including an excellent Reese, as the clear winner of the festivities.
Among all inebacker prospects, Styles had the best time in the 40 yard dash with the best vertical jump and broad jump. He was also first in terms of his 10 yard split in the 40 yard dash, highlighting both his straight line speed and short area quickness, with the latter being the most important for a front seven player.
Sonny Styles owned the NFL Combine
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Styles did all this as the best athlete at the Combine while being the consensus best linebacker on tape in terms of his cerebral ability to diagnose plays and make splash plays in all three phases of the game, particularly in terms of his tackling north and south as well as east and west .And oh yeah, Styles is no slouch in coverage either.
The Ohio State grad is one of the players in this draft class who can change the complexion of an entire defense, and inside linebackers are undervalued in the draft as a whole. In the recent history of football, we have seen players like Luke Kuechly, Bobby Wagner, Patrick Willis, Ray Lewis, and even Tampa Bay's own Lavonte David, whom they are trying to replace this year, transform teams into Super Bowl contenders with their athletic and intellectual brilliance.
Clearly, Styles has so many of these qualities in spades, and there are now going to be teams picking in the top 10 of the 2026 NFL Draft who are smitten with the young man. The Buccaneers have to see him as an ideal successor for David, and while there are too many great players for it to be worth it for Tampa Bay to trade up, the reality is that if they are as in love with Styles - or love him even more after the Combine - he's likely no longer in play.