Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles put on a show in Indianapolis at the NFL Combine this past weekend. Few prospects did more for their draft stock than the 21-year-old, who looked like he was built in a lab for today’s NFL. And with the New York Giants badly needing an upgrade at middle linebacker, you can bet general manager Joe Schoen was watching closely.
At least, that’s what Giants fans can only hope. After his otherworldly Combine performance, I couldn’t help but get swept up in the madness of it all. It’s not every day a 6-foot-5, 244-pounder runs a 4.46 in the 40, jumps 11-foot-2 in the broad, and posts a 43.5-inch vertical. For reference, that’s faster than George Pickens, further than Derwin James, and higher than Davante Adams, respectively.
I tossed up a poll on social media asking Big Blue Nation if Styles’ ridiculous numbers were enough to sway their preference at No. 5 on draft night, and the results were pretty shocking. Of the 84 responses, 64 were in favor of Schoen turning in the card for the Ohio State stud:
How do #Giants fans feel about Sonny Styles' otherworldly combine numbers??
— GMEN HQ (@GMENHQ) February 27, 2026
Giants fans can only hope their much-maligned GM takes the most obvious hint on planet earth and goes out in Styles, but you never really know with the 46-year-old.
Giants fans are all but begging Joe Schoen to draft Sonny Styles
Styles might be as close to a real-life unicorn as Giants fans will ever see. His rare combination of generational athleticism and production makes him an incredibly interesting play with the fifth pick in the draft.
The linebacker room needs an overhaul. Bobby Okereke is expected to be cut to save $9 million in cap space, Micah McFadden is entering free agency, and Darius Muasau isn't capable of starter minutes. Styles could fix all of that.
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He checks every box for what this defense is about to become under new head coach John Harbaugh. He wore the green dot at Ohio State, so handling communication in the middle shouldn't be an issue. In a scheme that’s going to ask linebackers to blitz, drop, spy, and adjust on the fly, his background as a former safety shows up in all the right ways. Harbaugh has always had a difference-maker anchoring the middle -- Ray Lewis, C.J. Mosley, Patrick Queen, Roquan Smith. Styles could realistically be next in line and the centerpiece of Big Blue’s defense for the next decade-plus.
Off-ball linebackers rarely go in the top five, but Styles isn’t your typical linebacker. The talent is staring everyone in the face. If Schoen wants to kick the Harbaugh era off with a bang, he’d be wise to listen to the message Giants fans just sent him.