NFL Media’s Mike Band is the latest to join the growing train of analysts calling on the New York Giants to use the No. 5 pick on Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles in next month’s NFL draft.
In his latest mock draft, Band proposed that the Giants add Styles, an All-American who played a pivotal role in the Buckeyes’ last two College Football Playoff runs. Styles totaled 82 tackles, including 6 1/2 for a loss, and an interception in 14 games this past season, cementing his place as a likely top-10 pick.
Band noted that first-year Giants head coach John Harbaugh, who held the same position in Baltimore for nearly two decades, has an extensive history with impact middle linebackers. Harbaugh coached Ray Lewis from 2008-12 and, more recently, watched Roquan Smith earn three consecutive first-team All-Pro nods.
“Styles gives the Giants a franchise-defining playmaker whose size, range and physicality fit the mold Harbaugh has long valued in the middle of his defense,” Band wrote, “while still aligning with GM Joe Schoen’s history of betting on elite athletes with elite production.”
Styles was the first traditional linebacker off the board in Band’s mock, following Ohio State linebacker/edge rusher Arvell Reese (No. 2 to the Jets) and Texas Tech edge David Bailey (No. 4 to the Titans). No linebacker has been selected within the top 10 since the Arizona Cardinals drafted Clemson’s Isaiah Simmons No. 8 in 2020.
Sonny Styles makes perfect sense for the Giants at No. 5
The Giants have no shortage of holes on their roster, which you’d rightfully assume would be the case for a franchise that is 13-38 since the start of 2023. Styles would join a Giants team desperately seeking a dominant middle linebacker to pair with dynamic edge rusher Brian Burns and perennial Pro Bowl defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence, who hopes to bounce back from a frustrating 2025 season.
Styles, who began his Buckeyes career as a safety before moving to linebacker, ran a 4.46 40-yard dash at the combine. He flashed an excellent balance of speed and strength following the position change, two talents that should immediately appeal to the G-Men.
If the Giants do not take Styles and instead prefer to select a middle linebacker on the draft’s second day, potential options could include Texas Tech’s Jacob Rodriguez, ex-Texas Longhorns standout Anthony Hill Jr., or Georgia’s CJ Allen. Barring a trade, the Giants’ only Day 2 pick is No. 37, early in the second round.
The Giants have not used a first-round pick on an Ohio State player since Eli Apple in 2016. Coincidentally, that is also the last time the Giants drafted an Ohio State player in general.