Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles arrived in Indianapolis as a projected top-10 pick, then vaulted even higher than that billing. With a staggering 43.5-inch vertical, a blazing 4.46-second 40-yard dash and explosive broad-jump numbers, the 6-foot-5, 244-pound defender turned the NFL combine into a personal showcase of rare athletic traits.
He did more than post big testing numbers; he gave teams a live-action look at what a modern space linebacker can be. The performance instantly reset expectations for his draft range and raised the question of which franchise will be willing to build a defense around his blend of size, speed and versatility.
Measurements that rewrote the linebacker template
Scouts already viewed Sonny Styles as one of the most gifted athletes in this draft class, but his testing confirmed that reputation in hard numbers. At the NFL Scouting Combine in INDIANAPOLIS, the Ohio State standout recorded a 43.5-inch vertical jump that ranked among the best of any player who worked out with him, a figure that instantly became the headline measurement of his day and validated the buzz around his profile as a projected top-10 pick for the NFL. That leap, logged at 6-foot-5 and 244 pounds, is the kind of result usually associated with smaller wide receivers or cornerbacks, not a linebacker with his frame, and it immediately pushed evaluators to revisit their athletic comps for him based on the verified INDIANAPOLIS numbers.
The vertical was only the start. Styles also clocked a 4.46-second time in the 40-yard dash and paired it with an 11-feet, 2 inches broad jump, a combination that placed him among the very best testers at any position and highlighted his ability to cover ground in a hurry. Taken together with the 43.5-inch leap, those results painted a picture of a linebacker who can explode out of his stance, redirect in space and close on ball carriers or passing lanes with unusual range, which is why multiple draft analysts already had him slotted in the top 12 even before the workout and now see his athletic profile as a central part of early first round projections.
How Styles stacked up against the linebacker field
Within the linebacker group, Styles did not just hold his own, he separated from the pack. Official combine data cited his 4.46 time in the 40 as the fastest among linebackers, with Kaleb Elarms-Orr next at 4.47, which placed Styles at the top of the list of Top Performers in the Fastest 40 category and reinforced the idea that his straight-line speed is elite even by defensive back standards. When a player that big runs away from peers like Kaleb Elarms-Orr and other highly regarded prospects, it changes how coordinators picture their sub-packages, because a defense can keep more size on the field without sacrificing the ability to match slot receivers or chase down perimeter runs, a dynamic that showed up clearly in the published Broad jump and.
Advanced breakdowns of the linebacker group also highlighted how thoroughly Styles checked every testing box. Measurement tables that compared each Measurement and Drill across the top prospects listed Sonny Styles of Ohio as a standout in multiple categories, not just one splash metric, which matters to teams that want confirmation of all-around athleticism rather than a single outlier number. Those same evaluations noted that he already carried the resume of a first team performer at Ohio State, then layered on combine testing that matched the explosiveness usually reserved for smaller offensive stars, a combination that led evaluators to slot him at or near the top of their linebacker grades in the detailed Measurements and grades.
The “perfect modern defender” blueprint
Beyond the raw numbers, Styles drew attention because his athletic traits map directly onto what NFL defenses now require from second level players. Video clips and social breakdowns from the 2026 NFL Combin framed Sonny Styles as a template for the perfect modern defender, pointing to his ability to bend, open his hips and carry vertical routes in coverage while still filling downhill like a traditional linebacker. That kind of movement profile, when attached to a 6-foot-5 frame with a 43.5-inch vertical, gives coordinators the flexibility to treat him as a tight end eraser, a spy on mobile quarterbacks and a blitzer who can convert speed to power, all within the same game plan, a versatility that was repeatedly highlighted in reactions to his NFL Combin workout.
That versatility also reflects broader trends in how the league defends spread offenses. Teams increasingly search for defenders who can survive on an island against slot receivers, carry running backs on wheel routes and still hold up against gap schemes in the run game, which is why Styles’ testing drew such loud responses from evaluators who already saw him as a hybrid between a safety and a traditional linebacker. His ability to post a 4.46-second 40-yard dash while weighing 244 pounds, then pair it with a 1.56 split in the first 10 yards and a 43.5-inch vertical, suggests the kind of short-area burst and long speed that can shrink throwing windows and close on option plays before they develop, traits that are central to the “positionless” label that so many observers attached to his performance after watching the official combine results.
Production, pedigree and rising draft stock
Combine testing can sometimes inflate the profile of a player without a strong college resume, but that is not the case with Ohio State LB Sonny Styles. Earlier this year he entered the process with the background of a 2025 first team All-American at Ohio State, where he recorded 82 total tackles, 46 solo stops, 6.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception and 3 pass breakups, numbers that already showed a defender who could impact the game at every level. That production came while he was still only 21 years old, which means NFL teams are projecting further physical and technical growth on top of the athlete who just put up a 4.46 forty-yard dash, a 43.5-inch vertical and an 11 feet 2 inches broad jump in front of decision makers, a package that social accounts described as an INSANE all-around combine showing for Ohio State LB.
His background also carries NFL bloodlines, since he is the son of former NFL linebacker Lorenzo Styles Sr, which gives teams confidence that he understands the demands of the league and the preparation required to handle a featured role. Analysts who already viewed him as a probable top 12 selection before the combine now describe his workout as the kind of performance that can elevate his already substantial stock, especially for clubs drafting in the top 10 that need an immediate defensive centerpiece. That context, combined with the historical framing that Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles made history on the first day of workouts at the NFL Scouting Combine and that Simply no one else at his size has matched his blend of explosiveness and speed in this cycle, has led some evaluators to suggest that his floor might now rest in the upper third of the first round as teams weigh how to prioritize an electrifying defensive prospect.
