Styles said Thursday he has a lot of work to do to get to Hamilton’s level.
“It was just funny. All that texting stuff, it’s all great and cool, but what matters is what you do on the field,” he said. “He’s put a lot on the field, so I got a lot of catching up to do.”
The versatility Styles brings is something NFL clubs desire in the modern game. Players like Hamilton or Nick Emmanwori in Seattle can completely change how defenses play. The more positions a player can excel in, the more it allows coordinators to be more creative with their coverages and pressures.
Styles said that going from safety to linebacker will help him at the NFL level, as he has a different perspective and experience to draw from.
“Playing safety, I think that helped me understand the totality of a defense,” he said. “I played free safety, strong safety, (and) nickel my first two years, and being able to see the game from that lens and then now take that and move to linebacker, I think it helped me see the entire picture versus only seeing part of it.”
It’s not often an off-ball linebacker is viewed as a top-five pick, but Styles’ versatility could land him there next month.