{"id":793343,"date":"2026-03-05T08:38:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T08:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/793343\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T08:38:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T08:38:10","slug":"new-mock-draft-sends-sonny-styles-to-commanders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/793343\/","title":{"rendered":"New mock draft sends Sonny Styles to Commanders"},"content":{"rendered":"

March 5, 2026, 3:15 a.m. ET<\/p>\n

The Washington Commanders<\/a> need to improve on defense in 2026.<\/p>\n

The team replaced defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. with Daronte Jones, and there will undoubtedly be plenty of roster turnover as well. Cornerback Marshon Lattimore will be released soon<\/a>, and veterans like Bobby Wagner and Von Miller are headed for free agency.<\/p>\n

As a result, most mock drafts have the Commanders<\/a> selecting a defender with the No. 7 pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Luckily, this draft is loaded with talented defenders at the top, so the Commanders should have plenty of options.<\/p>\n

One player who has frequently been mocked<\/a> to the team is Ohio State star linebacker Sonny Styles. Styles is a true field general on defense who can cover, is a sure tackle, and can even rush the passer.<\/p>\n

FOX Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano<\/a> recently published a mock with the Commanders adding Styles. Regarding that pick, Vacchiano offered the following:<\/p>\n

Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.<\/a><\/p>\n

With Bobby Wagner turning 36 and likely headed elsewhere, the Commanders need a replacement in the middle of their defense. Styles, the star of the combine, is the perfect fit. He\u2019s a former safety who is an expert at reading offenses and getting into position. He is strong in coverage and can attack as a pass rusher, with great sideline-to-sideline speed.. He can do it all, which makes him the ideal defender to build around as the Commanders try to fix their broken defense.<\/p>\n

As Vacchiano mentioned, the Commanders desperately need a Bobby Wagner replacement in the middle of the defense. Getting younger and faster must be a priority, and Styles helps accomplish both things.<\/p>\n

In 2025, the linebacker racked up 82 tackles, 6.5 tackles, one sack, and one interception. The defender never misses a tackle and was also a key part of the 2024 Ohio State team that won the championship. In that season, Styles ended with 100 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, and six sacks.<\/p>\n

It’s exciting to imagine a player like Styles in this new defensive scheme. If the team also makes some notable additions in free agency, this defense could once again become a strength of the team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"March 5, 2026, 3:15 a.m. ET The Washington Commanders need to improve on defense in 2026. The team…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":793344,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[95878,7,6,15,95993,95994,97116,95882,95930,96000,96027,95888,96683,95895,96215,95906,95883,95995,96006,95881],"class_list":["post-793343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl-draft","tag-accessfree","tag-football","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-draft","tag-sstssportsnflcommanders","tag-sstsncommanders","tag-tag2026-nfl-draft","tag-tagamerican-football","tag-tagbig-ten-conference-football","tag-tagbobby-wagner","tag-tagcollege-sports","tag-tagnfl","tag-tagnfl-draft","tag-tagnfl-hub","tag-tagohio-state-buckeyes-football","tag-tagoverall-positive","tag-tagsports-news","tag-tagvon-miller","tag-tagwashington-commanders","tag-typestory"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116175667558560175","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=793343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793343\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/793344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=793343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=793343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=793343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}