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WAIT AND CE<\/p>\n
ESPN to make changes to NFL broadcast booth as ‘dark horse’ candidate emerges<\/p>\n
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Mayock believes not only that Styles is better than Reese and Downs, but that he \u201cis the future of off-the-ball linebackers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I had to pick one out of the three, it would be Styles because of demonstrated ability to play the position he\u2019s going to play, and significant upside,\u201d Mayock said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis kid is the future of off-the-ball linebackers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Styles\u2019 physique is something that continues to amaze Mayock. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was talking to an NFL defensive coordinator the other day, and he said, \u2018Mike, have you stood next to this kid?’\u201d Mayock said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s 6\u20195\u201d, he\u2019s 245 pounds, he\u2019s cut up, and you watch him move \u2013 he\u2019s a freaky mover.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis kid is so impressive as a kid and an athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n
Styles participating in a drill at the scouting combineCredit: Reuters<\/p>\n
The football tape of Styles has evolved in his three years at Ohio State, according to Mayock.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Styles\u2019 first year [of tape] I watched, he was a boundary safety in a dime. Last year, they moved him to off-the-ball linebacker, and there was some hesitancy about when to come downhill, how to disengage, play action,\u201d Mayock said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou saw a lot of good things, but you didn\u2019t see a dominant player.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou saw a kid learning how to play the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Styles tackles Notre Dame\u2019s Riley Leonard in the 2025 CFP national championship gameCredit: Reuters<\/p>\n
Fast forward to the 2025 season, and Styles showcased his speed, tackling ability, and versatility.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year, I threw on the tape, and I was shocked. It was so good, and so much fun to watch,\u201d Mayock said. \u201cThere\u2019s no hesitancy anymore. He\u2019s now a grown man.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe comes downhill, he can disengage with heavy hands, he\u2019s great in the pass game, he\u2019s really good in the run game.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the cool thing is he\u2019s such a good athlete, you could use him in your sub package as a joker.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe could stand up in the A-gap and blitz. You could put him on the edge. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou can move him all around the front. He can play zone, he can play man as a former safety.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like Downs, Styles does play a non-premium position.<\/p>\n
But Styles\u2019 potential and wide-ranging abilities make him arguably the cleanest of these Ohio State prospects.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I think he\u2019s got all the upside in the world, plus a high floor because I\u2019ve seen him do the things they\u2019re going to ask him to do,\u201d Mayock said.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Sun has predicted Styles to land with the\u00a0New York\u00a0Giants<\/a>, who sit with the No. 5 pick.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORMER Las Vegas Raiders general manager Mike Mayock believes one Ohio State draft prospect stands out from the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":856253,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2065],"tags":[7,1744,393,2455,2454,6,15,60,525],"class_list":{"0":"post-856252","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-las-vegas-raiders","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-las-vegas","10":"tag-las-vegas-raiders","11":"tag-lasvegas","12":"tag-lasvegasraiders","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-nfl-draft","15":"tag-ohio-state-buckeyes-football","16":"tag-raiders"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116355653034826570","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856252","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=856252"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856252\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/856253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=856252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=856252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=856252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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