{"id":864742,"date":"2026-04-12T10:54:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T10:54:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/864742\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T10:54:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T10:54:22","slug":"sonny-styles-has-chance-to-be-42-year-giants-first-in-2026-nfl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/864742\/","title":{"rendered":"Sonny Styles has chance to be 42-year Giants first in 2026 NFL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eighth in an 11-part series. Coming tomorrow: cornerbacks.<\/p>\n

The Giants did something long ago then broke the mold for the next 42 years.<\/p>\n

They selected a pure linebacker, Carl Banks, with the No. 3 overall pick in the 1984 draft. He turned into a two-time Super Bowl champion, was heralded as a member of the league\u2019s 1980s All-Decade team, and his name appears in the franchise\u2019s Ring of Honor. Undeniably, a great pick.<\/p>\n

Since then? Nope. Nada. Zilch. Not one linebacker taken by the Giants in the first round, year after year, draft after draft.<\/p>\n

This would seem to be a badge of honor for Banks to wear proudly.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot really,\u2019\u2019 Banks told The Post. \u201cIt\u2019s noticeable when you look at the play for that position for years. It just wasn\u2019t a priority within the Giants defense. It\u2019s noticeable, the fact they haven\u2019t. I was the last one, and it\u2019s a long time since they\u2019ve had good linebacker play.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Here is where Banks pauses.<\/p>\n

Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Sonny Styles (0) pressures Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) during a football game. Adam Cairns\/Columbus Dispatch \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we can exclude Abdul Carter, because he\u2019s a linebacker, he\u2019s the first since me, in my opinion,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

Now hold on there. Carter is listed by the Giants as a defensive end, but in actuality he is an outside linebacker. Carter was the No. 3 overall pick in 2025, and that could lead to all sorts of comparisons with Banks. But Carter is really an edge rusher who occasionally lines up inside. That was not Banks. He and Carter played two different positions.<\/p>\n

No argument.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know exactly what you\u2019re saying,\u2019\u2019 Banks said. \u201cA guy that\u2019s a designated linebacker is coming out in this draft, a guy who lines up every down as a linebacker and is multi-faceted, but he\u2019s an every-down linebacker.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

That guy coming out in this draft is Sonny Styles, and he could be the first true linebacker taken by the Giants in the first round since Mr. Banks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would definitely advocate for them getting a guy like him,\u2019\u2019 Banks said.<\/p>\n

There are all sorts of \u201cpositional value\u2019\u2019 warnings about taking an off-ball linebacker so high in the draft. To wit: They are not on the field often enough to part with such valuable draft capital. They can be found in later rounds. You invest in edge rushers and cornerbacks, not inside linebackers.<\/p>\n

With the Giants, this discussion can go even further. They released Bobby Okereke and signed Tremaine Edmunds to a three-year, $36 million contract. <\/a>He is a proven eight-year veteran (Bills, Bears) with 900 career tackles, long (6-foot-4) and sturdy (251 pounds) and turns 28 on May 2. He will start, so why is linebacker a spot of need for the Giants?<\/p>\n

\u201cHere\u2019s the thing,\u2019\u2019 said Banks \u2014 the respected, say-what-he-believes, longtime Giants radio analyst. \u201cWe\u2019ve kind of been a microwave mindset with fans and even with some scout type people, everything is so tied to salary cap. Free agency, in my opinion, is now for now, the draft is now for later.<\/p>\n

Sonny Styles of the Ohio State Buckeyes participates in a drill during the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 26, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the reality of football, players get older, and you have an older player who\u2019s still very productive in Edmunds, but for how much longer and will you be looking to upgrade the position in two years? Well, you got it now if you draft Styles.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

There is also this: Styles and Edmunds will be able to play together, alongside each other. New defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson would unquestionably find a way to make that work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll just say this about the draft,\u2019\u2019 Wilson said, when asked directly about Styles. \u201cI like good players, period. I don\u2019t care where they\u2019re at. I\u2019m not going to say no to any good player.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

So here is the real key to all this: Is Styles worth the No. 5 pick?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter what pick I go, I do believe I can make a difference, whatever that role may look like,\u201d Styles said during an uber-impressive media session at the scouting combine. \u201cWhatever club I get to, figure out what my role is and just be a champion at that role.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

In four years at Ohio State, Styles played in 53 games, and he missed three tackles. Three. He was the man in the middle of a talent-laden Buckeyes defense, and his physical gifts are extraordinary. At 6-foot-4 and 244 pounds, he put on a show at the combine. He became the first player 230 pounds or heavier since 2003 to run a sub-4.5 40-yard dash, attain a vertical jump of 40-plus inches and a broad jump of 11-plus feet.<\/p>\n

He is more than a supreme athlete. Styles is a playmaker on the field, and a leader, modest and mature, off it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to show that I\u2019m aware of what I need to get better at,\u201d Styles said of meeting with NFL teams. \u201cI want to show them I\u2019m an intelligent football player, and I\u2019m not just a guy that\u2019s just out there running and hitting.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Giants linebacker Carl Banks (58) looks on during the NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers on December 20, 1986 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. AP<\/p>\n

Will Styles be John Harbaugh\u2019s first-ever draft pick with the Giants? Harbaugh has repeatedly demanded his 2026 defense must be able to stop the run \u2014 the 2025 Giants were 31st in the NFL in that department. Harbaugh was accustomed to stellar inside linebacker play from Ray Lewis, C.J. Mosley and Roquan Smith in his nearly two decades with the Ravens.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe inside linebacker isn\u2019t always considered a value position, but you can\u2019t stop the run without an inside linebacker making tackles in the middle, right?\u2019\u2019 Harbaugh said. \u201cYou can\u2019t do it. So that becomes pretty important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Banks sees another big plus when evaluating Styles. His defensive coordinator in 2025 was Matt Patricia, part of the Bill Belichick coaching tree that took root when Belichick was running a Giants defense that featured linebackers \u2014 Banks, Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson \u2014 in prominent roles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a big Matt Patricia fan, so I knew the way he coached [Styles] to be a complete linebacker,\u2019\u2019 Banks said. \u201cThat\u2019s why he is in my opinion the top guy at the position and probably a top five guy coming out, period, just because of his skill set.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

That is why Sonny Styles, 42 years later, could be the first of his kind for the Giants, since Carl Banks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Eighth in an 11-part series. Coming tomorrow: cornerbacks. The Giants did something long ago then broke the mold…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":864743,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[7,56,6,15,15729,69,9],"class_list":{"0":"post-864742","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-new-york-giants","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-nfl-draft","12":"tag-nfl-draft-2026","13":"tag-ohio-state-buckeyes","14":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116391369967653983","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864742","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=864742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864742\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/864743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=864742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=864742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=864742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}