Sonny Styles delivered a Combine performance the NFL hasn’t seen in over 20 years
The first day of workouts at the 2026 NFL Combine is in the books, and Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles owned the event with stunning numbers.
Already entering the week as a projected top-10 pick, Sonny Styles didn’t need to do much in Indianapolis. And yet, he may have just forced himself into the top five.
The 6′5″, 244-pound linebacker out of Ohio State Buckeyes football delivered one of the most explosive size-adjusted workouts in modern combine history Thursday night at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Sonny Styles’ historic athletic profile
Styles ran an official 4.46-second 40-yard dash, tying teammate Arvell Reese for the fastest among linebackers and defensive linemen on Day 1. That alone would have turned heads. But then came the jumps: a 43.5-inch vertical and 11-foot-2 broad jump
According to NFL Research, Styles is the only player since at least 2003 to hit all three of these marks at 230+ pounds:
- Sub-4.5 40-yard dash
- 40+ inch vertical
- 11+ foot broad jump
Players his size simply are not supposed to move like that. His vertical was the highest by any player 6-foot-4 or taller and 240+ pounds at the combine in over two decades.
At 6′5″ with nearly 33-inch arms, Styles already had prototype measurables. But the fluidity in on-field drills could pove just as important as the raw testing. He moved comfortably in space, flipped his hips smoothly and showed natural ball skills, traits that fuel comparisons to players like Fred Warner and even Kyle Hamilton in terms of positional versatility. Hamilton himself even reacted on social media during the workout, calling Styles “1 of 1.”
Styles entered combine week already ranked inside the top five on multiple draft boards, including NFL.com analyst Daniel Jeremiah’s latest rankings. But what he did Thursday eliminates projection. There’s no longer a “ceiling” argument or a “traits vs tape” debate. The production is there (82 tackles, 6.5 for loss last season). And now the athletic testing is historically validated.
Every year, a player leaves Indianapolis having changed his draft trajectory. Sometimes it’s about rising from Day 2 into Round 1. Sometimes it’s about solidifying a mid-round grade. And sometimes, rarely, it’s about confirming that a prospect is simply different. Thursday night felt like that kind of moment.
If the first day of the 2026 NFL Combine belonged to anyone, it belonged to Sonny Styles. And after a performance like that, teams picking early in April might not have much of a decision left to make.
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