Sonny Styles named ideal prospect-team fit for New York Giants

The 2026 NFL draft class is filled with players who can help the New York Giants get back on the winning track. But some are better fits than others.

The Next Gen Stats Analytics Team at NFL.com believes the player that fits the Giants best in this class is Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles.

Styles' stellar college career at Ohio State and superhuman combine performance earned him an NGS overall draft score of 95, trailing only Jeremiyah Love's 96 in this class. No inside linebacker has been selected in the top five since 2019 (Devin White), but Styles might be too tantalizing for John Harbaugh's Giants to pass on. Harbaugh's best defenses have relied on outstanding linebackers such as Ray Lewis, C.J. Mosley and Roquan Smith. This former safety is at his best in coverage, but he is also a run-game wrecker with outstanding instincts for shedding blocks. A duo of Styles and Tremaine Edmunds manning the middle of the field could spark a turnaround for a defense that allowed +494 rushing yards over expected in 2025, the worst mark in the league.

The Giants had the worst rushing defense in the NFL in 2025, and that is something Harbaugh and his defensive coordinator, Dennard Wilson, intend to fix this spring and summer. Adding Styles will go a long way in helping them do that.

Of course, the Giants are hoping to keep All-Pro nose tackle Dexter Lawrence, who requested a trade this week, in the fold. Lawrence up front would keep the second level clean in the run game.

This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Sonny Styles named ideal prospect-team fit for New York Giants