Sonny Styles Has Already Become the Washington Commanders' Most Valuable Defender

The Washington Commanders were beyond ecstatic when they were able to select LB Sonny Styles with the seventh overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, and the defense has already reaped the rewards. 

Improving the defense was a major need this offseason, and there’s a strong argument that Styles is already the Commanders’ most valuable defender on the field. Every game this season, Styles has made game-changing plays, and Thursday’s win over the Giants was the most notable. 

It wasn’t pretty, but the Commanders beat the Giants on the road on a short week to save the season, and they had to overcome adversity to do so. The game seemed like it was over not once, but twice after QB Jayden Daniels threw back-to-back interceptions, but Styles had other plans.

The Giants took over at the Washington 46 with 2:15 left after Daniels’ second interception, with a chance to ice the game. After two straight run plays, the Giants had a critical third-and-three with two minutes left and decided to call a designed QB run to the left, and Styles read it out before the ball was even snapped. 

Before the play, Styles got on the line of scrimmage and even told safety Nick Cross to get on the right side of the line for the run. J.J. McCarthy took the snap, ran to the left, and was immediately met by Styles for a loss of two yards, which pushed them out of field goal range and forced a punt.

The Commanders got the ball back, which led to Jayden Daniels finding WR Stefon Diggs for a touchdown to take the lead with 57 seconds left. The game wasn’t finished, however, and neither was Styles.

The Giants had one more chance to win the game down by just three points, and they were in Washington territory after a 21-yard throw to Malachi Fields. The Commanders’ defense needed to make a play, and Styles called his own number with a blitz up the middle to put pressure on McCarthy.

Styles ended up hitting McCarthy in the arm as he went for a deep pass to Malik Nabers, and the throw ended up turning into a lob that CB Rasul Douglas intercepted to end the game. It’s very unlikely the Commanders win this game if Styles doesn’t make those two plays in critical moments, and that’s just a sample of his rookie season so far.

This season’s DROY award should be a tight race, but Styles has a strong resume already. His game-changing plays won’t show up on the stat sheet, but his stats are just as impressive. Styles already has 80 tackles this season, which is the 7th most for a LB in the entire NFL.

He also has an interception, a forced fumble, and three pass breakups through nine games, and it's reasonable to believe that more are on the way. Styles is also a vocal leader who flashes his IQ and awareness on the field to put his team in a position to succeed. 

The Commanders clearly made the right selection when they drafted Styles, and now they need to continue to build around him as a foundational piece of the roster while he makes plays every week.