The Washington Commanders have their man—and they didn't even have to think twice about it.

When general manager Adam Peters stepped to the podium with the seventh overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, he expected former Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles to already be off the board. Instead, there he was, waiting like a gift the Commanders couldn't pass up. For Peters, it was the easiest decision of the night.

"Sonny checks all the boxes right away," Peters said. "In terms of the person, the football character, the intelligence—everything you would want off the field. Leadership? You talk to the guys at Ohio State, his coaches, his teammates—they all revere him as a person, as a young man."

It's not hard to see why. At 6-foot-5 and running a blistering 4.4-second 40-yard dash, Styles is the kind of modern NFL defender who makes offensive coordinators lose sleep. He's a sideline-to-sideline menace who can blitz, cover, and tackle with equal authority. "He makes the field smaller," Peters added. "For us, it was a pretty easy decision. We didn't have to think too hard when he was still there."

But the Commanders' interest in Styles didn't start on draft night. According to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, Peters' awareness of the Ohio State standout goes back four years, to when he was still an assistant general manager with the San Francisco 49ers. At an Ohio State game, one of his area scouts pointed to a young freshman safety on the field and simply said, "That's Sonny Styles," as if the name alone should have been enough.

It was. Styles had arrived at Ohio State at just 17 years old, having graduated high school a year early, and immediately stood out even among a roster stacked with blue-chip talent. He started at safety for two seasons before making the switch to linebacker for his final two campaigns, showing the kind of versatility that NFL teams covet. Peters took a mental note of the tall, lanky, big-framed defender that day—and never forgot it.

Now, Styles is set to bring that same alpha presence to Washington, where the Commanders believe they've found a cornerstone for their defense. For a team looking to build something special, he might just be the missing piece.