Joe Marino· Apr 7, 2026
Marino said Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles might be the best player in the class and would not be surprised if he were selected inside the top five as an off-ball linebacker.
“I will not blink if he winds up being a top five selection as an off ball linebacker.”
said on air, transcribed by us · Locked On Bills (podcast) · read the original →
One checkable claim, graded on its own against what actually happened.
The call scored 91.7 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess at the same calls.
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1 checkable claim in this take
Each one is scored on its own against the published methodology. A pundit naming several outcomes is graded on each, not on all-or-nothing.
- Mock Draft PicksSonny StylesApr 7, 2026
Sonny Styles to be picked “top five selection” (picks 1–5)
“This is as good a linebacker as we've seen in a long time that I will not blink if he winds up being a top five selection as an off ball linebacker.”
Hit · 92Scored 91.7a naive guess scored 50How this was scored
- draft:
- 2026
- naive:
- a shuffled mock scores 50
- player:
- Sonny Styles
- season:
- 2026
- zero at:
- 32
- accuracy:
- 91.7
- baseline:
- 50
- actual pick:
- 7
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- pick accuracy:
- 91.7
- predicted pick:
- top five selection (picks 1–5)
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- mock ordering score:
- only one pick — no order to score
What others said about the same people
- Philip HughesRoster Spot Calls · Sonny StylesHit · 100Hughes projects Washington's initial 53-man roster ahead of the final preseason game, naming every player he expects to make the team by position group, and slots Athan Kaliakmanis as the No. 3 quarterback behind Jayden Daniels and Marcus Mariota.
- Chris BrockmanMock Draft Picks · Sonny StylesHit · 100Brockman argued four Ohio State players will be taken in the top 10, that Fernando Mendoza will be the first QB off the board and top Tom Brady's 2001 statistical line as a rookie, that Jeremiah Love will beat Ashton Jeanty's rookie production, that tight ends Kenyan Sadiq and Eli Stowers both go top 20, that Ty Simpson is the second QB drafted in round one and starts Week 1, that Jimmy Garoppolo gets the Cardinals over .500, and that Mike Evans leaves Tampa for a contender and goes further in the playoffs than the Bucs.
- Rich EisenMock Draft Picks · Sonny StylesHit · 100Eisen endorsed four Ohio State players going in the top 10 (with Arvel Reese no lower than seventh), listed Mendoza, Jeremiah Love, Miami's left tackle, Penn State's interior guard and Bailey as top-10 picks, said Love won't get out of the top five, and agreed Mendoza's rookie numbers would beat Brady's 2001 line and that Mike Evans will leave Tampa to chase a ring.
- Dylan SandersMock Draft Picks · Sonny StylesHit · 100Hosting a live 2026 first-round reaction show, Sanders said Fernando Mendoza going No. 1 overall to the Raiders was the heavily expected outcome, and before the Commanders' pick was announced he insisted it had to be Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles at No. 7.
- Lance MooreMock Draft Picks · Sonny StylesHit · 100Lance Moore agreed the Commanders had to take Sonny Styles at No. 7, later declared the Giants would definitely take Caleb Downs at No. 10, and said Downs has perennial All-Pro potential.
- Danny ParkinsMock Draft Picks · Sonny StylesHit · 92Danny Parkins presented his one-and-only 2026 mock draft, including trades: Mendoza at 1 to the Raiders, David Bailey second to the Jets, the Cowboys trading up to No. 3 for Arvell Reese, the Bears trading up to 16 for Kadyn Proctor, and Ty Simpson going to Arizona at 32 at the end of round one.
More mock draft picks
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
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- Peter BukowskiMock Draft Picks · Gennings DunkerHit · 100Bukowski breaks down Iowa offensive lineman Jennings Dunker as a Packers fit and puts a late second-/early third-round grade on him, noting that range overlaps where Green Bay picks.
- David HarrisonMock Draft Picks · Eli HeidenreichHit · 100Harrison delivers his only first-round mock draft for the 2026 NFL Draft, projecting all 32 first-round picks (including several trades) plus the rest of Washington's projected class, while noting it is an exercise in what could happen rather than a firm forecast.
- Brian PeacockMock Draft Picks · Bud ClarkHit · 96In his final 2026 mock draft for the 49ers, Peacock projects San Francisco taking WR Kevin Concepcion (KC) at pick 27, then after trading out of round two, edge rusher Kieron Crawford and safety Bud Clark in round three, OL Trey Zune and RB Jonah Coleman in round four, CB Charles Demings in round five and guard Caden Barnett in round six. He also thinks Omar Cooper comes off the board before Concepcion.
- David HarrisonMock Draft Picks · Riley NowakowskiMiss · 13In his final mock draft Monday, Harrison has the Commanders trading back twice and selecting eight players: safety Dylan Thieneman at 16, WR Denzel Boston at 33, RB Mike Washington Jr. at 83, C Jagger Burton at 132, CB Julian Neal at 147, QB Cade Klubnik at 187, DB Lorenzo Styles Jr. at 209 and TE Riley Nowakowski in the seventh round.