ASHBURN, VA. — The Washington Commanders are tearing down the walls of their defense. The Joe Whitt Jr. era is officially over, and new defensive coordinator Daronte Jones has stepped into the building with a mandate to get younger, faster, and meaner. The clock is ticking toward the 2026 NFL Draft, and the front office holds the keys to a massive rebuild with the No. 7 overall pick.
General Manager Adam Peters isn’t waiting around. The recent decision to release veteran cornerback Marshon Lattimore clears a staggering $18.5 million in cap space. Meanwhile, legendary middle linebacker Bobby Wagner is turning 36 and headed for free agency, and edge rusher Von Miller is looking for his next stop. The message out of Washington is loud and clear: out with the old, in with the explosive.
Washington desperately needs a middle linebacker who can command the field. Enter Sonny Styles. The Ohio State hybrid defender destroyed the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis last week, running a blistering 4.46-second 40-yard dash and posting a 43.5-inch vertical leap. He didn’t just test well; he put the entire league on notice.
You could almost feel the tension in the air at Lucas Oil Stadium when Styles stepped to the line for his sprint. The cavernous building went dead silent, and then a collective murmur echoed through the stands as the unofficial clock flashed his time. A 244-pound man simply shouldn’t move that fast.
Styles is coming off a monster 2025 campaign where he racked up 82 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, a sack, and an interception. That followed his legendary 2024 championship season, where he buried offenses with 100 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, and six sacks. He doesn’t just tackle ball carriers; he stops their momentum dead in the turf.
Fans in Columbus knew they were watching something special over the last two years. His personal journey—shifting from safety to linebacker for the betterment of the team—speaks volumes about his character. He embraced the dirty work in the trenches, trading deep-third coverage glory for brutal, bone-rattling collisions in the A-gap. That unselfishness is exactly what Daronte Jones wants in his locker room.
“With Bobby Wagner turning 36 and likely headed elsewhere, the Commanders need a replacement in the middle of their defense. Styles, the star of the combine, is the perfect fit. He’s a former safety who is an expert at reading offenses and getting into position. He is strong in coverage and can attack as a pass rusher, with great sideline-to-sideline speed. He can do it all, which makes him the ideal defender to build around as the Commanders try to fix their broken defense.”
— Ralph Vacchiano, FOX Sports
Drafting Styles at No. 7 gives Jones the ultimate chess piece for his scheme. During his time building top-tier secondaries in Minnesota, Jones relied heavily on versatile defenders who could disguise coverages and blitz from unexpected angles. Styles brings exactly that dynamic. If the offense thinks he is dropping into a zone, he can easily flip his hips and track a tight end up the seam. If they expect coverage, he can shoot the gap and blow up a run play before it develops.
Washington’s defense was an undeniable liability last season, allowing opponents to dictate the tempo. Rebuilding the core starts inside. With Lattimore’s contract off the books, the Commanders have over $80 million in projected cap space. They can aggressively target veteran cornerbacks or edge rushers in free agency, allowing a rookie like Styles to step immediately into a leadership vacuum left by Wagner without the pressure of carrying the entire unit.
The draft kicks off in late April. If Peters and Jones want to set a physical, relentless tone for the 2026 season, writing Sonny Styles’ name on that draft card is the exact aggressive move this franchise needs.
