A Wednesday report indicated the Titans might be down to going wide receiver or edge rusher with the No. 4 overall pick. Jeremiyah Love may well be in play there, though he has been increasingly linked to the Cardinals at No. 3. Closing the door on Sonny Styles here may also be premature.
The Titans have considered Styles here, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, who adds the Commanders have also spent a lot of time with the Ohio State linebacker. Washington’s Styles visit came before his other reported “30” summits. The Commanders, however, sit three spots behind the Titans in the draft order.
If the Titans choose Styles at 4, it would mark the earliest an off-ball linebacker has come off the board since Aaron Curry went fourth overall to the Seahawks in 2009. Robert Saleh has certainly been tied to impressive linebacker play, having coached Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw, C.J. Mosley and Quincy Williams. The Jets never addressed this position before Round 5, however, during Saleh’s time as the team’s HC.
Tennessee has not made a surefire addition to its starting linebacker at the ILB spot this offseason, however. Returners Cody Barton and Cedric Gray remain in place, with ex-Browns contributor Mohamoud Diabate added on a one-year, $1.63MM deal. Still, this would be rather early to take an off-ball LB. As our Adam La Rose noted in his most recent mailbag, Styles’ versatility and presence as a blitzer have helped him vault to this spot as a likely top-eight pick. And he would fill a need in Tennessee, where NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah has him going in his final mock.
Another gameplan here would be either taking Love — which ESPN’s Matt Miller has them doing — and addressing the ILB spot on Day 2. That would help the Commanders, though the Giants have been linked to Styles at multiple points at No. 5. Washington, which has been closely tied to going defense at No. 7, has not re-signed Bobby Wagner; though, the team did sign ex-Chief Leo Chenal (three years, $24MM) last month. The Cowboys have been tied to Styles in a trade-up move, however, and Cleveland has been regularly linked to moving down from No. 6. Ely Allen’s PFR mock has Styles heading to Washington at 7.