Another Ohio State defensive player was draft. And another member of the Styles family.
With pick No. 172 in round five, the Saints selected defensive back Lorenzo Styles Jr. He’s the brother of Commanders linebacker Sonny Styles.
Sonny was picked seventh overall by the Commanders.
Lorenzo Jr., who spent two years at Notre Dame before transferring to Ohio State in 2023, is the older of the two, at 23. Sonny is 21.
Their father, Lorenzo, split the difference as a third-round pick (77th overall) in 1995. He spent two years with the Falcons and three with the Rams. In St. Louis, Lorenzo Sr. was a member of the Super Bowl XXXIV championship team.
The Commanders went from a run to the NFC Championship Game in to a 5-12 record in 2025 and they used the seventh overall pick on a player they hope can help them turn things back around.
Linebacker Sonny Styles is that choice. Styles became the third Ohio State product to go in the last four picks as his college teammates Carnell Tate and Arvell Reese went at No. 4 and No. 5.
It’s the first time that the school has had three of the first seven picks in a draft.
Styles was a star at the Scouting Combine by running the fastest 40, highest vertical leap and longest broad jump of any linebacker in the draft class. That came after Styles spent three years as a starter for the Buckeyes and led the team in tackles during his final collegiate season.
The Commanders do not have a second-round pick, so their next scheduled selection is at No. 71.
Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach said this week that he expects a lot of trades in the first round of next week’s draft, but any dealing may not include the Commanders.
Washington has the No. 7 pick and their GM Adam Peters discussed the possibility of making a deal that would change that spot during his own press conference on Thursday. Peters said he believes there are a number of defensive players that “can help impact us in a real positive way” and that he expects to be selecting someone rather than making a trade in any direction.
“I would say more likely than not that would happen,” Peters said, via the team’s website. “You never know. It’ll depend on who’s on the board.”
One reason to make a trade down would be to add to the six picks that the Commanders currently have at their disposal, but adding a high-end player with an early pick is the one silver lining of a rough season and it sounds like that may be too tempting for Peters to pass up.
The NFL has announced the names of the current and former players that will take part in next week’s draft by announcing second-round picks.
The list includes players associated with all 32 teams, including Cardinals running back James Conner. Conner has strong ties to the Pittsburgh area after playing for the Steelers and attending Pitt, which likely made him an easy choice as the Cardinals’ representative.
Former Bears tackle Jimbo Covert, former Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett, former Chiefs defensive lineman Bill Maas, current Vikings tackle Brian O’Neill, former Jets running back Curtis Martin, and former 49ers punter Andy Lee are other Pitt alums who are set to take part.
The hometown team will be represented by four players. Former Steelers Jerome Bettis and John Stallworth will be joined by Joey Porter Sr. and Jr. next Friday.
The other players taking part and their team affiliations appear below:
Falcons: Michael Turner
Ravens: Mark Ingram
Bills: Shane Conlan
Panthers: Jake Delhomme
Bengals: Ken Anderson
Browns: Phil Dawson
Cowboys: Drew Pearson
Broncos: T.J. Ward
Lions: Calvin Johnson
Packers: John Kuhn
Texans: Billy Miller
Colts: Pat McAfee
Jaguars: Paul Posluszny
Raiders: Matt Millen
Chargers: Shawne Merriman
Rams: Tavon Austin
Dolphins: Dwight Stephenson
Patriots: Deion Branch
Saints: Marques Colston
Giants: Osi Umenyiora
Eagles: Brian Westbrook
Seahawks: Cliff Avril
Buccaneers: Ronde Barber
Titans: Jeffery Simmons
Commanders: Mark Rypien
The Commanders unveiled new uniforms that evoke the franchise’s history on Wednesday.
The team’s primary uniforms will feature burgundy and white jerseys that harken back to what the team wore while winning three Super Bowls under Joe Gibbs in the 1980s and 1990s. Both of those jerseys can be paired with gold, burgundy or white pants. The “Super Bowl era” look came back as an alternate uniform last year.
An all-black alternate look was also revealed. The new set of uniforms comes with a black helmet that features a spear running through the “W” logo of the regular helmets. The franchise had a helmet with a spear on it from 1965-1968.
“The spear is just such a great device,” team president Mark Clouse said, via John Keim of ESPN.com. “That was part [of] the heritage of the team and also can live in this ecosystem that we’ve been building around defining a Commander.”
Clouse added that the team knows some fans will be “looking for a full reversal” to uniforms of the past, but said that’s not the path the franchise will follow as they work “to bring back the celebration and integration of our heritage while continuing to move forward to build the Commander brand.”
