It’s nothing more than a pipe dream for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to land Sonny Styles in the 2026 NFL Draft, but a recent report seems to indicate that if the Bucs want him badly enough, they might be able to get him.
Todd McShay is one of the most well connected insiders when it comes to the NFL Draft. He recently predicted on his program, The McShay Show, that Styles will be drafted by the Washington Commanders at No. 7 overall.
“I think Sonny Styles probably is the most likely to land there [Washington],” said McShay.
The consensus view has been that Styles will be selected within the top five, so it’s surprising to see him projected to fall to Washington.
This scenario raises an interesting question: If Styles starts to slip down the draft board and within the Buccaneers’ range, should they trade up to secure their linebacker of the future?
Buccaneers need to pull of a draft-day trade to steal Sonny Styles from Commanders
If Styles somehow falls out of the top five, the Buccaneers need to make the Browns an offer they can’t refuse to move up to No. 6 and jump the Commanders.
This maneuver wouldn’t come cheap for Tampa Bay. The difference between the No. 15 pick and the No. 6 pick is 550 value points, according to the NFL Draft Trade Value Chart. That is equivalent to the No. 35 pick in the NFL Draft. The Buccaneers would likely need to package their second round pick this year along with another Day 2 pick next year to get the Browns to pick up the phone.
A trade up of this magnitude would stray far from Jason Licht’s typical draft strategy, but Sonny Styles isn’t your typical prospect.
He’s a once-in-a-generation athlete with the tape and production to match. Styles measured in at 6-foot-5, 245 pounds and ran a 4.46 40-yard dash (99th percentile). His 11’2” broad jump was fourth all-time among linebackers and his 43.5” vertical jump was the best ever for a linebacker that is 6-foot-4 or taller. This all combined for a Relative Athletic Score that ranks fourth all-time out of 3,460 qualifying linebacker prospects.
Sonny Styles is a LB prospect in the 2026 draft class. He scored a 9.99 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 4 out of 3460 LB from 1987 to 2026.https://t.co/Ir085MXpgu pic.twitter.com/YhBk1fecvv
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) April 6, 2026
But Styles isn’t just a workout warrior; far from it in fact. He recorded 244 combined tackles during his college career including 22.5 tackles for loss. He also recorded nine sacks and an interception.
Pro Football Focus gave him an elite 88.0 overall grade for the 2025 season, and his 87.4 coverage grade ranked 14th out of 809 linebackers. Perhaps the most impressive stat is that Styles finished the 2025 season with only a 2.2% missed tackle rate, making him the most sure tackler in this draft class.
Everything about Styles screams generational, and he is destined for NFL stardom, wherever he lands. It would take a lot for Tampa Bay to move up to land him, but when trying to replace a linebacker the caliber of Lavonte David, sometimes it's worth swinging for the fences.