The Washington Commanders are wasting no time putting Sonny Styles in the middle of things.
Drafted No. 7 overall for his size, athleticism, and versatility, Styles is now being asked to do more than just run and hit. Dan Quinn said Wednesday that the rookie linebacker and veteran Frankie Luvu will both help make defensive calls this season, giving Washington a shared approach to the green dot duties.
At the start of camp, Quinn said the team was still sorting out how that responsibility would look. “The first thing I would say, it’s on the field who’s going to play the most in the packages.
Sonny’s more than capable of doing that. Frankie as well.
We’ve done it at safety before in the past, but I anticipate it’ll likely come from the linebacker group. But it’ll even be in the preseason games, honestly, to see who we feel best with.
But nothing that has to be decided anytime soon.”
A little over a month later, the picture is clearer: both Styles and Luvu are expected to share the communication load depending on the package.
That matters because the green-dot role is about more than just hearing the call from Daronte Jones. The player wearing it has to get the defense lined up fast, pass along the information cleanly, and handle the adjustments when the offense shifts the look before the snap. In a defense built on disguise, changing fronts, and constant pre-snap movement, that kind of command is a big deal.
Quinn has kept pointing back to Styles’ growth in that area. On Wednesday, he said the rookie has spent a lot of time learning the defense and described him as a player on an “upward trajectory.” He also linked the linebacker spot directly to leadership, which fits the responsibility Washington is handing him.
The benefit of pairing Styles with Luvu is obvious. The rookie does not have to carry every communication burden alone, and the veteran gives the Commanders another steady voice when packages change. It also gives Jones more flexibility while Styles keeps building into the role without having every piece of the defense dumped on him at once.
The larger message is pretty clear: Washington is trusting Styles fast. There were always questions about how much would be on his plate as a rookie in a defense with this many moving parts, but the Commanders didn’t take him seventh overall just to watch him make tackles. They want him to become one of the players the defense runs through, and they’re already treating him like it before he’s played a regular-season snap.
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