The Washington Commanders haven’t had much break their way through six weeks, but Sonny Styles is already giving them something to build around.
That’s the view from former NFL player and ESPN analyst Domonique Foxworth, who came away so impressed with the rookie linebacker that he put Styles in the same conversation as San Francisco star Fred Warner. On his podcast, Foxworth said Styles stood out because he “rarely gets fooled [against play action], and he’s a rookie, and that’s impossible, and it made me so happy watching him and playing against a team that wants to run the ball all the time and the Giants.
It felt like, and this jumps out to me, when I see players, it’s one of the things that I say about Fred Warner, is it feels like he’s never wrong and the play action, I don’t just,” Foxworth said. “Sonny Styles seems to be on another level as far as the mental part of the game is compared to other linebackers, and if you asked me to pick the heir to Fred Warner today, I’d say Sonny Styles.”
Styles’ production backs up the buzz. Through the first part of the season, he has four passes defended, two forced fumbles, a sack, an interception, two quarterback hits and 46 total tackles, with three tackles for loss mixed in.
One of those big plays came against the Philadelphia Eagles, who the Commanders see again in Week 8 on Sunday Night Football. Styles logged the sack in that game, another sign that Washington may have found a linebacker whose game is already turning heads around the league.
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Adam Peters Faces Pressure To Make Washingtons Offense-Saving Move
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The two areas drawing the most attention are the offensive line and the receiving corps, both of which have left the Commanders searching for answers. Among the names being discussed are a high-end guard from Indianapolis and a young receiver in Jacksonville, a pair of ideas that would speak to how aggressively Washington might need to act if it wants to change the direction of this season and give the offense a real lift. [Read more 🡒]