NY Giants could draft elite linebacker Sonny Styles to play ‘Kyle Hamilton role’ for John Harbaugh

The link between the New York Giants and Ohio State’s Sonny Styles is heating up. With the No. 5 overall pick, Big Blue is in a prime position to secure Styles as a defensive centerpiece that fits the John Harbaugh identity like a glove.

This week, Styles appeared on Up & Adams, telling host Kay Adams that he would “love” to be utilized as a versatile chess piece similar to Baltimore Ravens All-Pro Kyle Hamilton. For a Giants roster looking to rebuild its defensive identity in John Harbaugh’s image, Styles could be the positionless weapon he needs.

OSU LB Sonny Styles Wants to Play a “Kyle Hamilton-Esque Role” in the NFL

John Harbaugh oversaw the transformation of Kyle Hamilton from a well-regarded safety prospect into a three-time All-Pro “Swiss Army Knife” in Baltimore. Styles specifically pointed to this during his interview, noting that the right coordinator can make a defense “unpredictable” by moving a player to multiple roles.

“Kyle Hamilton is one of those guys who can do a lot all over the field. He’s an amazing player, so I’d love to be in a scheme where I can do multiple roles and help a defense win,” Styles told Kay Adams. “I think what’s nice is when you have a defensive coordinator who is able to put you in so many different positions and utilize you in that way, it’s helping the entire defense because you become more unpredictable when there’s guys like that on your defense who can do so many different things.”

In Harbaugh’s system, Styles wouldn’t just be an off-ball linebacker; he would be a chess piece, moving across the formation, lining up as a nickel corner on one snap and a blitzing gap-shooter the next.

Styles Could be John Harbaugh’s Next Hamilton

Sonny Styles is an elite athlete. Measuring 6’5″ and weighing 244 pounds, Styles stunned scouts by clocking an official 4.47-second 40-yard dash and posting a record-breaking 43.5-inch vertical jump for a linebacker.

To put that in perspective, he is significantly heavier than Kyle Hamilton yet recorded a faster sprint and a higher leap, leading Hamilton himself to joke on social media about being “brutally framemogged” by the Buckeyes star. This rare combination of speed and size is exactly why experts consistently have Styles going top five in mock drafts.

Styles arrived at Ohio State as the nation’s top-ranked safety before bulk-shifting into a hybrid linebacker role. By maintaining his sub-4.5 track speed while adding nearly 30 pounds of muscle, Styles created a physical profile that broke the mold for modern defensive coordinators. He possesses the rare big-man fluidity to drop into deep-half coverage like a traditional safety, yet his 244-pound frame allows him to take on pulling guards at the point of attack. He could play the oversized safety/Swiss Army Knife role that Hamilton plays, but also fill in as a traditional inside linebacker with elite potential. This dual-threat capability is the exact “Hamilton-esque” blueprint Adams and Styles discussed.

Beyond the athleticism, Styles’s 2025 tape at Ohio State shows a player who has mastered the technical nuances of the second level. He finished his senior campaign with an elite 88.0 overall PFF defensive grade, highlighted by a 91.6 tackling grade—the highest of any defender in college football. On 90 total tackling attempts, Styles missed just two, a 2.2% rate. This reliability makes him the perfect partner for Tremaine Edmunds, creating a linebacker duo for the Giants that can effectively shut down the run while erasing the intermediate passing game.

Should the Giants take Styles at No. 5?

While the Giants have other needs ranging from cornerback to the offensive line, Styles offers a defensive ceiling that few prospects in the last decade can match. Drafting him at No. 5 isn’t just about taking a linebacker; it’s about acquiring a schematic advantage that forces opposing offenses to account for him on every snap. If Harbaugh wants to replicate the defensive dominance he enjoyed in the AFC North, he could draft his next Kyle Hamilton in Sonny Styles.

By Anthony Rivardo

Anthony Rivardo is the COO of Empire Sports Media and the host of Fireside Giants, a New York Giants ... More about Anthony Rivardo