The Kansas City Chiefs’ linebacker room is bleeding talent. Leo Chenal signed a three-year, $24.75 million deal with Washington. Drue Tranquill took a pay cut from $6 million to $3.5 million just to stick around for the final year of his contract. Nick Bolton’s $45 million extension suddenly looks like a luxury the cap-strapped Chiefs may not be able to afford beyond 2026.
In PFSN analyst Ian Cummings’ latest seven-round mock draft, Kansas City addresses the position of need at pick No. 9 by selecting Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles.
How Sonny Styles Fits Steve Spagnuolo’s Chiefs Defense
Cummings acknowledged the board didn’t favor Kansas City. Edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. was already drafted, along with wide receivers Carnell Tate and Makai Lemon.
“The board didn’t fall very well for Kansas City in this 2026 NFL Mock Draft,” Cummings wrote. “Bain was off the board, and while there are cornerbacks present, the Chiefs don’t normally invest in CBs this high. With another first-rounder later on, best-player-available feels like the move.”
That player is Styles, whose combine testing produced historic numbers. At 6-foot-5 and 244 pounds, he ran a 4.46-second 40-yard dash, posted a 43.5-inch vertical (the highest by any player 6-foot-4 or taller since 2003), and hit an 11-foot-2 broad jump. No player at 230-plus pounds has ever run sub-4.5 with a 40-plus vertical and 11-plus broad jump since 2003.
“For defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who relishes being an agent of chaos, Sonny Styles can be an X-factor, especially with linebacker Drue Tranquill in a contract year,” Cummings added. “Styles is an alien size-speed specimen, a masterful gap reader and block stacker, and he produced at a high rate on blitz reps in 2024.”
In his four-year college career, Styles recorded 244 tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss, 9 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles in 53 games for the Buckeyes. His safety background makes him a natural coverage weapon, and his blitzing upside could fill the void Chenal leaves behind.
Chiefs Need Defensive Leadership With Patrick Mahomes Rehabbing
The Chiefs’ secondary exodus in the offseason compounds the issue. Kansas City traded Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams and watched Jaylen Watson follow him there on a three-year, $51 million deal.
Bryan Cook departed for Cincinnati, and in one offseason, the Chiefs gutted the core of a unit that powered three straight Super Bowl appearances.
BE AN NFL GM: PFSN’s Ultimate GM Simulator
Patrick Mahomes is rehabbing a torn ACL and LCL suffered in December’s loss to the Chargers. He’s targeting a Week 1 return, but the defense can’t afford growing pains while the franchise quarterback finds his legs.
Styles could wear the green dot immediately. His football bloodlines run deep: His father, Lorenzo Styles Sr., won Super Bowl XXXIV with the Rams.
The 21-year-old Ohio State product offers the kind of sideline-to-sideline range and coverage ability that modern defenses demand. With Tranquill’s future uncertain and Bolton’s contract increasingly difficult to justify, Styles represents long-term stability at a position Kansas City desperately needs to rebuild.
However, Styles is ranked as the second-best prospect on PFSN’s Big Board, and it would be surprising if he is still available at pick no. 9 in the draft.
