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Buckeyes’ Sonny Styles reaches 43-5 on vertical at the combine (0:21)
Ohio State LB Sonny Styles jumps an impressive 43-5 on the vertical at the NFL combine. (0:21)
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Jeff LegwoldFeb 26, 2026, 09:03 PM ET
- Jeff Legwold covers the Denver Broncos at ESPN. He has covered the Broncos for more than 20 years and also assists with NFL draft coverage, joining ESPN in 2013. He has been a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Selectors since 1999, too. Jeff previously covered the Pittsburgh Steelers, Buffalo Bills and Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans at previous stops prior to ESPN.
INDIANAPOLIS — Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles, a projected top-10 pick in this year’s NFL draft, had one of the best vertical jumps for a player at his position in more than two decades Thursday, the first night of on-field workouts at the NFL combine in Lucas Oil Stadium.
Styles’s 43½-inch vertical jump was the highest by an off-ball linebacker at the combine since 2003 and the second highest by any linebacker in that span behind Cameron Wake’s 45½-inch jump in 2005.
At 6-foot-5, 244 pounds, Styles, rated No. 7 on ESPN insider Mel Kiper Jr.’s big board, also had a 4.46 clocking in the 40-yard dash to go with an 11-foot-2-inch broad jump and a standout performance in position drills. His Buckeyes teammate Arvell Reese, the No. 3 player on Kiper’s big board, also ran a 4.46 in the 40, tying them for the best times among all players who ran Thursday night.
To put Styles’ vertical jump into context, it was better than Hall of Fame wide receiver Calvin Johnson, who at 6-5, 239 pounds, had a 42½-inch vertical jump at the 2007 combine. Styles’ jump was also better than current Seattle Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori, whose 43-inch jump was the best at the 2025 combine.
Styles’ broad jump was also best among all players who took part Thursday, and he was the only player among the defensive linemen and linebackers to top 11 feet.
Reese did not do any of the jumps in the workout, but did do position drills.
Styles, who played almost exclusively at middle linebacker for the Buckeyes this past season, said earlier this week that he felt ready to show the league’s personnel evaluators what he could do on the field.
“I think I would say that — the great defenses you look at, there’s at least two or three guys who can play a multitude of roles,” Styles said. “Like for example, this year for the Seahawks, Nick Emmanwori was a versatile player, and when you have guys like that on your defense, you’re able to do a lot of different things as a coordinator.”
