Training camp hasn’t started, which means the smart money window on Defensive Rookie of the Year is still wide open. Once pads come on and preseason buzz builds, these numbers move fast. Here are three rookies worth backing now — from a clear favorite to a true longshot.
Sonny Styles, LB, Washington Commanders
Styles went No. 7 overall to Washington in April, and it’s easy to see why. At 6-foot-5 and around 244 pounds, he put on one of the more remarkable combine performances at the position in recent memory a 4.46-second 40-yard dash, a vertical jump reported at roughly 43.5 inches, and a broad jump north of 11 feet. Multiple outlets flagged his vertical as the best recorded by any player over 240 pounds since 1999, and his overall testing profile as historically rare for a linebacker his size.
He was a First-Team All-American at Ohio State, a team captain, and part of a Buckeyes defense that allowed just 9.3 points per game in his final season, helping the program win the 2024 national championship along the way. His college tackle numbers vary slightly by source his final season alone included 83 total tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, an interception, and three pass breakups, with heavier career totals across his last two seasons combined.
Washington needed exactly this kind of player. The Commanders’ front seven was thin on impact defenders last year, and head coach Dan Quinn who has a track record of getting the most out of talented linebackers has been vocal about what Styles brings. In an interview with the Rich Eisen Show, Quinn called him a rare athlete: “This type of linebacker; the athletic traits, the speed, the size, the length it’s not an every-year player.” Quinn added that he’s eager to develop him: “I’m a developmental coach I can’t wait to coach him. He’s hungry for it; he wants to improve.”
History also favors the position. Linebackers have won this award more than any other spot over the last two decades names like Luke Kuechly, Von Miller, Brian Cushing, Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, and DeMeco Ryans all won it early in careers that became Hall of Fame or near-Hall of Fame résumés. Styles landing a Day 1 role, in a defense that needed exactly what he offers, makes him the clear favorite on this board.
Rueben Bain Jr., EDGE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Bain slid further than expected in April on the back of some pre-draft concerns about arm length, and Tampa Bay ended up with real value. Over three seasons at Miami, he racked up 20.5 sacks, including a standout junior year. He plays with an edge, and landing with the Buccaneers in a wide-open, mistake-prone NFC South gives him a real path to splash plays and sack production in competitive games a better setup than fellow rookie edge rushers landing on rebuilding rosters projected as heavy underdogs most weeks.
Anthony Hill Jr., LB, Tennessee Titans
The longshot play. Tennessee took Hill in the second round, well after some evaluators had him graded, and the team reportedly views him as a much higher-value prospect than his draft slot suggests. His path to significant snaps isn’t fully clear yet, but defensive coordinator Robert Saleh has a history of developing mid-round linebackers into quality starters, and Hill’s college production including a standout sophomore season gives him real upside if he wins a role in camp. At this price, it’s a cheap ticket on a strong preseason changing his outlook.
