Every year, fans are excited to learn which jersey numbers their rookie class will wear, especially the first-round picks. Jersey numbers became even more exciting recently, as there are virtually no restrictions on which numbers players can wear. For the Washington Commanders, the excitement centered around No. 7 overall pick, linebacker Sonny Styles.
The mystery ended Thursday, when Washington revealed jersey numbers for its six 2026 NFL Draft picks. Styles, who began his college career in the No. 6 jersey at Ohio State, wore the "Block 0" for the Buckeyes in 2025. The No. 0 jersey is occupied by cornerback Mike Sainristil with the Commanders. So, instead of going for No. 6, Styles chose a traditional linebacker number: 52.
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Why did Styles choose No. 52? He explained on Friday, ahead of Washington's rookie minicamp.
"I'm not really a big number guy," Styles said. "I wasn't really big into single digits. I like zero. Mikey has zero. So, then I was telling Coach [LB coach Ken] Norton, like when I look in the room, you got [Former Washington LB] London [Fletcher] on the wall, [Former Washington LB] LaVar [Arrington], I think it was [Former Washington LB] Ken Harvey and [Former Washington LB] Monte Coleman. It was all 50 numbers, and I was like, 'Shoot, I'm going to pick a 50 number.'
While seeing Washington legends on the wall inspired Styles, he zeroed in on a specific number after watching a pair of NFL greats from his childhood.
"I was thinking about it, I remember growing up watching like [Former San Francisco 49ers LB] Patrick Willis, [Former Baltimore Ravens LB] Ray Lewis. I was like, ‘Hey, 52 would be cool.’ And then my dad was like, ‘Hey, five plus two is seven, so that's your draft pick.’ I was like, dang, that's cool. That seems pretty cool. So, that's really how I landed on it. I didn't have no special number to pick, so I was kind of just picking anything."
In case you didn't know, Styles' father, Lorenzo, is also a former Ohio State star, an NFL linebacker, and a Super Bowl champion.
LIVE: LB Sonny Styles speaks to the media after Day 1 of rookie minicamp https://t.co/mh4F2YkEQ1
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) May 8, 2026
Styles just gets it. Some players enter the league and feel entitled to a specific number. Not Styles. Instead, he looks at it as an opportunity to honor some of the franchise's greats who played his position.
That No. 52 on Styles looks just right.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Sonny Styles reveals why he chose new number