- 13 minutes ago
G&D were live on air reacting when Sonny Styles was selected Thursday night, and about 16 hours later...yeah, they're still pumped.
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00:00Good Friday afternoon and welcome into Grant and Danny April 24th 2026. You are listening live to the fan. We've
00:11got a full show tonight four and a half hours for you taking you up to 630 on the fan
00:17and we are looking ahead to rounds two through seven in the NFL draft with pick seven and the selection
00:24of Sonny Stiles in the rearview mirror.
00:27Our buddy Charles Davis is on the show today at three. Very few people when it comes to the draft.
00:31We like talking to more. You're going to hear what our pal Logan Paulson thought about the Sonny Stiles pick.
00:38That's at five o'clock tonight right here on the fan. Danny I had a blast a long day. Yes
00:44sir. Wouldn't have rather done it with anybody else kicking it with you deep into the evening watching you nervously
00:49eat and then eventually see you be as excited as you were after the Sonny Stiles selection.
00:57It happened. The commanders got a player they actually wanted. Got to a good place and appreciate honor brewing for
01:02having us. Appreciate everybody that came out. The place was packed. So it was a unique experience because the radio
01:08feed where you and I got to listen in our headphones is what 30 seconds maybe ahead of kind of
01:13where the TV was. So you and I get notified as to the picks. And so we're reacting to that
01:18to the radio audience. And the folks in the crowd that are there.
01:21I mean there are hundreds of people that packed in and around this bar. There's this amazing outdoor space indoor
01:25everything in between TVs everywhere. So the first shocker Carnell Tate goes at four and the oh like the big
01:31groan kind of happens. And then things are kind of setting up the trade. Once Mansour Delane goes now there's
01:36an anticipation rising with after after Kansas City trades up against Delane at six. Oh my God. This could be
01:42Stiles. It could be downs like they've got a lot of options here. Holy crap. What's going to be either
01:46way. It's a really good player for their defense.
01:48Sonny Stiles hits. Sonny Stiles hits. The place erupts. It was awesome. What a cool feeling man. That was a
01:54lot of fun last night.
01:55Yeah we talked about every different possibility and went through all of the permutations for months leading up to the
02:02draft.
02:02One of which was Sonny Stiles to the nation's capital. But that cooled as of the combine. Because he went
02:09and put on such a show.
02:10He was so incredible in Indianapolis that for the moment it looked like he was going to be a top
02:16three.
02:17And certainly no worse than a top five pick. It wasn't until the last couple of weeks as you started
02:22to find out the Cardinals might actually go way off the grid here and take Jeremiah Love.
02:26The Titans could actually get creative and take not just an edge but maybe go to the secondary or something.
02:32You started to think maybe just maybe he slides. But the chances still felt like they were sub 25%.
02:39And it was Carnell Tate going forth to Tennessee that opened the door.
02:42To me that's when the whole night really changed. The love pick while a dream for a lot of Commanders
02:48fans died on the vine.
02:49Made it a lot easier for the Commanders to get one of the defensive players they wanted.
02:53And make no mistake about it. For all of the dialogue about Jeremiah Love we're guilty.
02:58And I'm certainly guilty of a lot of that. And for all of the discussion about the wide receivers.
03:01Both of those things would have made a lot of sense.
03:04What I learned before the draft last night was that in the building and in that war room they wanted
03:09a defensive standout.
03:10And Sonny Stiles if he fell into their lap or one of the edges David Bailey or Arvel Reese was
03:15the hope.
03:16They were prepared to go with Mansoor Delaney who the Chiefs sniped them for at pick number six.
03:21If they had to do that Caleb Downs I think would have been a very strong consolation prize as well.
03:26But because the Titans took Carnell Tate which nobody saw coming.
03:29Because Arvel Reese the other of the two edges went to the Giants where he was not mocked very often.
03:35It opened the door at number seven for the Commanders to get one of the highest ranked players on their
03:39board.
03:40With the seventh pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
03:45The Washington Commanders select Sonny Stiles.
03:50Linebacker Ohio State.
03:53The moment they got on the clock after the Chiefs trade up because you're going alright they're getting ahead of
03:58Washington.
03:59Are they doing it to take Delaney after trading McDuffie or to take Stiles knowing that the Commanders might take
04:05him.
04:06When they took Delaney Danny right then at six.
04:09I feel like it was a lock almost guaranteed that Stiles was going to be wearing burgundy and gold.
04:16I still wasn't as sure as you.
04:19Because certainly the opportunity presented itself when I didn't think it would be there even 20 minutes before.
04:24But as soon as Tate went forward to Tennessee.
04:29That changed the calculation because you're starting to go okay one of Reese, Delaney, Stiles or Downs will mathematically be
04:38100% available for Washington.
04:40Then Reese goes unexpectedly I think five.
04:43Not that Reese shouldn't have gone there but the fact that he didn't go earlier was kind of the stunner.
04:47I think the Giants that probably wasn't their plan.
04:49They've got edge right.
04:50That's the one position they've got good.
04:52Edge rusher.
04:52But they said this guy's too good to pass up.
04:54The upside's too good.
04:55So they go Reese there.
04:56So now again you're doing the math.
04:57Kansas City has moved up because they think Washington's going to do something.
05:01It's going to take their guy.
05:02So again the calculation became this is either Delaney, Stiles or Downs.
05:08Delaney is off the board.
05:09That leaves two guys that would kind of fit that bill.
05:11Probably too early for Tyson.
05:12I don't know how much they trusted him.
05:13But I'm sitting there going this really could happen and it ultimately did.
05:18I still wasn't as sure as you that it was going to be Stiles.
05:20But when it hit it was pretty exciting.
05:22The phone call was in and made by Adam Peters.
05:24When you hear Dan Quinn address Sonny Stiles in the phone call the team put out last night.
05:29You could just see how excited he is.
05:31At his core, Dan Quinn who played on the defensive line at Salisbury.
05:36You know this is a guy that is a defensive coordinator at heart.
05:39He was calling plays in the second half of last season in his element.
05:42You know how fired up he was to draft.
05:45And I'm not exaggerating right now.
05:46One of the greatest athletes.
05:48One of the greatest size and speed profiles in the history of the National Football League.
05:54Hello.
05:55Sonny.
05:56Hello.
05:57Sonny, you hear me?
05:59Yes, sir.
06:00Sonny, Adam Peters with the Commanders.
06:01How you doing, bud?
06:03I'm doing good, Mr. Peters.
06:05How you doing?
06:05I'm doing great, man.
06:08We were hoping you'd fall to us and you did, man.
06:10We're going to make you this pick at pick seven.
06:13I couldn't be more excited.
06:14You are everything we embody in a commander.
06:18And you're just scratching the surface, dude.
06:19You're so good now.
06:21You're going to be so, so good, dude.
06:22I can't wait to welcome you here and have you be a key part of our defense for ten years
06:29to come, man.
06:30Yes, sir.
06:31I appreciate you.
06:32I appreciate you.
06:32I'm ready to get to work.
06:33Yeah.
06:33How you doing?
06:34Where you at?
06:34You in the green room?
06:36I'm in the green room with my family.
06:37Yeah.
06:38Well, tell them you're a commander, buddy.
06:40I'm going to hand you to Coach Quinn right now.
06:43Yes, sir.
06:46All right.
06:46Yes, Sonny.
06:48What's up, Coach?
06:49What's up, man?
06:50We talked about this in the office, making it happen.
06:53Yes, sir.
06:54I told you I was going to be back.
06:55I already know you're going to be back, man.
06:56You're a true bad motherfucker.
06:58I can't wait to coach you, bro.
07:00I cannot wait.
07:01Wait to get to work, Coach.
07:02No doubt.
07:03I'm going to pass you along to our owner, Josh Harris.
07:06So here he is, bud.
07:06Congrats.
07:07Yes, sir.
07:08All right.
07:08Here's Josh.
07:10Hey, Sonny.
07:11Can't wait to see you in D.C.
07:14You're going to kill us down here.
07:15What's up, sir?
07:15How we doing?
07:16Are you with your mom and dad?
07:18Yes, sir.
07:19I'm with my mom and dad.
07:20All right.
07:20Well, look.
07:21Enjoy this night.
07:22I mean, you really killed it to get here.
07:23And we are so excited.
07:25You're going to be a commander.
07:27Can't wait to meet you tomorrow.
07:28Yes, sir.
07:29I appreciate it.
07:30Can't wait to meet you.
07:31All right, man.
07:32Celebrate up.
07:32We'll see you tomorrow.
07:33That's all for you.
07:34You're all cheering?
07:35Yes.
07:36All right, man.
07:36I appreciate you.
07:37Yes, sir.
07:38See you soon.
07:38I appreciate you.
07:39Yes, sir.
07:40Bye-bye.
07:40That was the call from the commanders to Sonny Stiles, the team put out on social.
07:45I always wonder.
07:46So Dan Quinn references this conversation that took place in the coach's office where he
07:50says to him, we talked about this.
07:52We talked about making this happen, obviously, meaning drafting you.
07:57I wonder how many of those conversations he had.
08:00Is Sonny Stiles the only guy that in Dan Quinn's office over the last few weeks on those 30
08:05visits that he said, hey, we got to make this happen.
08:08I want you.
08:09Or does he tell seven or eight guys that thinking maybe you're the pick?
08:14And then he could have said that to a bunch of different guys on that phone call.
08:16I bet you said that to all the draft prospects.
08:18No, I mean, because again, you're in a dependent spot.
08:22The Giants could have snatched your dream right there at five.
08:24They had the power to do so.
08:25So somebody traded up ahead of you could have absolutely done it.
08:28But yeah, it certainly worked out that way.
08:30But I would bet he only said that to Sonny Stiles.
08:35You think?
08:36Yeah.
08:36But I think it's limited.
08:38I don't think you say that to everybody you go on a date with.
08:40I think there's probably some people that come home occasionally and you wake up and
08:44have some breakfast with that you don't use those words with.
08:46But I'll bet you it's a select group.
08:48I think he may have said that to like three guys.
08:51You know what I'm saying?
08:52Yeah, I think I think he made the most serious overtures to Sonny Stiles and may have said
08:56really nice things to Mansoor Delane.
08:58May have said some really friendly stuff to Carnall Tate as well.
09:00But I don't know that it was that.
09:02One thing I know is Sonny Stiles was on the record before the draft is saying he thought
09:06Washington was going to be the pick.
09:07So when he tells you last night, this was the feeling I had, you could do the same thing
09:12I just did with Dan Quinn.
09:13Did you though?
09:14Or are you just saying that?
09:16Bleacher Report followed him around basically over the last 48 hours leading up to the draft.
09:20He was in the barber chair getting his hair did.
09:22And they asked him, where did he think he was going to go?
09:26How is this going to end up?
09:27And this is what Sonny Stiles said then.
09:29My final prediction?
09:30Commanders.
09:31Final prediction.
09:32We'll see how it goes though.
09:33That's my gut.
09:34That's my gut feeling.
09:36Love that.
09:38You know why I like that so much, Daniel Kerkurye?
09:41Was it?
09:41Is because it means the vibes were so good between him and the team.
09:45In the building.
09:47He talked a lot in interviews leading up to the draft when he was in New York about how
09:51much he liked Peters and Quinn and really hit it off with Durante Jones and the coaching
09:55staff.
09:55But when you're asked by a national outlet before the draft, your prediction, it tells you
10:02that he felt like his relationship with them was more special or unique than the other
10:07teams.
10:07And that makes me feel really, really good about the pick.
10:10I like that too.
10:11Yeah.
10:11I like the idea that you're able to make them feel welcome so quickly.
10:16Right?
10:16Where, you know, again, I bet you a lot of the potential draft picks, the prospects, left
10:21feeling pretty good and pretty positive.
10:23That's the kind of stuff that matters.
10:24So when you, we, we kind of roll our eyes sometimes at those top 30 rankings, not top
10:2730, top 30, the NFL, you know, how you treat your players rankings, right?
10:32NFLPA.
10:33The NFLPA rankings.
10:35And something like, that's nice.
10:36Please win more games.
10:37Like I'd rather be 32 and go 17 and 0, but that's kind of where you can put some of
10:42those
10:42deposits in.
10:43Right?
10:43So a lot of guys came here, didn't end up as the pick, but probably have a good association
10:47with Washington.
10:48Maybe they're free agents down the line.
10:50Maybe you remember that meeting you had with the GM or the owner or, Hey, was it going to work
10:54out this time?
10:54Cause someone else took you, but just keep us in mind.
10:56I mean, that, that sort of thing is valuable.
10:59We were on air through 11 East time last night, by the way, the entire first round spanned
11:03only three hours, the expediting of round one to eight minutes between picks of which
11:10by the way, I would say half of the teams in the second half, the first round didn't
11:13even use all eight minutes.
11:15I mean, there was a point where there was a backlog of like four picks at the league
11:19headquarters where teams had already turned in picks like three, four down the way, and
11:23they haven't even gotten out to the podium yet.
11:25I wonder if they're going to stick with the eight minutes because the draft came really
11:28fast and furious, but if they wanted it to be three hours, which is the length now of
11:32a good movie from Marvel, they got what they wanted.
11:36It was over right around 11 Eastern.
11:38But if you guys listened to the draft show on the fan and it was a blast to do, as
11:41you
11:41said, out at Honor Brewing, you've heard a lot of our thoughts on Sonny Stiles, but
11:45here we are first crack at it right out of the shoot in our first traditional show on
11:50GND post-draft.
11:51So my synopsis was all along, this was my favorite defensive player.
11:56This was the guy I've been smitten with the most other than Jeremiah Love.
12:00And as soon as Love went third, and I didn't think that was realistic anyway that he would
12:03get there, he becomes the top priority.
12:07And Edge would have made more sense.
12:09Like if I could have taken Bailey or Stiles, even though I'm more enamored with Stiles because
12:13he's more unique, I would have taken Bailey.
12:15If I could have taken Reese or Stiles, even though my man crush is on Stiles because there's
12:19never been anybody quite like him in his position, I would have taken Reese because of the positional
12:24value and the upside.
12:26But Sonny Stiles, despite playing a lesser valued position, is a one of one.
12:31If you guys do card packs that you tear open and you collect cards, when you see the one
12:37of ten or whatever you're looking for, like it's the more special card, it's worth something.
12:42People on this planet are not as big as him that are moving like him.
12:46It doesn't exist.
12:48Athletically speaking, this is a one of one prospect.
12:51The RAS score, relative athletic score that Adam Peters values so much, which is how you
12:56know the commanders were going to be all over him.
12:58There have been 3,215 linebackers graded from 87 to 2026.
13:03He's number one of 3,215 linebackers in athleticism.
13:08His broad jump is fourth best all-time at the position.
13:11His vertical jump is the best all-time at the position.
13:14He is the same height as Calvin Johnson, the same weight as Derrick Henry.
13:17He is faster than B. John Robinson and C.D. Lamb, and he's the same vertical leaping ability
13:22of dunk champion Nate Robinson.
13:25This guy was built in a laboratory.
13:28When Artemis II flew past the moon, they looked out the window.
13:32Did you see the cell phone video that that one astronaut, Reed, whatever his name is, put out?
13:36If you look really closely, Sonny Stiles is hatching out on that space rock, flying around.
13:42This dude is unlike anyone else on the planet.
13:45So allow me to salivate and dream about the possibilities here of Durante Jones cooking
13:50as a coordinator with this moldable clay.
13:53You want to talk about him as a green dot and a Mike linebacker?
13:55That's what he is.
13:56He's also been a safety.
13:57I think he can also come off the edge.
13:59It would be malpractice to just line him up as a Mike linebacker and never move him around.
14:03He should play everywhere in a positionless defense.
14:06This is a one-of-one athlete.
14:08Yeah, this fits real well with that kind of thing.
14:10The thing I, Bill Simmons, I think, coined this years ago, but the town hall defense is
14:15the thing that I covet and crave.
14:16I don't want everyone to know who's going where.
14:20I want the defense to know.
14:21I want them to communicate, which they don't hear.
14:23They have to keep simplifying coverages year over year because these guys couldn't get
14:26right.
14:26But I want mix and match.
14:28I want versatile people that are worldly athletic that know where they're supposed to go and
14:33get there quickly.
14:34And that's kind of what they've done now.
14:35They've taken a defense that was slow, plotting, ineffective, that did nothing well.
14:40Usually, a defense could turn you over some, but you're going to score some points.
14:43Or you could score some points, or you can't score points, but there are never any turnovers.
14:48This defense did nothing well.
14:49No turnovers.
14:50No stopping anybody at any time.
14:52It was a disaster, and it's been awful for years, even before this regime.
14:55They did a makeover.
14:56They said, speed, immediately, immediately, immediately.
15:00That's what we care about.
15:01We care about the speed.
15:01We're not going to be as tough and stout against the outside runs.
15:04We don't care.
15:05We have speed now.
15:06Speed.
15:07We'll figure the rest of it out.
15:08That's what they've done here.
15:09So, I think my favorite potential prospect for Washington was David Bailey.
15:14That was never realistic.
15:15But that dream scenario where a lineman or two goes, and Reese had gone two, and who knew
15:21what could have happened?
15:22I think that guy's plug-and-play defensive end.
15:24It's worth $50 million in a couple of years as these extensions kind of keep going up
15:28and up and up, and I wanted that value.
15:31Styles is two.
15:32He endowns to me.
15:34Either one of those guys, I'd have been thrilled.
15:36I think both are weapons, but in a different way.
15:38The athleticism of Styles just makes it so appealing.
15:40I understand anybody who watched the draft last night and said, I don't love taking a linebacker
15:46in the top ten, because you can get that picking lower in the first or higher in the second round,
15:51typically.
15:52That's true.
15:53I even understand if someone looks at Sonny Styles and says, really good player at Ohio State,
16:00but athletically, the idea of him and basically the fluidity of the body with the size is more captivating
16:11and leads to more intrigue than maybe what he is presently.
16:14That might even be accurate in the moment, but he is the type of guy, this is what the draft's
16:18all about.
16:18You've got to find a way now to turn him into the best version of himself.
16:23And what is that ceiling?
16:24It's a potential game wrecker.
16:26So, yeah, you could sit here today, and we're going to cover this from all angles
16:29and look at the possibilities of if he's slow to develop or they put too much on his plate
16:34and what that looks like.
16:35It's very possible.
16:37But I also think that the beauty of the draft and the fun of the draft is that immediately
16:42after you pick someone, you're talking about what I'm speculating on when I talk about his
16:47athleticism is the best case scenario, because that's there too.
16:51That hope that springs eternal here on April 24th.
16:54But to get to know Sonny Stiles, this is a 21-year-old, 6'5 and 244, who was born
17:00and raised in Ohio.
17:01Basically, everything he ever did was in the shadow of the Ohio State Buckeyes facility.
17:05His father was a Super Bowl champion linebacker on the same Rams team as London Fletcher.
17:11His brother, who's a little bit older than him, is probably getting drafted tonight.
17:14In fact, I'm told Sonny's going to leave the facility as quick as he can after his opening press conference
17:19so he can get back for the draft party with his brother, a junior, who's got a chance to be
17:24drafted in rounds two or three.
17:25But he played weak side linebacker for Matt Patricia in the 4-2-5, converted safety.
17:30The last two years, he made 182 tackles as a senior captain.
17:34He wore the Blocko, which the players vote on as kind of a character and a makeup thing
17:39and is given out at Ohio State for the guys that have all the intangibles off the field.
17:43But it's speed and size, and it's one of the most impressive athletic profiles and prospects you're going to see.
17:51Youngest of four boys, parents met at Ohio State, dad was a third-round pick in 95,
17:57started calling him Sonny at two years old, partly based on, you'll like this, Danny,
18:01the character and the godfather, because at two years old, he had a little bit of a temper.
18:04So his dad started calling him Sonny, played baseball, basketball, football, graduated high school.
18:09I've seen some basketball highlights, by the way.
18:10Woo, buddy!
18:11He graduated high school a full year early.
18:13I like that acumen.
18:14You know, I like some of the smarts and diagnosing things.
18:17And the last thing I'll tell you about Sonny Stiles, you know what his actual name is?
18:22Alexander.
18:24Alexander's in D.C. sports, man.
18:27Might be time to start anew, right?
18:29We got one exiting stage left.
18:31Why not bring in another great?
18:33A little torch pass.
18:34Stage right.
18:35You got Sonny Jurgensen, unfortunately, leaves us this year.
18:40There aren't that many Sonny's in the NFL.
18:41Another Sonny comes to D.C. wearing the burgundy and gold.
18:43But the pick, Sonny Stiles.
18:45What?
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