If you watched the Washington Commanders’ preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins on Friday night, you’d probably notice that rookie linebacker Sonny Styles only played one series. That one series resulted in a 14-play, 93-yard touchdown drive from Miami’s starters against mostly Washington reserves outside of Styles and fellow linebacker Leo Chenal.
“Me and [LB] Leo [Chenal] were a little frustrated,” Styles said with a smile. “One drive, one touchdown, like 15 plays, so, not ideal, but go again next week.”
The next day, some clips started making their way around social media. The clips feature each of Styles’ snaps from his first and only series. He honestly looked fine. If anything, Styles hadn’t quite adjusted to the speed of an NFL game. He read plays correctly and looked good in coverage.
However, unsurprisingly, Twitter scouts — yes, we know it’s called X now — used those clips to say Styles looked terrible. You know, used emojis and LOLs to explain why Styles was already a bust. Yes, you read that correctly.
Leave it to former Washington tight end Logan Paulsen to give an objective review of Styles’ performance in his first NFL game.
"A lot of people sent me that, and it was like, ‘Oh, this isn’t quite as good as I remember watching it live,’” Paulsen said on the latest edition of the “Take Command” podcast alongside co-host Grant Paulsen.
“Then you go back and watch the All-22, and you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s right, he’s actually the conflict defender here on like a pass,’ and so he’s like really doing a good job getting under this thing. Or he’s got this player; he’s the flat player, so he’s like pushing with vision to the quarterback. I think from a coverage standpoint, it was everything that you wanted, honestly. Just kind of that safety feel. Like, there was a play action look where he had to match a crosser. And so everybody’s up in the line of scrimmage, and then he’s able to get back, and he’s five yards deeper than every other linebacker on the field. Like, he's just able to cover so much more ground."
That’s why you trust the pros like Logan Paulsen. But he wasn’t done. Logan chimed in on Styles against the run.
“In the run game, I thought he was really deliberate and specific about his fits. I think that’s a good thing; I think it’s also a bad thing. So, he’s like really, really thoughtful. Really, really aware, like, ‘Oh, the fullback’s here, I need to fit the outside shoulder, so I’m gonna squeeze in here.' At the detriment of, like, maybe making more plays. So, what I’d say is like you were excellent live, showed great dexterity in coverage, you did the right thing in run fits. Now, can we get to a point where we understand what the offense is giving us? And we can start making some of these plays."
It’s almost ridiculous that anyone could see anything other than a rookie playing his first NFL snaps. He seemed overly eager at times. But he was always in the right position. Once everything slows down, which it will each week, Styles has everything he needs to be a great player.
In the meantime, don’t engage in social media nonsense and just watch for yourself.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Former Washington TE sets record straight on Sonny Styles' performance
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