27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State

There is a reason that #1 Ohio State came into the much-hyped Big Noon Kickoff game at #17 Illinois yielding exactly five points per game. Actually, there are several reasons, as they have several players on the defensive side of the ball who could end up becoming first round selections in next April's NFL Draft.

According to the Memorial Stadium press box seating chart, 14 NFL scouts, representing seven different teams, came to observe Ohio State's 34-16 win over Illinois.

There were stars all over the field (especially in OSU's wide receiving corps, which was stellar as usual), on both sides of the ball for Ohio State, but one has to start with Sonny Styles, the game's leading tackler with 10 stops, eight solo. Arvel Reese is the OSU linebacker who gets most of the NFL Draft love, and deservedly so, but Styles was styling and profiling on this day.

He led the way for a Buckeyes defense that held a very powerful and high-scoring Illini offense in check. Illinois has a running back with good NFL potential in Kaden Feagin, and the Buckeyes defense kept him from ever getting going on Saturday. Styles, the son of former Atlanta Falcons and St. Louis Rams linebacker Lorenzo Styles, showcased his sideline-to-sideline range, coming up huge in goal line situations for the Buckeyes.

With incredible range and elite level quickness, Styles played a complete game, and looked the part of a Butkus award winner at the stadium where Dick Butkus has both a statue and his jersey number retired.

Last season, Styles put up the kind of numbers (six sacks, five passed defended) that conveyed how strong he is in pass defense. And in today's pass happy NFL, Styles will only see his stock continue to rise. He may be a second round prospect now, but don't be surprised if he plays his way into the first.

This article originally appeared on Draft Wire: NFL Draft stock report: buy- Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State

Reporting by Paul M. Banks, Draft Wire / Draft Wire

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