NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Saints drafted Lorenzo Styles Jr. with the 172nd pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on Saturday, April 25, 2026, adding an Ohio State defensive back whose path to the league ran through two positions, two schools and a national championship roster.
Styles, a 6-foot senior from Pickerington, Ohio, began his college career as a wide receiver at Notre Dame before moving to cornerback at Ohio State. He played in 60 career games with 19 starts, including 11 starts in 2025, and helped the Buckeyes win the 2024 national championship. The Saints are getting a player who also spent time at safety and built value on special teams early in his career.
What likely helped push lorenzo styles into draft conversations was the combination of production and testing. At the 2026 NFL Combine, he measured 6-0 1/2 and 194 pounds with 9 1/2-inch hands, then posted a 4.27-second 40-yard dash, a 1.49-second 10-yard split and a 39-inch vertical jump. No broad jump or bench press measurement was listed.
That kind of profile fits a player whose career never stayed in one lane for long. Styles was a former top-100 national recruit who played wide receiver in 2021 and 2022 before shifting to defense, then settled into a more expanded role at Ohio State as a cornerback who could also line up at safety and contribute on special teams. He showed that versatility again in 2025, when he started 11 games and delivered one of the more notable plays of his final season by breaking up a pass intended for Indiana’s Omar Cooper Jr. in the Big Ten championship game on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025.
The Saints did not need to wait long to secure him, but the pick also answers a different question: how much of Styles’ value came from polish and how much came from projection. His route to the league was built on adaptation, and New Orleans is betting that the same flexibility that moved him from receiver to corner can now carry him into a pro role.
For readers tracking the late rounds, a broader look at how another team approached similar value can be found in Lorenzo Styles Jr. could give Jets a late-round spark in 2026 draft.