Ohio State’s Lorenzo Styles Jr.’s 4.27 40-yard dash makes NFL Combine history not seen since 2003

Ohio State safety Lorenzo Styles put his best foot forward at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis Friday. Styles ran a 4.27 40-yard dash, and that’s the fastest 40-yard time of any players who has ever competed in the drill for Ohio State. Styles has not been considered a dynamic draft prospect, but his performance in the 40 is certainly going to get the attention of NFL scouts and coaches in attendance.

Officially a 4.27 40 for Lorenzo Styles Jr. — the fastest by a safety since at least 2003 per @NFLPlus data. https://t.co/GN4v7VIH4h

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 27, 2026

Styles was the fastest of all the defensive backs who were timed at the Combine, and perhaps that will almost certainly give him an opportunity to be drafted at some point. His time broke the Ohio State record and was also the fastest for a safety at the Combine since 2003.

His time was faster than his brother, Sonny Styles, and he also ran better than OSU’s Arvel Reese. Both Sonny Styles and Reese are linebackers, and both were timed at 4.46 in the 40. Reese and Sonny Styles are both expected to be high first-round selections in the upcoming draft.

Lorenzo Styles hoping to improve his draft status

Lorenzo Styles does not have a high level of achievement during his college career. He played at Notre Dame before transferring to Ohio State.  Lorenzo Styles had 16 tackles and 4 passes defensed in 16 games during the 2024 national championship season. He had 30 tackles last year, 1.5 tackles for loss and 3 passes defensed.

He has high hopes that he can be productive at the NFL level.

“I definitely wanted to do more, but I feel like everything turned out the way it was supposed to be,” Styles said, per Dan Hope of ElevenWarriors.com. “Having the opportunity to go to Ohio State, I feel like it’s developed me and prepared me for the NFL. There’s going to be some hardships, so I had to go in and work my way up, do special teams. If the situation was different, I might have not done those things, so I think it’s prepared me to have a long NFL career and perform.”

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