Stopping the run is a "must" for John Harbaugh. The Giants' new head coach made that perfectly clear this week at the NFL Scouting Combine, where there are some potential must-haves to get that job done.

"Well, we'd better," Harbaugh said on Tuesday from Indianapolis. "It's a must thing; I can tell you that. There's a lot to it. There's three levels and layers to your defense, and all three layers and levels have got to be committed to and incorporated and stopping the run, no doubt. Every single one of the 11 guys has got to be committed to stopping the run. You can't let people run all over you, there's no doubt about it. It's been important in football since football started."

It was also important in Baltimore since Harbaugh arrived 18 years ago.

From 2008 through his final season in 2025, the Ravens allowed the fewest rushing yards in the NFL. It was no coincidence they also ranked No. 1 defensively in points and third-down conversions allowed.

"Coach and I talked about that a lot," general manager Joe Schoen said. "Stopping the run is very important to Coach Harbaugh, everybody. It's something we haven't done well, so that's something we'll be conscious of that offseason in terms of how we're going to be able to do that better."

Fittingly, defensive linemen and linebackers were the first group to begin the combine carwash on Wednesday.

The next wave of stout run defenders and edge rushers met with the media before they kick off drills the following day.

Sonny Styles, an All-American linebacker out of Ohio State, could fit the bill for the Giants as early as No. 5, where he has been projected in multiple mock drafts. The 6-foot-4, 222-pounder is from Pickerington, Ohio, located two hours east of where there is a statue of Harbaugh at his alma mater of Miami (Ohio) University.

Styles said he met with the Giants in Indianapolis.

"That meeting was awesome," he said. "Coach Harbaugh was great. … I think the way I can improve the run defense, just being in the middle. He thought I had a great feel, the way I study the game. And I thought I showed physical games on film, physical strike, I thought I showed some sure tackling this past year. Just coming in the building earning the trust of the guys in front of me, you've got to make the defensive line in front of you trusts you. Just earning the trust of the room, earning the trust of guys behind me. And being able to command the defense if I was called on to be the [middle linebacker]."

Run defense isn't the only strength for Styles, who was the recipient of the team's Block "O" Award and No. 0 jersey for toughness, accountability, and the highest of character.

"It starts with being a versatile linebacker," Styles said. "Think I can play the Mike, Will, Sam. Think I can do all three at a high level and I think I'm a very athletic player and it shows up in my game. I think I showed this last year I can be like a true Mike, think I showed I can stop the run. Showed some physicality this year. On the upside of it, think I can be a lot more effective in zone coverages if I keep working that part of my game, I think I've shown I can feel routes, that type of thing. But not a lot of ball disruption, especially this past year. Think with my athleticism, if I keep working on that, I should be a real threat in zone drops."

His teammate, Arvell Reese, has been a more frequent name for the Giants in mock drafts. An edge defender, Reese is No. 4 overall on Daniel Jeremiah's top 50 prospects list, one spot ahead of Styles.

"Styles is a tall, long and rangy linebacker prospect," Jeremiah wrote. "He made a smooth transition from safety to linebacker during his college career. In the run game, he's quick to key, read and fill to make tackles. He uses his length to press off blocks and has outstanding lateral range to pick up production on the perimeter. He's a firm, reliable tackler with stopping power on contact. Styles is outstanding in coverage. He can carry slot receivers down the seam and smoothly mirrors tight ends all over the field. He's an explosive blitzer and will run over running backs who try to block him in pass pro. Styles' performance in the Big Ten title game against Indiana answered any questions about his game, as he was the best defender on the field in that matchup. He reminds me of Fred Warner as a player."

On Reese: "Reese is a fluid and explosive athlete. Ohio State used him as a chess piece on defense. He aligned off the ball at linebacker, on the edge as a rusher and occasionally was deployed as a QB spy. He projects best as an edge rusher at the next level. When he rushes off the edge, he flashes elite speed and bend. He can overpower OTs, TEs and RBs when he has a runway. He lacks a polished rush plan, and there are times when he's a little late off the snap. He can match/mirror TEs and RBs in coverage. Against the run, he can generate knock-back power on the front side and has elite speed to chase from the back side. Overall, Reese reminds me a lot of 2025 first-round pick Jalon Walker."

If asked to drop back as an outside linebacker, Reese said he is "very comfortable" to do it at the next level.

"We did that a lot last year," said Reese, a consensus All-American and the Big Ten Conference's Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year. "About like 60% of the snaps I was on the edge, I was dropping. So, yeah, I'm very comfortable with that. … I think I do a decent job defending the run from there. I think I set a good edge. I think I do pretty decent taking on counters and pullers. And then, I haven't even scratched the surface with really what I can do pass rushing, for real. I've been an inside linebacker. I think I can get way better at pass rushing, for sure."

After Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza and Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, the next four in Jeremiah's initial top 50 are players in the defensive front seven. Texas Tech's David Bailey and Miami's Rueben Bain Jr. bookend the two Buckeyes.

Bailey earned a bachelor's degree in science, technology, and science from Stanford in less than four years before enrolling in graduate school during his lone season at Texas Tech. He went on to become a unanimous All-American and the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year.

"I feel like if I want something, and I put my mind to it, I feel like I'm able to achieve that," Bailey said.

Bain, meanwhile, listed three-time Pro Bowler Brian Burns as one of his favorite players.

"[What do I want teams] to know about me? Shoot, I eat, sleep, and breath football," Bain said. "That's all I do. I don't have any other hobbies, no other real interests outside of football. It's all I care for. It's all I want to do."

In terms of the big men, Texas Tech's Lee Hunter is the highest-ranked defensive tackle, according to Jeremiah, at No. 27 overall. Hunter dominated last month at the Senior Bowl.

"I just take pride in just doing my job at the best of my ability," Hunter said. "I try to perfect my craft in many ways."

"Hunter is a thick, wide-bodied defensive tackle," Jeremiah wrote. "He was a dominant run defender at Texas Tech and flashed upside as a pass rusher. Against the run, he can bend and leverage single blocks before chucking them aside and collecting tackles. He is aware to defeat cut-off blocks and never gets knocked off the ball. He has outstanding lateral range and will occasionally shoot a gap for a TFL. As a pass rusher, he flashes a quick club/swim move, but he's raw in that department. He plays too upright and peeks instead of firing off the ball. To see his potential, watch the College Football Playoff quarterfinal against Oregon. He was dominant. Overall, Hunter has a high floor because of his run-stuffing ability and there's room for growth in the passing game."