Sonny Styles became a meme for all the wrong reasons. Washington is hoping he ignores it.

ASHBURN, Va. — Consider how bad it had to get for Wale to start piling on.

The D.C rap mainstay was on a podcast recently and decided to weigh in on the hot topic around Washington. What do you think of Sonny Styles?

“I think he’s gonna put it together,” Wale started. “But something don’t feel …”

He trailed off, choosing his words carefully.

“It doesn’t feel like he wants to terrorize,” he finished. “I feel like that is an attribute you need to play inside linebacker.”

The people around him laughed, nodding their heads. Wale, all things considered, went light on Washington’s first-round pick.

Before even playing a game, Styles has become a meme online for all the wrong reasons. Fan websites torched his preseason debut. Some questioned whether he would make the 53-man roster. Others tweeted parody videos about his play.

Whether it was warranted is a different question. The internet has a life of its own. But now the seventh overall pick is making his debut against the Eagles with more scrutiny than he ever expected — including from his own fanbase.

The Commanders are just hoping he ignores it.

“That’s expected,” Styles said. “First-round pick, there are some bad plays out there, things people don’t like. They are going to have something to say. Same thing in college. My junior year, switched to linebacker, had a few bad plays. People told me I was terrible. I’m used to it. Just got to keep getting better.”

The noise grew to a roar after a 50-yard touchdown run in the second preseason game against Detroit. Lions quarterback Joshua Dobbs lingered behind the line of scrimmage, deciding whether to hand the ball off or keep it. After surveying Washington’s defense, he tucked it and broke off a long touchdown.

Washington’s fanbase immediately placed blame on Styles, who crashed down hard in the middle of the defense instead of chasing Dobbs. On the surface, he looked lost. He was stuck in the middle of the field as Dobbs went flying by.

But head coach Dan Quinn placed the blame elsewhere.

“On that particular option, they read the defensive end. So, if the defensive end closes, [Dobbs] pulls it. So, on that particular one, we’d love Josh [Josephs] to wait it out,” Quinn said.

That clarification hardly mattered on social media. It was a clippable moment. People zoomed in and slowed down on Styles like it was the Zapruder film.

That play gave a nervous fanbase permission to vent about the first-round draft pick. Fans wondered why he hadn’t produced a sack or any flash plays as other highly drafted rookies had.

He has poor instincts, they wrote.

Washington overdrafted, others noted.

He’s far from being the franchise savior, they said.

The Commanders saw the criticism get worse.

“Being a first-round pick, it comes with a bunch of expectations and a lot of outside noise,” said defensive lineman Daron Payne, who once went 13th overall. “You just got to ignore it. Just go and play.”

But, on some level, what fans were asking from Styles was off base.

Styles came out of college as an inside linebacker — but only moved there his junior season after arriving as a safety. While the Buckeyes unleashed him on blitzes at times, his primary job was covering ground and breaking up plays in the middle of the field — not always flashy work, but important.

At Ohio State, he ended last year with one sack. In four years, he finished with nine.

Washington was high on his value because of the accumulation of plays over the course of the season. The tackles right before the sticks, the ability to drop back in coverage and deter passes. It is difficult to feel that impact in a preseason game, especially with limited reps.

He played a total of 31 snaps in two games. Give it a month and, the Commanders believe, the narrative will turn.

“The football learning was excellent,” Quinn said about Styles’ training camp. “I felt the physicality of him from the first time we had pads. There was a good play at the 1- or 2-yard line [in camp], and to see him go and play physical, that was there. So I feel like he’s a player that’s [improving]. That’s what you’d hope to see.”

Washington felt so confident in him they gave him partial responsibilities for the green dot, calling the plays in the huddle for the rest of the defense.

“Sometimes there’s too much to be made of a green dot with the coach calling it in, but the position requires leadership and he has that at linebacker,” Quinn added. “Those are a few of the things that jumped out to me, but I like the competitor and I feel like, ‘Man, this guy’s one of those people that is just gonna grow as he’s going.’”

And that is where the situation leaves off as the Commanders head to Philadelphia. A fanbase that seems skeptical of the top pick; a franchise that is more than pleased with his progress.

Styles is focused on his development.

“They say to block out the noise. But in reality, it’s just that you’re not affected by it,” Styles said. “You can try and hide and stay away from it. But you’re going to hear. When you’re just not affected by it, you care about competing and what happens in this building.”