Daiyan Henley NFL Draft 2023: Scouting Report for Los Angeles Chargers' LB
HEIGHT: 6'2"
WEIGHT: 225
HAND: 9 1/2"
ARM: 33"
WINGSPAN: TBD
40-YARD DASH: 4.54
3-CONE: TBD
SHUTTLE: TBD
VERTICAL: 35"
BROAD: 10'5"
POSITIVES
— Pretty good athlete overall and moves for the position; former wide receiver at Nevada.
— Impressive in man coverage. He has the speed to carry tight ends and running backs on downfield routes and has good route recognition to help stay in phase on the short-to-intermediate routes.
— Fluid hips help in man coverage too.
— Quick to sniff out screens and has the acceleration to close; the latter helps in zone coverage too.
— Reads gap and outside runs well and has good range with his speed and angles. He can make tackles from the back side of plays.
— Can be hard to block when blitzing with his acceleration when coming downhill. Can make blockers miss with his quickness and change of direction. Also is solid at delivering a blow for his size.
— Wraps up and has decent pad level when tackling. He doesn't miss much.
— As the looper in line games when pass rushing, he has good timing to wait until a lane opens to attack it and has the agility to take an efficient path to the quarterback.
— Impressive bend as a pass-rusher.
— Hustle player who will make tackles down the field in pursuit.
— Lots of experience playing special teams.
NEGATIVES
— Will get caught staring in the backfield too long when playing zone coverage. He needs to turn his head and locate threats; covers grass too often.
— Can afford to work for a little more depth when spot dropping to tighten throwing windows, especially against play action.
— Against inside zone runs, he plays more passively and too deep, which limits the amount of impact tackles he can make.
— Will get caught fitting to the wrong gap or taking on blockers square instead of on an edge, leaving his gap open.
— Lacks strength to stack and shed as a run defender and will get pushed around by NFL offensive linemen.
— Needs to learn when to break down when tackling in space; he'll often overpursue despite taking a good angle because he doesn't throttle in time.
2022 STATISTICS
— 12 GM, 106 TOT, 12 TFL, 4 SK, 3 FF, 2 PBU, 1 INT
NOTES
— Nevada transfer
— A 2-star recruit in the 2017 class, No. 3,723 overall, No. 150 pro-style QB, per 247Sports composite rankings
— Injuries: 2019 (season-ending knee injury, missed 11 games)
— 31 career starts
— 2022 Honors: Second-Team All-American (College Football News), First-Team All-Pac-12 Defense, Second-Team All-Pac-12 Special Teams, Butkus Award Finalist (given to nation's best linebacker)
— 2021 Honors: Second-Team All-Mountain West
OVERALL
Despite being an older prospect at 23 years old, Daiyan Henley has limited experience as a linebacker. His recruiting profile coming out of high school had him listed as a quarterback, and he played wide receiver and defensive back before finding a home on the second level. So, he's still somewhat learning the position, which could give him a higher ceiling.
Henley's background shows up in his movement skills. He's an impressive athlete as a linebacker, and that helps him in man coverage, as he will be able to mirror and match tight ends and running backs. However, his lack of experience can show up in zone coverage, as he'll occasionally end up covering grass.
Against the run, the Washington State product can make plays against outside runs but struggles to hold up at the point of attack when taking on blocks between the tackles. He needs to add some size and strength, but he does have room for growth on his frame.
Schematically, Henley can play either outside linebacker spot in even fronts. As a "Will," he has the speed to make tackles on the back side of runs, and he can line up on the strong side to match up with tight ends on passing downs. He also has extensive experience on special teams.
GRADE: 7.0 (High-Level Backup or Potential Starter/Round 3)
OVERALL RANK: 85
POSITION RANK: LB6
PRO COMPARISON: Kwon Alexander
