Welcome LB Daiyan Henley, Washington St. (Round 3 #85)

[ghost]

I love that Daiyan was complaining about his own decision on wearing all black leather to his draft party in the valley on the hottest day of the year so far in L.A.

Self-effacing humor is a positive indicator of high intelligence and self-awareness. His highlights were easily the most fun to watch out of any 2023 prospect to watch.

[ghost]

Daiyan Henley #0 is an off-the-ball Will.

[AK47]

I love that Daiyan was complaining about his own decision on wearing all black leather to his draft party in the valley on the hottest day of the year so far in L.A.

Only Raider fans wear black leather jackets in the summer. This dude is a Charger.

[Fleet 1]

I had him in probably 90% of my mocks because he was always there in the 4th and 5th rounds. I had a 2 on him. He is going to be really good for us.

[Hadl2Alworth]

I had him in probably 90% of my mocks because he was always there in the 4th and 5th rounds. I had a 2 on him. He is going to be really good for us.

I think he can be very good once he gets better at reading plays. He's kinda raw still.

[dmac_bolt]

If he gets in the weight room for a year, we might have something.


j/k

Or sooner. He doesnt play as light as he is and his quick reaction speed used effectively could be a great counterweight to slower strength. Gotta catch him to block him.

a lil meat on the bone won’t hurt though.

[dmac_bolt]

Daiyan Henley #0 is an off-the-ball Will.

To my amateur scout eyes, his tackling efficiency jumped out of tape. This stat backs that up. Particularly in comparison to Simpson, who was the nearest ranked by most and favored by some here. Simpson might also be a good LB - he is more physical in biological measurements, he just didn’t show he can apply that physicality to ball carriers like Henley does on the tape I watched of him. My amateur scout eyes deduced Henley reacts faster and “plays faster” to hit seams in blocking better, even if Simpson ran a faster 40. His main weakness seemed to be uncertainty in zone coverage. Coachable for a guy as intelligent as he is, i think.

but again, amateur scout eyes … others know better. I love the pick, I’m sick of LBs that can’t hit a seam and tackle a runner without getting dragged an extra 3-5 yards.

[Boltinloudguy]

Didn’t he weigh 225 lbs at combine and his pro day bulked up to 230 lbs? He can easily add another 5-7 lbs and not lose his athleticism. Look at Neiman, he’s up to 240 lbs after coming in at 235 Lbs.

[Boltnut]

I had him in probably 90% of my mocks because he was always there in the 4th and 5th rounds. I had a 2 on him. He is going to be really good for us.

Mid-season, Henley was available in the 4th round in most of my mocks.
Then he started climbing...
By the end, he was available in the 3rd round about half of the time.
I bounced back and forth between Henley and Overshown.
Henly was better vs. the run IMO.
Very good at read/react... which both Tranquill and K9 suck at.
I think Henley is a very good fit for Staley's defense.

[dmac_bolt]

Mid-season, Henley was available in the 4th round in most of my mocks.
Then he started climbing...
By the end, he was available in the 3rd round about half of the time.
I bounced back and forth between Henley and Overshown.
Henly was better vs. the run IMO.
Very good at read/react... which both Tranquill and K9 suck at.
I think Henley is a very good fit for Staley's defense.

Agree. His college tape shows the “playing football” talent that we lacked so much. K9 may show up ready to ball out like his pedigree warrants. If he doesn’t, I like this kid to get a lot of play time faster than expected.

He would have been gone by 21st pick of R4, i think. Well timed selection imo, same with Tuli, Tuli would have been gone R3. DD is the one pick timing we can’t be sure of - all others look either spot on or steals. DD is just a wildcard, he wasnt’ a R4 WR, but he adds #1 returner and that combo formula doesn’t factor cleanly into most / all? rankings as far as I can tell.

we’ll know by end of year if he was a reach or a steal.

I know other teams had better drafts, other teams had a lot more picks taken a lot earlier in rounds. Can’t help that TT didn’t have 2 picks in the top 10 if both R1 and R2. You’d have to be a complete moron to not have a better draft with those selections. I like our draft sitting here in May, am excited to see them prove the staff right in time. They gotta go and do it.

[Boltnut]

Didn’t he weigh 225 lbs at combine and his pro day bulked up to 230 lbs? He can easily add another 5-7 lbs and not lose his athleticism. Look at Neiman, he’s up to 240 lbs after coming in at 235 Lbs.

I think Henley will play at 230 lbs. But his weight won't be as important as his read/react abilities... I think that's why he was valued.
He is similar to both Phillips and White... in that he played safety and understands coverage concepts. But he played the LB position for Washington State. So his projection to the LB position is easier. He showed the ability to play his assignments in the run game... fill gaps against the run. That's what Staley wants his off-ball LB to do... something that K9 is poor at.

Once Kendricks was brought in to replace Tranquill, I had a feeling that off-ball LB would be a target for Staley in the draft.

[Boltnut]

Agree. His college tape shows the “playing football” talent that we lacked so much. K9 may show up ready to ball out like his pedigree warrants. If he doesn’t, I like this kid to get a lot of play time faster than expected.

He would have been gone by 21st pick of R4, i think. Well timed selection imo, same with Tuli, Tuli would have been gone R3. DD is the one pick timing we can’t be sure of - all others look either spot on or steals. DD is just a wildcard, he wasnt’ a R4 WR, but he adds #1 returner and that combo formula doesn’t factor cleanly into most / all? rankings as far as I can tell.

we’ll know by end of year if he was a reach or a steal.

I know other teams had better drafts, other teams had a lot more picks taken a lot earlier in rounds. Can’t help that TT didn’t have 2 picks in the top 10 if both R1 and R2. You’d have to be a complete moron to not have a better draft with those selections. I like our draft sitting here in May, am excited to see them prove the staff right in time. They gotta go and do it.

I think every team has different needs... every team has different players ranked according to how they fit and/or they use said players.
Tuli, Daiyan, DD were ranked differently by the Chargers because of the way we will use them.

Tuli will be used as EDGE depth and as a 4th pass rusher on 3rd-and-long. Passing downs... don't be surprised to see Bosa, Tuli, Fox, and Mack along the D-line. Creating pressure with only 4 pass rushers will allow for better coverage (nickel and dime)... and less time for QB's to make decisions. Tuli is versatile.

Daiyan will be a 3-down LB... because he can play assignments, read/react, and be effective in coverage as well as play the run. Henley is versatile.

DD will be used a lot more in Kellen Moore's offense than people realize. We now have someone to execute Bubble Screens and Jet Sweeps. DD is versatile.

The versatility made these players' value (in the Chargers' schemes) higher.
Pundits create rankings upon where they believe the average team will pick them... not based on specific teams specific needs/schemes.
Let's not forget that Tre Tucker went before DD. Was it a reach...? Or will the Raiders use him in a way that warrants his 3rd round selection...?
Most pundits had Tre Tucker going 7th round or UDFA.

I bet some teams were counting on getting Tucker or Davis in the 6th/7th rounds... and now they don't have them.