Player: Daiyan Henley
School: Washington State
Measurables:
- Height: 6’1” (NFL Combine)
- Weight: 225 (NFL Combine)
- 40: 4.54 (NFL Combine)
- 10 Yard Split: 1.55 (NFL Combine)
- Bench: DNP
- Vertical Jump: 35” (NFL Combine)
- Broad Jump: 10’5” (NFL Combine)
- 3 Cone: DNP
- 20 Yard Shuttle: DNP
Graded Position Specific Traits:
- Run Support: 5.75/10
- Tackling: 5.5/10
- Field Vision: 5/10
- Man Coverage: 5.75/10
- Zone Coverage: 5.5/10
- Blitzing: 4.75/10
- Block Shedding: 5.5/10
- Range: 6/10
Prospect Grade: 43.75/80; 54.7%- Possible role player with starter potential, but needs time to develop
Projected Draft Day: Mid Round 4- Round 5
Player Comparison: Akeem Davis-Gaither
Player Summary:
Henley is a prospect that seems to be shooting up draft boards with every passing day with many people calling him underrated. I don’t necessarily agree with that. Henley wasn’t even a three down backer for the Cougars. He played pretty significant snaps, but not three downs. I think Henley’s best football probably lies ahead of him, but I was not impressed with the tape.
Henley played college ball at Nevada before making his 2022 debut at Washington State. At Nevada Henley played WR, LB, and S. Now, I love versatility, I think that’s all well and good, but I also think when it’s not flexibility within your position(meaning being able to play all spots as a LB) it’s a different story. When you are asked to do as much as he did at Nevada, I think it actually hurts your development as a draft prospect. Henley lacks pro level LB instincts and skill set. His ability to read his keys is inconsistent. Sometimes he doesn’t read his keys at all, and sometimes when he does he is sent the wrong way with misdirection because he’s lacking the instincts that come with the experience of being a LB. In coverage, his eyes are glued on the QB a lot of the time. In zone, you can see on tape that Henely floats where the QB is looking. In the Oregon game you can see Nix take Henley out of the play simply by looking left before throwing right, and it happened a few times. He just looks out of place at times.
In terms of playing against the run and in the box, he struggles to get off blocks. However, with that being said he likes to shoot gaps and dip around blockers to make a play on the ball carrier. The issue with that is a ball carrier with good vision will cut based on you committing to a side and then suddenly he has some green grass ahead of him. When he’s in space he takes poor pursuit angles at times and will even lose any leverage he has on the ball carrier. Washington State did blitz Henley a good amount, but he was ineffective a majority of the time. Off the edge, he is extremely reliant on speed and relentlessly chasing down the QB in the backfield over any use of pass rush moves. When they blitzed him to an interior gap you could see Henley drop his head right before making contact at the line. The result when you drop your head is you lose sight of the ball and you see that happen more often than not in the film.
What keeps Henley afloat most of the time is his high motor style of play and running down every play. Henley is able to run sideline-to-sideline. He also isn’t too bad in space although he’s not as good in space as people are saying he is. He needs work specifically as a LB with reading keys and understanding playing the position, as well as needs to develop some instincts that come with experience. Henley does flash on tape though, he shows what he’s capable of with some time. Henley could possibly work in on third down and pass downs early, but be ready for some up and down tape. He should be able to play special teams for whoever drafts him, but defensive snaps are going to need to be earned over time.