Daiyan Henley, LB Washington State: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Henley was a two-star recruit from Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles, Calif. in the class of 2017

Washington State linebacker Daiyan Henley is an explosive athlete who began his college career as a wide receiver and return man at Nevada. Henley’s athletic upside and coverage skills make him worthy of a top-75 selection in the 2023 NFL Draft.

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Daiyan Henley, LB Washington State: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Redshirt senior linebacker from Los Angeles, Calif.

Background: Henley was a two-star recruit from Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles, Calif. in the class of 2017. He was the No. 3,723 recruit according to 247Sports and an unranked two-star recruit for Rivals. Henley didn’t receive a national ranking or star rating from On3.com or ESPN. He committed to Nevada over Hawaii before transferring to Washington State ahead of the 2022 season. In high school, Henley earned City MVP honors and helped Crenshaw reach the 2015 City Championship.

Injuries & Off-Field: Missed nine games in 2019 with a season-ending knee injury

Awards: 2021 Second-Team All-Mountain West, 2022 First-Team All-Pac-12 (Defense), 2022 Second-Team All-Pac-12 (Special Teams)

Pros: Extreme special teams versatility, more than a dozen tackles on special teams, high motor player, good looseness in hips, doesn’t carry much mass but very muscular, explosive athlete who can dip and bend, lateral agility and burst, speed to recover when beaten, high-end reactionary athleticism, expansive range, gains easy depth in zone drops, ideal athletic traits and range in zone, speed to carry pass catchers vertically, speed to transition from Mug look to carrying wide receivers or tight ends vertically up the seam, uses his fluidity to duck around blockers, long arms to challenge and separate from blockers, gap shooter, quick to trigger downhill against the run, shows athleticism scraping to the ball carrier, flashes of instinctive plays against the run, cutting down on missed tackles, good form tackler, ball skills, nose for forcing fumbles

Cons: Age, still newer to the position, more of a projection than finished product despite age, down-to-down consistency, doesn’t carry the mass to thump blockers, struggles separating from blocks and gets taken out of plays, late to recognize pulling or climbing offensive linemen, displaced by climbing linemen, still learning to read and diagnose plays in a timely manner, over-pursues and opens cutback lanes, occasionally loses contain, better flowing north-south than east-west from a processing standpoint, still working to move beyond his “see ball, get ball” phase

Overview: Henley took official measurements at the NFL Combine. He’s listed at 6’1’’ and weighs 225 lbs. He has 9 1/2-inch hands and 33-inch arms. Henley had a 78 3/8-inch wingspan at the Senior Bowl. He is a former high school quarterback who played wide receiver and kick returner early in his time at Nevada before transitioning to defensive back in 2019. He finally settled in at linebacker in 2020. Henley is one of the older prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft, and he enters the league with 61 college games under his belt. Henley is a special teams ace with more than 620 career special teams snaps split between the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units. He amassed nearly a dozen special teams tackles over the past two seasons. Henley is a high motor player who displays loose hips, a lean but muscular frame, excellent lateral agility and burst, and explosive athleticism. He dips and bends well for a linebacker and has the speed to recover when beaten. Henley relies heavily on his high-end reactionary athleticism and expansive range as a playmaker. The former two-star recruit has ideal athletic traits and range in zone and plays with the speed to carry pass catchers vertically. Sometimes Washington State lined him up in a mug look but then dropped him into man coverage on a tight end or wide receiver. Henley’s speed allows him to recover to his assignments on these plays and helps the defense disguise its coverage pre-snap. The California native uses his long arms to engage and separate from blockers, but he’ll also use his fluidity to duck around blockers. Henley’s explosiveness makes him an effective gap shooter. He’s quick to trigger downhill against the run and shows his athleticism scraping to the ball carrier. He’s already developing and flashing instinctive plays against the run. Henley cut back on his missed tackle attempts over the past few seasons and generally tackles with good form. He has impressive ball skills and a nose for forcing fumbles. While Henley is still new to the position, he’s already an old prospect. He remains more of a long-term projection than a finished product. His down-to-down consistency and ability to read and diagnose plays in a timely manner leave something to be desired. Henley doesn’t carry the mass to thump blockers, and he’s often late to recognize pulling or climbing offensive linemen that displace him. He over-pursues and opens cutback lanes against the run and sometimes loses contain. Right now, he’s better flowing north-south than east-west from a processing standpoint.

Overall, Henley is still in his “see ball, get ball” phase as a linebacker, but his unique blend of athletic traits, coverage skills, and versatility are worthy of a top-75 selection. Henley’s pre-snap recognition and post-snap processing need to improve, but his ceiling is arguably the highest of any linebacker in the draft.  

Role & Scheme Fit: Weakside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme

Round Projection: Late Second to Mid Third

Player Comparison: N/A

Submitted: 03-11-23