NFL Draft Profile: Daiyan Henley, Linebacker, Washington State Cougars
In this story:
Daiyan Henley
Washington State Cougars
#1
Pos: LB
Ht: 6003
Wt: 225
Hand: 0948
Arm: 3300
Wing: 7768
40: 4.54
DOB: 11/18/1999
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
High School: Crenshaw
Eligibility: 2023
One-Liner:
A see ball get ball player that poses an upstanding athletic profile.
Evaluation:
Length that sits on an elongated but chiseled frame. Can play in the boundary or as an overhang. Able to zone drop from a mugged look pre-snap. Carries wideouts up the boundary, aware enough to get his head around and play the ball. Fluid enough to sink and send, flipping his hips and covering ground. Finding the ball is something he does consistently on tape, with routine plays involving turnovers. Constantly running to and through the ball carrier. Limber physique that’s more reminiscent of a defensive back compared to a stacked backer, although came back bigger in 2022 after transferring. Runs into traffic and won't cleanly read the play and flow strongside. Too many arm tackles, want to see him bring his weight through the launch point. Some of this is contributed to over-pursuing and allowing cutback lanes. Henley is an imposing defender that plays with a missle-like honing system. The problem is this tunnel vision allows too many cutbacks or misread plays by Henley. A player sure to win the weigh-ins and test well, cleaning up some of the fundamentals required for stacked backers will be paramount in his success at the next level. With a chance to impress at the Senior Bowl and light up athletic testing, expect to hear Henley’s name a lot in the pre-draft lead-up.
Grade:
4th Round
Background:
Originally from Los Angeles, California. Attended Crenshaw High School and was rated as a two-star recruit by 247Sports. Committed to Washington State University. During his freshman and sophomore season, he played as a receiver. Played a little bit of linebacker during his second year. He had a very strong redshirt junior season, finishing with forty-nine tackles, which was ranked third on his team. He had an outstanding following season, playing in all twelve games and having 103 tackles, which led his team. He continued this strong play going into his redshirt senior season, finishing with 106 tackles and 4.0 sacks. He declared for the 2023 NFL Draft.
