{"id":144527,"date":"2023-08-26T12:30:02","date_gmt":"2023-08-26T16:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=144527"},"modified":"2023-08-26T02:04:00","modified_gmt":"2023-08-26T06:04:00","slug":"daiyan-henley-completes-strong-preseason-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2023\/08\/26\/daiyan-henley-completes-strong-preseason-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"Daiyan Henley Completes Strong Preseason Campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"

Daiyan Henley<\/a> was a semi-unexpected draft choice by the Chargers this year, as linebacker had not been considered urgent enough to spend a third-round pick on. And yet they did \u2013 a draft pick that suggested Kenneth Murray was on the hot seat. After a quite solid preseason from Henley, the future does seem bright with him \u2013 and though he almost certainly won\u2019t be the starter in Week 1, he could become one as soon as this year, depending on how Murray plays.<\/p>\n

[cta id=4013 type=cta]<\/p>\n

Daiyan Henley Finishes Preseason on High Note<\/h2>\n

Pre-Draft<\/h3>\n

As stated earlier, it appears that Kenneth Murray may be in Brandon Staley\u2019s doghouse, as otherwise there wouldn\u2019t be much reason to spend a third-round pick on a new inside linebacker when you have Eric Kendricks opposite Murray. The fact that the Chargers declined Murray\u2019s fifth-year option on Draft weekend seems to further confirm this, meaning Murray is now in a contract year.<\/p>\n

Assuming that Henley wasn\u2019t a bust, there is some wisdom in all of this. If Murray doesn\u2019t step up in a contract year, then they can let him walk next off-season and turn to Henley, and let him take the reins with a year of experience under his belt. If Murray proved to be enough of a liability in-season this year, they could actually have a second option to turn to.<\/p>\n

Daiyan Henley In the Preseason<\/h3>\n

Henley has shown ability in multiple facets of the game thus far. He led the team in the preseason with four passes defensed. In the preseason finale against the 49ers, he nabbed an interception off a deflection from Cam Brown. He could have even had two interceptions in that game, but he dropped one in the end zone. Regardless, this is a promising sign for his pass coverage.<\/p>\n

But he\u2019s also shown flashes elsewhere too \u2013 even as a pass-rusher, despite that not being one of his primary jobs. As seen in the clip below, he got half a sack with Carlo Kemp after running almost unblocked to Jameis Winston. And if this montage<\/a> is any indication, he can be solid in run defense as well. It helps that he\u2019s quite fast by linebacker standards (he played receiver early in college), so that helps him get to the ball quickly.<\/p>\n

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Daiyan Henley with a Derwin-like rush out there, combines for sack with Carlo Kemp. pic.twitter.com\/D4HhGj5laV<\/a><\/p>\n

— Alex Insdorf (@alexinsdorf99) August 21, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n