NFL analysts predict that the young charging defender will be a superstar in 2025 Originally appeared on Sports Athlon.
During a recent episode of The athletic football showHost Derrick Klassen and Diante Lee of The Ringer discussed several defensive players who, according to them, can take the next step to become the best players in their positions next season, including the Los Angeles Loaders Daiyan Henley.
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Their praise for Henley extend beyond the idea of a pro bowl or two, Klassen declaring that Henley is the only player in the group he is confident will become a star.
Although this may seem a drastic exaggeration for anyone who did not look at a lot of football in 2024, they are the drum fans for a large part of last season. If you have passed to watch the defense of the charges last year, you saw a coverage in the league with the potential to become one of the best versatile secondary in the league.
If you ask Klassen and Lee, it could happen next season.
November 17, 2024; Inglewood, California, United States; The quarter of the Bengals of Cincinnati, Joe Burrow (9), launched the pressure of the secondary of Los Angeles Chargers Daiyan Henley (0) during the second half at the Sofi stadium. Compulsory credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images © Gary A & Period; Images Vasquez-Imagn
These expectations may seem unrealistic for a third round secondary playing in one of the most difficult divisions of football, but Henley has what it takes. Its coverage capacity is already among the best in sport, and the statistics support this assertion. In 2024, Henley was the most targeted secondary in the league. On these targets? Henley has granted an astonishing -10.9 estimated points added (EPA), according to next generation statistics.
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He excels in cover due to a mixture of instincts, athletics and his time spent in the cinema. These qualities align well with the heavy defensive scheme of the defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, in which Henley must be able to cover a lot of land quickly and plans where the ball can go.
Henley has these qualities with the shovel, as demonstrated below by Joseph Acosta de Sbnation::
Henley presented this remarkable level of play on a weekly basis in the back half of the season, when he developed more comfortable in his role. It may seem strange to learn that a second-year player still included things halfway through his second season, but Henley did not have many opportunities under the coache of 2023, playing only 53 snaps throughout his recruit year.
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This is why many were surprised by Henley’s instincts and the level of veterans for the game, one aspect of his Klassen game called particular attention to:
“His position interview, both in the race game and on the cover, outside of Fred Warner, could be among the best in the league.”
A key element of Klassen’s comment highlights what distinguishes Henley from the rest of the pack. In today’s League, the number of seconds who excels in the cover and against the race is limited, but Henley is firmly on this list. Lee was particularly surprised by Henley’s ability to be a hard -hitting race defender, because he initially thought that Henley would have trouble in this area when he was assessing his university band in 2023. However, this perspective has changed radically this season, and Lee’s expectations for the young defender climbed.
“The fact that on his recruit agreement, he already flashes that he can be a more run defender in some respects, it is so encouraging that now I am in a way in a place where I do not see how it fails,” said Lee.
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The idea that Henley would have trouble in the NFL as a racing defender is certainly understandable, because 6’1 “and 225 pounds is not exactly the ideal body type necessary to take blocks of lines which prevail up to 100 pounds. However, Henley uses his prior mixture of athletics and instincts to alleviate this size.
This is illustrated below in a Klassen tweet from November, in which Henley beats the center of the Bengals Ted Karras at the point of attack and drops the Ballon Brown carrier for a short gain.
In the end, the needle points the way, high for Henley. Lee says that he “cannot see him never do a pro bowl”, and Klassen mentioned until the end of the 2024 season, he thought: “This guy will be a superstar.”
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If Klassen and Lee are right, the defense of the loads can continue to rely on its dominant season in 2024, where they finished first by points authorized per game (17.7). If Henley takes the plunge, many think he will do it, their defense could be in the first level of the League for the years to come.
Related: Ladd McConkey landed on PFF WR 2025 rankings before several big names
This story was initially reported by Sports Athlon On June 13, 2025, where he appeared for the first time.
