Grading Chargers LB Daiyan Henley and the 2026 linebacker room

The Chargers' 2026 linebacker room is one of the few position groups on the team that's been nearly unchanged relative to to last season. Daiyan Henley returns as the clear-cut top linebacker on the roster. The team re-signed Denzel Perryman while Troy Dye enters the final year of his deal. Marlowe Wax, Del'Shawn Phillips and Junior Colson all return as well. UDFA Lander Barton is the only new name that's been thrown into the mix.

It feels like Los Angeles is comfortable with what they have for at least this season. The Chargers have not taken a linebacker in the draft since their third-round selection Michigan's Colson in 2024.

There are reasons to be confident in what the group can achieve this season in addition to some questions that need to be answered.

How is the Chargers LB room shaping up in 2026?

LB1: Daiyan Henley

Daiyan Henley's third season in the league didn't quite match the heights of his 2024 campaign. It felt like he was on the cusp of a breakout year at the beginning. He had two fantastic games to start the season vs. Kansas City and Las Vegas. In those wins, Henley racked up 18 tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks, and an interception. He was all over the field and incredibly disciplined in his approach.

But for a multitude of reasons, the rest of the season wasn't played at the same level as those first two games. Henley lost roughly 15-20 pounds as the result of illness that took place prior to his "flu game" against the Raiders in Week 2. In November, he also dealt with the death of his brother during the season.

Given those circumstances, it's understandable as to why the rest of the campaign was more up and down for Henley. But there were still prominent flashes of what made him as good as he was in 2024. His efforts against Kansas City in Week 15 and the Wild Card game against New England were amongst the best performances of his career.

There will be a lot of pressure on Henley in a contract year this season. But there are also reasons to believe he can have the breakout season many thought he would have last year in 2026.

Grade: B

LB2: Denzel Perryman

Much like other Chargers players that have been written about in this grades series, the concern for Denzel Perryman is availability. When he was able to play last year, he remained a quality thumper in the run game. He missed 7.5% fewer of his tackles from year to year vs. 2024. Despite the age concerns, Perryman is still in good form as a run defender. Overall, the film was an improvement over his 2024 campaign with the Chargers.

But Perryman played just 10 games in 2025 after he played 11 in 2024. Due to both injury and suspension, that's a a combined 13 games missed over the last two years. Perryman missed two games at the end of the season due to a repeat violation of player safety rules with a helmet-to-helmet hit vs. Dallas. In addition to being older, there's potential injury and suspension related availability risk with him.

For the value of his contract, it made sense on paper for the team to run it back with Perryman. But given the availability concerns, I'm a little surprised there was no financial or draft assets put towards the linebacker room.

Grade: C+

LB3: Troy Dye

In general, Troy Dye is a perfectly competent third linebacker in the rotation. But this is a point almost directly related to the availability of Perryman. In games where Dye had to play more in his absence, some of the cracks in the rotation started to show. Dye had a missed tackle rate over 20% and allowed a passer rating of 114.0 last season.

Essentially it can be boiled down to when Dye is able to focus on special teams with more sparse defensive work, he's very effective. When he has to play more on defense in relief of someone like Perryman, that's less true. But for what he's making on his contract and his utility as a rotation guy, he's fine.

Grade: C

The competition for LB4: Marlowe Wax, Del'Shawn Phillips, Junior Colson

Marlowe Wax feels like the name from this group who has the best chance of earning serious playing time at linebacker. Wax played his way onto the roster last preseason after his undeniable string of performances. In particular, Wax had a 93.7 PFF graded defensive performance vs. the 49ers that sealed the deal. He was flying all over the field with a sack, two pressures, four tackles, four stops, and a forced fumble.

Wax then proved himself again in the regular season with an electric performance vs. Denver in Week 18. It was a game that felt like his audition tape for a bigger role next season as the Chargers were resting starters.

Marlowe Wax: B

Del'Shawn Phillips serves as the teams' special teams ace. Along with S Derwin James Jr., Phillips earned a second-team All-Pro for his work on special teams with the Bolts. He led the Chargers with 371 special teams snaps in 2025. On those snaps, he earned an 82.2 PFF special teams grade.

Like Wax, Phillips also impressed in the last game of the season on defensive film vs. Denver. His main work will be on special teams, but the team would trust him to play on defense in a pinch.

Del'Shawn Phillips: B+

It's now or never for Junior Colson. No one thought we'd be sitting here two years after he was selected in the third round of the 2024 Draft. The prospect was great, the fit with the team was great-it worked incredibly well on paper. But Colson has missed time at various points due to an appendectomy, an ankle injury that landed him on IR in 2024, and a shoulder injury that ended his 2025 campaign before it even started.

In between the injuries, the film has just never resembled how rangy and cerebral he was in college. Colson had the lowest defensive PFF defensive grade (29.8) last preseason of any Chargers player that played 10+ snaps. He also allowed a 111.7 passer rating and had a 25.0% missed tackle rate.

If we're going off of the prospect he was supposed to be, there would be no questioning Colson's roster spot. But his Michigan form has never been found in the pros. Entering this training camp, Wax almost certainly has the upper hand based off of what he showed last season. And only a potential reappearance from Michigan Colson would make things interesting.

Junior Colson: D

Practice squad competition: Emany Johnson, Lander Barton

It's worth noting that of the UDFAs, Utah's Lander Barton was tied for the second highest contract guarantee of $247.5K. The only undrafted free agent Los Angeles guaranteed more was OT Isaiah World at over $500K. Barton was effectively a four year starter for Utah at LB. He even played a little bit of TE on offense last season.

Emany Johnson has been with the Chargers in some capacity since joining the practice squad during the 2024 season. He'll be looking to make the practice squad again in an attempt to remain with the team (or put up enough good tape that lands him a better gig elsewhere).

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