When you cover one team for nearly a decade, you're bound to get some takes wrong. While everyone has their own grocery list of bad takes that age poorly with the benefit of hindsight, my not-so-complimentary takes on Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley have particularly aged horribly.
Taken in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, Henley has emerged as one of the best players on the entire Chargers roster. Henley has legitimate All-Pro potential and has showcased that thus far during the 2025 season.
You would've never thought Henley could reach these heights reading my work on Bolt Beat back in 2023. While the potential was always there, it's safe to say Henley was not the prospect I wanted the Chargers to draft in the third round.
"While it is not hard to sell yourself on Henley, the selection itself is still head-scratching. Darnell Washington was still on the board and the Chargers could have also addressed other areas of the defense," I wrote back in 2023.
"This is the same team that did not value the position enough to pay Kyzir White or Drue Tranquill $3 million, but will use a third-round pick without thinking twice."
Every great Daiyan Henley performance is a dagger to my 2023 NFL Draft takes
Henley has followed his sophomore breakout nicely in 2025, even if it hasn't been a perfect season thus far. The third-year linebacker trails only Derwin James in total tackles and has already logged an interception and two sacks in the young season.
Both sacks and the lone interception came against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 2. This was a particularly impressive performance as Henley was dealing with an illness that resulted in him losing dozens of pounds.
It didn't matter. Henley is special enough to impact the game even when he's not 100%, despite what pundits may have said about him heading out of the 2023 NFL Draft.
The more damning admission is the double-down that ensued later in the 2023 season. Henley didn't play much his rookie season as the Chargers instead turned to veteran linebackers Kenneth Murray and Eric Kendricks.
Henley being a non-factor was all the evidence I needed to prove my draft argument, or so I thought. In mid-October, I circled Henley as a 2023 draft pick the Chargers should already regret.
"Meanwhile, linebacker is a way easier position to backfill in free agency for cheap while actually finding an impactful player. Sometimes you can even land guys like Kyzir White or Drue Tranquill for $3 million in free agency! Find a tight end who is as good as Tranquill is at linebacker for only $3 million in free agency. You won't."
To be fair to myself, prior to that excerpt I made it clear that it wasn't an anti-Henley argument, and more of an argument for Washington. That would be easier to stomach if Washington turned into the top-tier tight end I thought he would be. He hasn't.
Washington has had a positive impact on the Steelers but he definitely has not played up to the lofty expectations I had for him. The six-foot-seven tight end is a menacing blocker but he has not developed as a pass-catcher and still spends roughly half of his time on the bench.
Washington played 52% of defensive snaps in 2024 and has matched that number thus far in 2025. He's caught three passes for 20 yards in four games. He has one career touchdown.
Yeah... it's safe to say I was pretty wrong about the Chargers drafting Daiyan Henley. Hand up, that's on me.