EL SEGUNDO — Linebacker Daiyan Henley’s election as one of the Chargers’ captains earlier this week shouldn’t have come as any surprise. After all, he began displaying leadership skills on and off the field last season, his second in the NFL after he was drafted in the third round in 2023.
It was surprising only if you looked back to his rookie season, when he had injuries and only saw the field consistently as a special teams player. But he didn’t complain. He didn’t speak up, but rather he kept his eyes and ears wide open and learned his craft on and off the field.
It served him well during the 2024 season, when he led the Chargers with 142 tackles. When he spoke, when he displayed the outgoing personality that defined him back to when he played quarterback at Crenshaw High, his Chargers teammates listened.
The Chargers were drawn to Henley starting at about the midway point of last season. It was one thing to talk a good game, but quite another to play one, too. Above all, Henley kept finding ways to stand out in a defense that ended the season as the NFL’s best, giving up only 17.7 points per game.
In addition to becoming the Chargers’ leading tackler, Henley also had one interception, one sack and seven tackles for loss. He was credited with eight pass defenses and three quarterback hits, playing a vital role as the defensive signal-caller, wearing the green dot on his helmet.
Suddenly, far more accomplished and experienced players were looking at him in the huddle to learn what the call from Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter would be. It could have been a nerve-jangling experience, but Henley handled it with ease, as he has so many other assignments.
Left tackle Joe Alt didn’t hesitate when asked if he voted for Henley.
“Yeah, I did vote for him,” Alt said, smiling.
Said Minter: “He’s a guy who certainly has earned that role. I thought he really started to become that guy towards the middle of last year. I think the guys saw … how he prepares and how he works and then how you play. When you put all those things together, you become a leader naturally.”
So, where did his leadership qualities come from? Certainly not from nowhere. There had to be influential leaders in Henley’s life inside and outside of football while growing up. There had to be experiences and pivotal moments in his younger days that led him to this point, right?
Of course.
“As a family-oriented guy, you just watch the men in your family lead, and it’s definitely something I’ve been able to be a part of and just learn and grow,” Henley said Friday. “I was a QB growing up, so I’ve always been in a position where I had to speak up. It’s kind of followed me along the way.”
It was one thing to have his high school classmates listening intently in the Cougars’ huddle in front a few hundred friends and family, but it’s quite another to have outside linebacker Khalil Mack, a likely Hall of Famer, and Derwin James Jr. hanging on his every word in front of 75,000 fans at SoFi Stadium.
So, Henley looked to players like Mack and James and linebacker Denzel Perryman and quarterback Justin Herbert to learn how to become a better leader. Henley watched and listened and absorbed all he could in his first two seasons in the NFL. The results have been winning.
“I tried to just emulate the type of leadership or qualities they possess,” Henley said. “Derwin, more vocal, energy, juice kind of a guy. Khalil, more action, just not going to say a lot, but going to do so much. Denzel, a little mix of playfulness here and there, but when it’s time to be serious, head down and work, that’s Denzel. Then you’ve got Justin, again, doesn’t say much, all action driven.
“So, I take a little bit from each of those guys.”
Bottom line?
“You have to prove yourself in this league,” Henley said. “It’s something that can define you as a leader. You don’t have to follow anybody, but good leaders will have somebody. There’s always somebody above a leader. It just comes down to doing it the right way. You can’t follow the blind. You have to be able to be someone who is able to learn from someone else and apply it to what you’ve got.
“I feel like you constantly have to prove why you should be a leader.”