Could The Steelers Land The Best Linebacker In The 2023 NFL Draft?

Last year, the Pittsburgh Steelers' inside linebacker group was one of their most apparent weaknesses. The position was led by Devin Bush, Robert Spillane, and Myles Jack, with all three parting ways this past offseason. Pittsburgh ended up replacing them with two signings, Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts. They will join last year's seventh-round pick Mark Robinson and New York Giants' 2020 seventh-round pick Tae Crowder at the position. Should the Steelers spend draft picks in back-to-back years on another inside linebacker? 

Daiyan Henley played six years of college football, his first five were spent at Nevada before he transferred to Washington State for his senior year. Henley was a wide receiver before becoming a full-time linebacker, and you can see his smoothness carry over to the defensive side of the ball. At 6'1", 225 pounds, he is a little on the small side, but plays much bigger and has no issues on the field from his build. It is hard to judge middle linebackers off stats alone, but Henley had five interceptions in his last two seasons and managed over 94 total tackles in each of them.

Henley is insanely athletic and can fly around the field. He covers receivers, tight ends, and even running backs really well. His speed allows him to be a sideline-to-sideline ball hawk. Henley is arguably the best coverage linebacker in the draft. Look at how he keeps up with the best receiving tight end in the draft, Dalton Kincaid. 

Henley is also great against the run, playing with a super physical and downhill style vs opposing ball carriers. Being a smaller guy statistically compared to other ILB's in the NFL and the draft, he holds his own in between the tackles. Henley tends to use his quickness to weave through blockers and get to the running back. He has remarkable play strength and rarely lets offensive linemen block him. 

Henley can cover slot receivers or tight ends in man coverage extremely well. He can be a day-one starter for the Steelers and give a big boost to the defense. With only a couple of years playing linebacker under his belt, Henley will continue to learn the position and only get better.

On top of being an absolute freak on the field, Henley is a great teammate and has a great personality to go along with it. Football means the world to him, and he leaves everything he has out on the field. Henley could certainly be a leader and he plays with an edge that his teammates can gravitate towards. 

Both of Pittsburgh's free agent signings at inside linebacker come with some injury history. Robinson and Crowder haven't shown much in their limited time in the NFL either, and Holcomb is the only one that has shown to hold his own in coverage. Drafting an athletic beast like Henley could be just what this defense needs. Henley could boost this inside linebacker group from average to one of the best in the NFL.

Steelers Outlook With Henley

If drafted by Pittsburgh, Henley would immediately come in and find playing time, especially in passing situations. Henley has said that he believes he is an every-down linebacker, and he certainly looks capable of being that. He will be best used as a free-roaming inside linebacker and can really shine in tandem with Holcomb. It's hard to see any of the linebackers going in the first round, so Pittsburgh drafting him with the 49th overall pick looks to be the most likely landing spot if the Steelers want him. 

Would you like to see the Steelers draft Daiyan Henley? Let us know in the comments below.

#SteelerNation