After the Chargers 2024 season wrapped up last January, it was clear that Daiyan Henley had emerged as one of the team's most important players in the middle of the defense.

At the same time, however, he was also quietly becoming one of the Bolts leading voices after just his second season.

The 25-year-old linebacker said Chargers Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter revealed something to him at the conclusion of the season that the defensive playcaller had noticed as the season progressed.

On a team with the likes of unquestioned leaders like Khalil Mack and Derwin James, Jr., Henley was coming into his own as one of those voices in just his first season as a starter.

"He felt I was becoming a leader midway through," Henley told Chargers.com. "He felt like the guys were just gravitating and listening to me.

"He told me at the end of the season, he didn't tell me while I was playing," Henley added. "He waited until it was all said and done when he told me that."

It was a reassurance that was incredibly valuable to Henley after leading the Chargers in tackles in his second year, but also something that fueled his desire to get better heading into the offseason.

And it helped him become a team captain in 2025 for the first time in his young career.

"It just made me realize that if my coaches believe I have the leadership tools and my teammates believe I have the leadership tools, then if I'm doing something right," Henley said.

"I need to continue to do so," Henley added.

Henley was voted a team captain ahead of the regular season by his teammates, a testament to the growth the linebacker has shown in all facets in the middle of the Bolts defense.

He led the Chargers with 147 total tackles and played the most defensive snaps on the team with 996 just a year after seeing very limited action as a rookie.

He was also the only NFL player in 2024 to record at least 120 tackles and more than seven passes defensed during the regular season, as he continuously showed off his athleticism and range through the air and on the ground.

But for as much confidence as a year like that gives a young player, Henley echoed a desire to take it up another level from the moment last season ended.

"Something I've been focused on is not being caught up on last season and more so focusing on what I can make happen for me this season," Henley said. "That's a lot of my offseason, just focusing on having a better Year 3.

"It has flown by a bit, so I'm trying to embrace the time that I have right now and enjoy it and make sure I'm having fun while doing it," Henley added.

His determination to have a better third season led him to being in the team facility for a lot of the offseason, watching hours of film on his play from last year and other linebackers around the league.

Henley took advantage of every avenue he could as the offseason progressed, whether it was teammates or coaches.

It was easy to tell how much he was committed to it, and everyone on the team took notice.

"That's where it starts at," Chargers linebacker coach NaVorro Bowman said about Henley during the offseason. "We can do so much as coaches, have a schedule, but we don't know who's listening in these meetings, we don't know who's writing down the right things.

"So, when you get a guy that wants to do the extra work and come here for themselves, you know they really care about their job and want to get better," Bowman added. "That's what it's about, you taking initiative out of the building as well as after the schedule is over."

Of course, being the 'quarterback of the defense' as a linebacker, especially wearing the green dot like Henley did last year, comes with a certain voice as he's consistently relaying messages to his teammates.

Combining that role with the confidence, experience and overall production he had, not to mention his infectious personality, it started to spill onto the practice field more and more throughout the summer as he began to show more outward strides.

"He's talking more, he's being that leader, he's confident," James said about Henley in June. "I feel like the more Daiyan continues to play, the more he continues to lead, it'll be that much easier for him. He's that type of guy."

Linebacker Denzel Perryman added: "I know last year as a player he grew and he's still growing now. Even when we do our workouts, he's first in line, he's leading the line, he'll break down the group, he's showing that leadership right now. I'm happy with the person he's become."

There was much more of that during training camp as the linebacker continued to make plays and made his presence known on the field and as a voice.

So much so that even one of the team's leaders knew what was coming for Henley.

"It was a couple weeks before I got voted captain that Khalil Mack hit me on the chest and said, 'You're going to be a captain this year,'" Henley recalled. "He didn't know, he just kind of felt that.

"Having those guys see me that way, it makes me work harder, want to be better, want even more for myself and them," Henley added.

The future Hall of Famer was correct, as he would join Mack as one of the three defensive captains that included him, Henley and James, plus Perryman as an alternate.

Someone of Mack's caliber telling him that unprompted meant a ton to Henley, who was beginning to see his development continue on an upward trend on and off the field.

Getting the reassurance from the veterans and leaders he has seen work up close told him a lot about what he's been doing heading into just his second year as a starter.

"I think it means so much to me that they view me that way because, it sounds crazy, but I do look for approval from my vets, leaders and captains," Henley said. "Derwin James, Khalil Mack, Denzel Perryman, I look for approval from them because I want to make sure they see I'm working for it.

"They understand this is not something I wanted to be given, I wanted it to be earned," Henley continued. "I felt like they felt like I earned it."

He later added: "I just feel like becoming a captain this early in my career is that much more meaningful to me because it shows I've had growth not only on the field but off the field… It's something my teammates seen within the offseason, whether it was working out or studying, that they believed in me to be one of the leaders of this team. For me, I just appreciate that."

In his first game donning the 'C' on his chest, Henley showed much of the same he has since becoming a starting linebacker.

Henley had the second-most tackles on the team with eight and notched a sack and a tackle for loss in Week 1’s win against the Chiefs.

In the moment, the elation of the season-opening win overshadowed everything for Henley as he walked off the field celebrating with his team.

But as got back to his locker and looked at the photos from the game on his phone, he had a realization that hit him.

"When I saw the 'C' on the jersey I was like, 'Dang.' It's just different," Henley said. "I'll have plenty of wins, but just to have the 'C' on my chest meant a lot."

It was his first win as a team captain since he was a quarterback in high school, the last time he ever had that role.

While he'll be in the middle of many more wins for the Chargers, it was a big personal moment to have that under his belt.

"To get a win, to kind of solidify the mark of the beginning of the season, that's something I wanted to take note on, as a benchmark in my life," Henley said. "That's why it was so meaningful to me to have my first win as a captain under my belt.

"We'll have plenty of wins, but it's been a long time since I've been a captain," Henley added. "Just to do it in the NFL makes that much more. Everyone knows as a captain, as a leader, the good is on you and the bad is on you… To have that little bit of a nudge in the right direction feels good."

He followed up his season-opening performance with a monster performance in Week 2, racking up 10 tackles, an interception, a sack, two tackles for loss and two passes defensed while pushing through an illness that left serious unknown whether he would even play in the game.

Henley became the first Chargers player to record at least 10 tackles, an interception and a sack in a game since Rodney Harrison did so during the 2000 season.

He showed why he was voted a captain with an inspiring performance, leaving it all out there in arguably his best game as a pro.

"Daiyan is a warrior," James said about Henley after Week 2. "Y'all didn't get to see, but the whole week he's been down, can't even get out of bed and he went out here and gave us everything he had today… A lot of respect for that boy because I don't know how he did it."

Henley added: "I just wanted to give my all to my team. I was thinking whether I'm 100 percent, 90 percent, whatever percentage I got, I'm going to give it my all."

The bigger goal remains the same for Henley, however, with or without the 'C' on the chest.

He's determined to do everything he can for the Chargers defense to help get them where they want to go — and continue to display his commitment being the best version he could be.

"Business as usual. Having this role doesn't change the task. It doesn't change the goal," Henley said. "We want to get there by any means necessary. We understand this doesn't make it different. If I hadn't been selected as a captain, that would not have changed anything at all one bit.

"I would still be vocal about the things I needed to be vocal about and still working and busting my ass on the football field to make the plays I need to make for team," Henley continued. "The 'C' doesn't change the goal."

He later added: "I've always tried to work my way back into the position to try to be the guy depended on. I always wanted to make sure I wasn't the guy that was vocally a chirper as far as on the football field, but somebody who puts in the work and shows the resume of doing more so than saying."