While many wanted the Denver Broncos to add a running back or tight end, the team added an inside linebacker as the 2026 NFL Trade Deadline wound down.
Denver swung a deal with the Los Angeles Chargers for Daiyan Henley, a team captain who was in the final year of his rookie deal and is now in his age-27 season. It was quite the shocking move, as there didn't seem to be any national indication that Denver was looking at the LB spot, but Henley does fill a need that had lingered for years prior.
With Henley now in the mix, the Broncos may have just emphatically revealed their plan for the position for the rest of 2026 and beyond.
The Denver Broncos may view Justin Strnad as a part-time starter, and Alex Singleton as a player whose time is winding down
In the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Justin Strnad was the definition of a part-time starter, starting in 16 of 33 games. He got starts in 2024 when Alex Singleton went down with a torn ACL, and in 2025, he shared starting duties with Dre Greenlaw, who was in Denver for just that season.
In 2026, Strnad has started seven of nine games and has largely played well. He holds up in coverage nicely but isn't quite as stout against the run as Singleton has been. We have seen the Broncos defense surrender more yards than usual and struggle to get off the field, and when you assess the personnel situation, the ILB group continues to be the weakest.
Strnad might simply be best-suited in this part-time starting role, as he did play quite well in 2024 and 2025. As for Singleton, he has played in nearly 100 percent of the defensive snaps for the Broncos in his time with the team. He has played 100 percent this year and is someone that just does not come off the field.
He's valued as the 'green dot' guy, being able to communicate Vance Joseph's elaborate defense to the rest of the unit. With that said, Henley is also someone who wore the green dot. He's also much younger, way more athletic, and is, overall, a better player.
Denver traded two NFL Draft picks for Henley who still has youth on his side - both Strnad and Singleton, who were older than Henley this past offseason, got three and two-year deals for the Broncos, so it feels almost certain that this team would extend some type of offer to Henley to stablize this room for the long-term.
For the present, the Broncos could end up deploying a Henley/Strnad duo as they did with Greenlaw and Strnad in 2025. For the long-term, Henley feels like the 'Singleton' replacement. Singleton is under contract through the 2027 season. He has $3.5 million in guaranteed money in 2027, but if the Broncos were to cut him, they would eat $5 million in dead money to go along with $4 million in cap savings.
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