John Henry Daley

[Twopointtry]

My favorite draft simulator is the PFSN one. In the sim, I've been drafting an EDGE rusher named John Henry Daley, typically early 5th round, just because I like his highlights. I don't use the Rams, because we have so few picks. I think it is more fun to use a team that has a high pick and more selections. Taking a break from watching WRs, i decided to watch a player at a different position and decided to do JHD, because he looked like he might be interesting. Turned out to be an understatement. His story is pretty amazing.

When I started researching him, I didn't realize that multiple major draft boards have him ranked as a 1st round draft prospect. Maybe this shouldn't be surprising, given that at the time he suffered a season-ending injury late in the 2025 season, he was 2nd in the nation in sacks.

The crazy thing about this is up until the 2025 season, he essentially hadn't played at all in college. He was a seldom used backup who saw very limited playing time, with only 1 career sack entering 2025. In one season, he went from being a nobody to a potential 1st round prospect.

There are several reasons that I don't think JHD will actually be a 1st rounder next year. First, he's old. He went on a 2-year LDS mission prior to enrolling in college. The 2026 season will be his 6th year out of high school. Second, he suffered a serious injury in 2025 that could scare off NFL teams. Third, he's a possible one-year wonder who needs to prove that he can replicate his 2025 success. Finally, he doesn't have the right body type and elite athleticism to be a top NFL pass rusher. In particular, he has very short arms.

Of course, if his draft stock slipped away from 1st round consideration, it just makes him all the more relevant to discuss as a potential Rams draft target. With Myles Garrett, we have one of the greatest EDGE rushers in NFL history. The Rams don't need an alpha, elite pass rusher. We do need more complementary rushers who can eat playing beside Garrett. Could JHD be part of the solution?

 

[Twopointtry]

Part 1: Background

Name, school: John Henry Daley. Senior at Michigan for 2026, transferred from Utah. Played at BYU in 2023. Studied business at BYU and Utah.

Size, estimated speed: Listed by UM at 6'4'' tall, 255 pounds. Draftbuzz 4.78 seconds in 40. Ric Seritella for AllAmericanFootball has him at 6'4 1/4'' tall, 255 pounds with a 4.67 second 40 time.

3-star recruit. Had 22 sacks as SR in HS, also blocked 2 punts. Spent 2 years on an LDS mission in Brazil. He speaks Portuguese. Dad was a LB at BYU. Brother played LB in college. Multiple uncles played football at BYU, including Taysom Hill.

He was a linebacker at BYU in 2023, listed at 6'5'' and 225 pounds. He only played 32 defensive snaps that season. In 2024, he received limited playing time until the final game of the season and most of his production came from that single game. His breakout 2025 season was cut short in late November by a ruptured Achilles. At the time of his injury, he led FBS in TFLs and was 2nd in the nation in sacks.

Utah's coach, Kyle Whittingham, took the UM job and JHD is joining him at his new school.

2023 (BYU, 3 games): 3 tackles.
2024 (Utah, 4 games): 4 tackles, 1 sack.
2025 (Utah, 11 games): 48 tackles, 17.5 TFLs, 11.5 sacks, 2 FF, 1 PBU.

DraftBuzz: 2nd ranked DE on their board, late 1st round 32nd overall prospect. (+) Elite pass rusher, 51 pressures, bends corner, converts speed to power, sets firm edge vs run. (-) Medical flag, light for NFL only 247 pounds, missed 7 tackles.
Drafttek 32 overall
PFF big board 27 overall. Highest graded returning EDGE in nation. 18.3% pressure rate.
NFLMDD 61 overall.
PFSN simulator 138 overall
Sam Teets big board: 3rd round tier, 77 overall
Ian Cummings 3-round mock draft: Not selected

 

[Twopointtry]

Part 2: Strengths

Quick and explosive out of his stance. Attacks with urgency, direct and aggressive approach. Low pad level, plays with great leverage. Can dip under the OT and bend the edge. Equally explosive from 3-point and 2-point stances. I like him better standing up in a 2-point stance, but he can do either.

Very good hand speed to defeat punches for early pass rush wins. Varies approach, can attack both inside and outside shoulders of OT. Can speed rush and bull rush. Sinister spin move to the inside. Stab and rip is fluid and seamless. Decent push pull strength. Strains through initial contact.

Outstanding closing speed to the QB and RB. Had sack fumble swatting the ball from QB's blind side. Retraces to get to QB climbing the pocket.

A menace if left unblocked by the offense. Injured the QB with heavy hit on one play he was unblocked.

Finishes tackles with authority. Sound tackling technique. Can redirect off the block to find the RB. Uses his hands to protect his legs.

Can stack and shed some blocks at POA in run defense.

Active motor, plays with effort. Good playmaking range. Pursues the ball downfield as well as horizontally. Has a hunger to make the tackle.

Well spoken, mature, good natured, positive attitude. Natural leadership traits since HS days.

Changed positions and added weight since he was at BYU. Despite being an older prospect, potentially could add a little more weight in the NFL. His frame seems like it could accommodate more muscle.

 

[Twopointtry]

Part 3: Weaknesses

Alarmingly short arms. Also has short legs relative to his torso. Can get engulfed and swallowed up by bigger OTs with large wingspans. Many near-miss sacks and tackles due to short arms. Wasn't able to scoop up fumble on ground due to short arms. Unable to deflect passes as he's closing in on QB, especially against taller NFL QBs.

Misses with chops and swipes due to short arms. Longer OTs can grab and control him. Got shoved to the ground at the apex of his rush, his arms aren't long enough to hold the OT away as he's trying to bend the corner.

Doesn't have a good seal move to pair with his spin to finish off the OT, allowing them an opportunity to recover. Even if he could learn technique, I'm not sure he could properly execute it due to his short arms.

Needs to develop more pass rush moves in his repertoire. Uses the spin way too much and it can get completely stuffed if the OT has more length and stays disciplined. I don't think he's going to win with that move very often against good NFL left tackles. Got buried into the ground on one of his spin attempts. Once he spins in one direction, he struggles to shift his body back in the other direction.

He's in trouble if he doesn't win early. When the blocker grabs him, he tends to get stuck on blocks and can't consistently disengage or stack counters.

Leaks momentum when moving laterally. Not good on twists. Lost his balance trying to change directions and quickly move laterally. Moving to side, he didn't breakdown, then whiffed on RB in the hole, resulting in a good gain. He has a narrow base and short legs, which I suspect contributes to his balance issues.

Not elite at speed to power and bull rushes run out of steam, especially against bigger OL with better anchors.

If he misses the QB and gets out of his rush lane, it opens up gaps for the QB to scramble.

Lacks lower body strength and bulk to anchor against the run and double teams. Will struggle to hold POA against more powerful NFL linemen.

Very clunky and ugly dropping into pass coverage. A liability in pass coverage. Short arms will limit his ability to challenge catches in pass coverage. Made a mental error, covering the wrong player, leaving the TE all alone.

Too eager to get to the ball, tends to overrun the play, opening up seams. Gets faked out by misdirection, not quick to find and redirect to the football.

Rotated out, didn't play the whole game. Appears to get tired and winded sometimes.

Suffered serious injury in 2025 and this is particularly concerning since so much of his game is based off of his instant explosion out of his stance. Does he still have that same explosion after his Achilles injury? Will he suffer a similar injury again?

Overage player who only has 1 season of starting experience and almost zero playing experience prior to 2025. That's a bad combination. Even if he plays well, you have to factor in his age down the road when considering whether to sign him to a 2nd contract. Why invest a high pick in a player you only intend to keep for the 4-year rookie contract?

Almost always went up against the LT. Lacks experience rushing from both sides of the formation.

Something of a lamb killer. Played against some lousy LTs. Most of Utah's wins were blowouts. If you watch some of his best plays carefully, sometimes it is more of the LT doing a bad job more than the DE doing something spectacular.

Doesn't have a natural position. Doesn't have the size or length to be a 4-3 DE. Doesn't have the athleticism and agility to be a 3-4 OLB. He's a great college player, but at the NFL level, I think he's going to be overmatched by bigger and more talented OTs. I don't view him as a future starter. I think he's going to be a situational pass rusher or rotational backup.

 

[Twopointtry]

Part 4: Draft Grade and Pro Comp

4th round grade. Curtis Weaver (middle of 5th round 2020, Miami Dolphins, Boise State)

The Rams drafted Earnest Brown IV in the 5th round of the 2021 draft. In 2023, they took Nick Hampton in the 5th round. In 2024, they took Brennan Jackson. Of the 3, I liked Jackson the best, I thought he'd be a good special teams player and a decent backup. How many sacks did those 3 players produce for the Rams? Zero.

The bar isn't set high. If the Rams somehow could get JHD in the 5th round, all he would have to do is get one sack for the Rams and he'd be a good pick.

There was a guy I liked years ago named Carl Lawson, an early 4th round pick by the Bengals. He had injuries in college, including an ACL. He had very short arms too but was a very powerful and thickly built player. He turned out to be a pretty good player as a situational pass rusher. Despite suffering another ACL injury in the NFL, he signed a nice contract with the Jets. He suffered an Achilles injury while with the Jets.

Weaver had a very productive career at BSU, averaging over 10 sacks his final 3 years in college. Fins fans thought that he was a potential draft steal. Weaver never played for the Dolphins. He got injured in a preseason practice and was waived with an injury designation before the start of his rookie season. He went on the be a PS guy for a couple other teams, then was in the USFL and CFL. His NFL career stats consisted of one regular season game and one career tackle.

I still kind of like JHD but I don't think he'll be anything special at the NFL level. Worth consideration as a Day 3 pick to add some depth as a pass rusher but with a limited ceiling and due to his injury also a potential low floor.

 

[fearsomefour]

Part 1: Background

Name, school: John Henry Daley. Senior at Michigan for 2026, transferred from Utah. Played at BYU in 2023. Studied business at BYU and Utah.

Size, estimated speed: Listed by UM at 6'4'' tall, 255 pounds. Draftbuzz 4.78 seconds in 40. Ric Seritella for AllAmericanFootball has him at 6'4 1/4'' tall, 255 pounds with a 4.67 second 40 time.

3-star recruit. Had 22 sacks as SR in HS, also blocked 2 punts. Spent 2 years on an LDS mission in Brazil. He speaks Portuguese. Dad was a LB at BYU. Brother played LB in college. Multiple uncles played football at BYU, including Taysom Hill.

He was a linebacker at BYU in 2023, listed at 6'5'' and 225 pounds. He only played 32 defensive snaps that season. In 2024, he received limited playing time until the final game of the season and most of his production came from that single game. His breakout 2025 season was cut short in late November by a ruptured Achilles. At the time of his injury, he led FBS in TFLs and was 2nd in the nation in sacks.

Utah's coach, Kyle Whittingham, took the UM job and JHD is joining him at his new school.

2023 (BYU, 3 games): 3 tackles.
2024 (Utah, 4 games): 4 tackles, 1 sack.
2025 (Utah, 11 games): 48 tackles, 17.5 TFLs, 11.5 sacks, 2 FF, 1 PBU.

DraftBuzz: 2nd ranked DE on their board, late 1st round 32nd overall prospect. (+) Elite pass rusher, 51 pressures, bends corner, converts speed to power, sets firm edge vs run. (-) Medical flag, light for NFL only 247 pounds, missed 7 tackles.
Drafttek 32 overall
PFF big board 27 overall. Highest graded returning EDGE in nation. 18.3% pressure rate.
NFLMDD 61 overall.
PFSN simulator 138 overall
Sam Teets big board: 3rd round tier, 77 overall
Ian Cummings 3-round mock draft: Not selected

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