ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- On the hunt for some additional depth in the heart of their defense, the Denver Broncos have acquired linebacker Daiyan Henley from the Los Angeles Chargers in a trade just before Tuesday's deadline.
The winless Chargers will receive a 2027 fourth-round draft pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick from the Broncos for Henley, who is in the final year of his rookie deal and is scheduled to become a free agent in 2027.
The Broncos have been careful about keeping picks in next April's draft with a long list of potential free agents in the new league year, but they expect to have an extra fourth-round compensatory pick for the loss of John Franklin-Myers to the Tennessee Titans last March.
Henley, who will turn 27 next week, also fits within Denver's cap space, believed to be just under $5 million before the trade.
The Broncos were one of the teams reportedly interested in some higher-profile players -- like Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor -- in the pre-deadline windup, but their cap situation would have required some additional work to add bigger contracts.
The Broncos (7-2), who are on a five-game winning streak, have also been seeking depth for a defense that is currently 23rd in the NFL against the run. Alex Singleton is having one of the best years of his career, but the 32-year-old also leads the league's defensive players with 617 snaps played over the season's first nine weeks.
The Broncos have also played the most defensive snaps of any team in the league (618), and Singleton has missed just one of those. Singleton and Justin Strnad have been the starters at inside linebacker all season.
The Broncos have a bye this week and will host the Las Vegas Raiders on Nov. 22.
Henley has a team-high 51 tackles in eight games this year and also was the Chargers' leading tackler in each of the previous two seasons. A third-round draft selection in 2023, Henley had 317 tackles, five sacks and four interceptions in 56 career games with the Chargers.
