Is Christian Haynes one-and-done?
The Seahawks haven't found OL bargains like other teams
There’s nothing inherently wrong with teams being conservative in their mission to build a good offensive line, but if John Schneider was Indiana Jones, then guards, centers, and tackles would be cobras, pythons, and rattlesnakes.
Before we get into Seattle’s recent draft picks on the offensive line, look at the final four teams in the playoffs:
Moons: G Nick Allegretti (7th*), G Sam Cosmi (2nd), C Tyler Biadasz (4th*)
Eagles: G Landon Dickerson (2nd), G Mekhi Becton (1st*), C Cam Jurgens (2nd)
Chiefs: G Trey Smith (6th), G Joe Thuney (3rd*) C Creed Humphrey (2nd)
Bills: G David Edwards (5th*), G O’Cyrus Torrence (2nd), C Connor McGovern (3rd*)
*But free agent signing to current team
The only first round pick on the inside for any of these teams is Becton, but that was as a tackle and he was considered a bust for the Jets prior to joining the Eagles.
On that note, look at how many of these players were free agent signings:
6 of those 12 names were free agents and other than Thuney, they were not “big name” free agents. Thuney has had to slide out to left tackle for Kansas City and taking his place is Mike Caliendo, a 27-year-old undrafted free agent who came into 2024 with only 64 career snaps.
Every team left in the playoffs does have at least one second round pick in this group, including two on Philadelphia, an offensive line I wrote about last week because of their investments to be bigger and stronger than their opponents’ defensive lines.
But the Seahawks don’t have a history of spending first or second round picks on offensive linemen unless they are tackles.
The only true interior offensive lineman that Schneider has drafted in the second round over the last 10 years is Ethan Pocic, the last pick of round two in 2014
Pocic, for whatever reason, couldn’t find success until he left Seattle
It is entirely fair to say that the Bills, Chiefs, and Moons are still alive in the playoffs because of their quarterbacks, pass catchers, coaches, and defenses, and not because of Nick Allegretti and Connor McGovern.
This doesn’t make it any less true that the Seahawks have fired shot after shot after shot — similar to these teams — and only come up with blanks and duds.
Which brings me to the title:
Christian Haynes was Seattle’s highest-draft GUARD since Damien Lewis in 2020 and the pick was praised by people like Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy for one reason above all others: “Should be plug in as immediate solid starter at RG…NFL-ready with 49 straight starts.”
Less than a year after he was drafted, and only 3 snaps to his name over the last six weeks of the season, if Haynes isn’t playing now then is it too soon to ask if he will ever start for the Seahawks? Maybe not with Seattle’s history or this cold hard truth about what the Seahawks have to do this offseason: