Seahawks draft GUARD! (Or center?)

3.81 - G Christian Haynes, UCONN

With the 81st pick of the draft, the Seattle Seahawks select guard Christian Haynes out of UCONN. Haynes is 6’3, 317 lbs and a 24-year-old rookie who was Dane Brugler’s fourth-ranked guard in the 2024 class. With a pick this high at guard, Haynes could be expected to compete as a starter at either left or right guard in training camp as the majority of offensive linemen drafted by the Seahawks in the top three rounds have started as rookies. There has also been some talk in the recent past of Haynes moving to center, but that might not be his best fit in the NFL.

Laken Tomlinson and Anthony Bradford are the presumed frontrunners at the guard positions, so there hasn’t been a huge investment as you know.

There’s nothing necessarily exceptional about Haynes’ physical numbers, either in a good way or a bad way. His 9” hands is tied as the smallest in the guard class, he just turned 24, and he’s shorter than any of the 30 guards in Brugler’s top-30. Here’s how he ranked in the top-5 of Brugler’s draft guide:

Here were the strengths Brugler listed in The Beast about Haynes:

STRENGTHS: Displays the length and play strength to dig out and drive defenders ... uses well-timed angles to fit and seal in the run game ... flashes both mobility and urgency as a puller to get out in space ... finishes with exceptional grit ... outstanding timing on combinations to work off initial contact and leverage the linebacker to extend run lanes ... has a high batting average against double teams ... very good eyes, strike timing and balance in pass protec tion ... his coaches praise his professionalism and poise as a team leader, especially in the offensive line room (head coach Jim Mora: “Christian is just an incredible human being. ... (He) cares about this program, this team, his teammates.”) ... dependable and started every game the last four seasons, finishing his care er with 49 straight starts.

On the negatives, Brugler mentions the size, has had an issue with holding penalties, his age, and a potential issue against explosive NFL pass rushers. But he was Bruglers’s 47th overall ranked player.

Overall, Haynes doesn’t always play up to his testing numbers, but his play strength, football IQ and finishing mentality make him equipped for battle against NFL fronts. He has the floor of a high-level backup but should compete for starting reps at guard during his rookie season (similar to Kevin Dotson).

Dotson is a notable comparison, he just made $17 million per season on a new contract with the L.A. Rams. But Dotson also washed out in Pittsburgh somehow. YouTube’s Ryder McConville calls him “an ideal zone scheme fit”:

A less optimistic review of Haynes comes from 2 Minute Drill. He had his first ever reps at center at the Senior Bowl and the reviews just weren’t as glowing as you’d hope for if you needed versatility to improve your draft stock. This video says Haynes’ hands may not be “reactive” enough to move to center.

Is Haynes a left guard, a right guard, or a center? He’s an option and that’s what Seahawks fans were asking for at some point in the draft; the third round is right on cue for Schneider’s draft history.

The only exception in the Pete Carroll era of a top-three round pick who didn’t start as a rookie was Rees Odhiambo, a third round pick in 2016 who only played 33 snaps as a rookie and was out of the league a few years later. Before then, you had Chris Spencer, the first round center picked in 2005 who didn’t make any starts as a rookie.

That seemed more normal at the time. Wayne Hunter didn’t make any starts as a rookie in 2003 and Sean Locklear didn’t make any in 2004.

The expectation now is to start or compete to start, so I would expect Christian Haynes to start in 2024.