The strengths Seahawks draft pick Chrstian Haynes brings to the offensive line

The Seahawks addressed the guard position by taking Haynes in the third round.

With the 81st overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks selected UConn right guard Christian Haynes. Guard was a need for this team after the departures of Damien Lewis and Phil Haynes in free agency. Last year’s fourth-round pick Anthony Bradford did have a respectable rookie season, allowing just one sack, but nonetheless Seattle pushed to upgrade interior of the offensive line after selecting two offensive tackles in Charles Cross and Abe Lucas back in 2022.

Haynes is not a polished product yet, hence why he was a third round pick, but he does have some true strengths to his game that we will review below.

Nastiness

Haynes, to put it nicely, plays a bit like a bully, which is something you want in your offensive lineman. He has a tenacity to him where he continues his blocks after the whistle and will try to throw every single player to the ground during the course of the play. In the second clip, which looks at all of his one-on-one drills from his Senior Bowl practice, he either gets into it after the play, takes a swipe at, or pancakes a defender on four of the first five plays.

Run Game

Haynes has some areas that he needs to work on in the running game that he needs to further refine, that is without question. However, he shows flashes of someone who can be above-average on reach and seal blocks. Haynes has the power to be able to move defenders to clear running lanes on runs designed to go in between the tackles. He excels at getting his shoulders turned and parallel with the line of scrimmage in these scenarios. On reach blocks, Haynes is quick enough out of his stance in order to beat defenders to the spot which allows him to seal the backside.

Haynes is not heavy handed in the run game. But he packs enough punch to be able to knock defensive linemen off of the path and redirect them away from the run lane if he is not sealing them off.

Passing game

Off of the ball, Haynes is going to cede a few yards on bull rushes. However, he has the ability to anchor down after a step or two, which he pairs with a bendy upper body that allows him to both stay upright and maintain his play strength. Haynes does a great job of handing off and receiving stunts and twists. He does not lose leverage from the outside defender and more often than not is able to maintain his blocking strength. Part of the reason for this is because he is a four-year starter, a positive in itself, but also because Haynes is a patient blocker in these situations. He does not get antsy and overplay one side or get grabby, but instead lets the play develop in front of him and accepting the twisting defender with his hands.

In the screen game, the right guard does not have the high-end athleticism of other interior offensive linemen in the draft class. However, his open field angles, something that is also prevalent in second level blocking in the run game, are strong enough to where he is able able to make an impact on screens.