The newest member of the Seahawks offensive line is impressing already.
Following the second day of the 2024 NFL Draft, John Schneider and Mike Macdonald spoke to media to field some questions and provide some insight around their selections thus far. After electing to go with the best player available on Thursday, they focused their attention on the opposite of the trenches. The Seattle Seahawks used their third-round pick to select imposing offensive guard Christian Haynes from UConn, and apparently this was exactly how they were hoping the board would fall.
Below are some quotes from John and Mike, as originally transcribed by John Boyle, as well as a few quotes from the man himself, as transcribed by Ari Horton on the Seattle Seahaws official team website.
“There was a little run there too, there were a couple of guys starting to go, and then Indy went right ahead of us, somebody in the room was like, ‘Oh no, they’re going to take him right here,’’ Seahawks general manager and president of football operations John Schneider said. “So we had a little panic there.”
Schneider went on to describe Haynes as the following:
“Smart, tough reliable, 50 starts, length, explosiveness, great pass protector, plays with some nasty,” Schneider said. “Obviously we’re really excited.”
“Initial quickness, length, he can get under people, he can roll his hips. The pass protection stuff is legit, lateral movement, stays in front of people, he’s got strong hands, he’s got anchor. He’s just a really good football player. He’s so experienced, he knows the nuances, he had a great zoom interview with (offensive line coach Scott) Huff, they love the football intelligence. Everybody’s just really excited. He’s played a ton of ball. 50 of 51 starts, he’s had 48 pressures in 1,687 snaps. The guy’s really, really experienced. This was a full buy-in, coaches, scouting, analytics. Everybody was really excited.”
Mike Macdonald shared his thoughts as well.
“There was a lot of consensus with Huff and Grubb and Hutch, really everybody, Todd with his area and stuff,” Macdonald said. “It’s great to have everybody on the same accord. And I think the Senior Bowl was really impressive as well, that might have sealed the deal.”
Apparently, the Seahawks received some outside advice from a former insider…
Another advocate for Haynes was UConn head coach and former Seahawks coach Jim Mora, who told Schneider the Seahawks were getting “A classy, highly intelligent, nasty football player.”
Schneider then added, “Great combination, if you like that sort of thing. Classy and nasty.”
Schneider and Macdonald also delved into why the team chose to focus on both sides of the trenches with their first two picks, as if the answer wasn’t already obvious to anybody who watched this team last season…
“It’s huge,” Schneider said of bolstering the trenches on both sides of the ball. “We’re really wanting to put an emphasis on it, and the board kind of ended up going our way for us.”
As Macdonald explained it when asked about addressing the offensive and defensive lines, the goal for his team is to play, “A style of play that no one wants to play (against), that’s what we’re aiming for. That’s our standard of how we play football, and if you want to play here, you’re going to have to play a certain way. Those are the types of guys we’re bringing in.”
Christian Haynes answered a few questions about himself, and from the sounds of it, he is saying all the right things early on! He started out by talking some advice he got from his older brother who is currently a member of the Houston Texans.
“Always be confident in anything I do,” Haynes said on what his brother has told him. “Every day come and be a pro and help the team in any way that you can. It doesn’t matter where you are on the depth chart, it doesn’t matter what your roles are, just go in there and put your best foot forward for the team, always.”
While his ‘super senior’ status might be concerning for some, he spoke to how this extra experience was beneficial; he used it to his advantage.
“This last semester I was able to be a GA student advisor for our football program,” Haynes said, “So I was able to help out freshmen, help them with their schedule, prepare for different things coming up… it was a really helpful process for myself.”
In addition to this, he is a noted fan of Geno Smith, so he will have an opportunity to block for the guy he grew up watching!
“I’ve been a Seattle fan just growing up. I’m a big Geno fan as well. I used to watch him a lot when he was at West Virginia.”
Along with being a Smith fan, Haynes said he’s heard about, “The fans, the 12s, the culture… I’m ready to come out there and just dominate.”
Also… this is just heartwarming.
Haynes told UConn athletics that his favorite animal is a pig because of the movies Babe and Charlotte’s Web.
He said that he would have a pig as a pet. “I’ve always wanted to have a pet pig. A pig with black spots, it would be a nice little house pig.
I can hear the “classy,” but I guess we will have to until Christian Haynes takes the field to see the “nasty.” I’m looking forward to it!
You must be logged in to post a comment Login