Plug N' Play? Seahawks Rookie Christian Haynes Poised For Success in 'Any Scheme'

Coming into the NFL, Christian Haynes has plenty of areas to improve upon, but his former offensive line coach at UConn foresees him being ready to play early for the Seahawks.

Bringing over 3,000 snaps of college experience to Seattle with him, UConn offensive line coach Gordon Sammis expects Christian Haynes to be in the mix for early snaps with the Seahawks. / CollegePressBox

STORRS, Conn. - Signing on as UConn's new offensive line coach in 2022, Gordon Sammis began the evaluation process with an open mind, understanding he would inherit an offensive line group needing to replace more than 10 players who departed via the transfer portal.

But while Sammis' tape study featured several players who wouldn't be with the program moving forward and revealed a bunch of holes to fill up front, it didn't take long for him to figure out he had a special talent on his hands in Christian Haynes, a returning two-year starter at right guard. Impressed by his work ethic and leadership as much as his polished blocking skills, it became apparent quickly that he would be the poster child for what a new coaching staff wanted from their players.

Two years later, after earning All-American honors twice and being selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, Sammis offered the ultimate praise for his former pupil, calling him the best "player or person" he's had the privilege of coaching and ready to thrive in "any scheme" at the next level.

"He kind of set the tone and gave us a model of what a UConn football player should be," Sammis said in an interview on the Locked On Seahawks podcast. "We were very blessed to have him and the fact that he wanted to stay as well because he didn't know us from anybody. And he really had two opportunities to leave if he really wanted in this day and age college football, and he stayed both times without even a question being asked. He's pretty impressive guy, very loyal. We owe a lot to him for staying as well."

Bringing over 3,000 snaps of college experience to Seattle with him, UConn offensive line coach Gordon Sammis expects Christian Haynes to be in the mix for early snaps with the Seahawks. / CollegePressBox

Though the Huskies struggled to win games over the past two years under coach Jim Mora Jr., including going 3-9 in 2023, Haynes continued his ascent as one of the nation's best blockers. In his first year working with Sammis, per Pro Football Focus, he allowed a grand total of three quarterback pressures and no sacks, dominating against a schedule that included tough Power 5 competition against Michigan, Syracuse, and North Carolina State.

Last season, even as UConn limped out of the gate losing its first five games and won one game before the month of November, Haynes continued to perform at an elite level, finishing with 12 pressures and one sack allowed while earning Third-Team All-American honors. Receiving an invite to the Reese's Senior Bowl, he starred in Mobile and wasn't fazed by the jump in competition, further improving his draft stock despite playing for one of the worst teams in the FBS division.

From Sammis' perspective, Haynes elevated himself from a quality college player into a formidable NFL prospect in large part due to his football IQ and desire to put in the work away from the field that most players shy away from. Immersing himself in the game and placing an emphasis on mastering technique, he led the charge as he and his line mates watched so much film that the offensive line coach had to work overtime "putting together more cut-ups" for them to study.

Checking off all the boxes as a team-centric leader by example, Haynes refused to sit out while playing through several injuries and lifted his teammates to a higher standard on the field and in the film room. Always being available to play and maximizing his study time to improve his fundamentals, he demonstrated the traits Sammis believes will set him up for early success with the Seahawks.

"I think he really improved as a player in terms of knowledge because he watched a ton of football," Sammis remarked. "I think he really improved with his hands and his anchor, which helped them a lot in the pass game. Obviously the NFL is more of a passing league than college football, so I think it really made him appeal to a lot of people to show that he can play with anchor, he could handle speed rushers, he can handle games and different movements like it was nothing."

With the Huskies, Haynes' athleticism and explosiveness allowed for him to shine on perimeter plays such as toss sweeps, outside zones, and screens where he could swing his hips open and get out into space. Breaking down his strengths as a player, Sammis touted him for his ability to pull and get his hands on defenders at the second level in the run game while also applauding his jump setting ability in pass protection.

But as he begins his NFL journey in Seattle, Sammis doesn't think Haynes will have any issues executing in offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb's offense. Regardless of whether the team leans heavier on zone or gap concepts in the run game, while his skill set lends itself well to such perimeter plays, he expects his former understudy will be able to adapt to whatever the Seahawks want to do seamlessly, setting himself up to vie for a starting job out of the gate.

"He can run inside zone, he can run counter. He's one of the best counter blockers I've ever seen in terms of getting people dug out when he pulls," Sammis explained. "We just didn't do it a ton. But when we did have it in, it was amazing what he could do, so I think one of the nice things for Coach Grubb and for the Seahawks in general is Christian can be successful at whatever you guys want to do. Obviously his skill set is gonna be really good at some of those fast moving plays because of how athletic he is. But that translates into a lot of football being violent, being quick, playing with great eyes. That's any scheme that he can be great at."

When it comes to battling for a spot in Seattle's lineup as a rookie, Sammis doesn't see any major holes in Haynes' game after logging more than 3,000 snaps at the college level. With his natural athleticism, lower body power, physicality, and strong understanding of the game, he already has the prerequisite skills in his tool box needed to compete for immediate playing time at right guard.

However, going against NFL interior rushers presents a different kind of animal for blockers to deal with, and Sammis already has communicated with Haynes about improving his hand usage, particularly in pass protection. To help keep Geno Smith upright, he's going to need to continue refining everything from hand placement to the amount of force behind his strike, or preventing defenders from collapsing the pocket will be extremely difficult.

With that said, Sammis has already seen firsthand what happens when Haynes diverts his focus towards attacking a technical deficiency in his game. Under the tutelage of new line coach Scott Huff, with an already well-developed game in tow, he's confident the rookie will be able to live up to high expectations and not only push for playing time early, but solidify his standing as a potential long-term building block for the Seahawks offensive line.

"He knows what he has to do. But I think that's gonna be the most important part to him being a plug and play guy because I think he takes great angles, he's got great anchor, he's smart, he'll learn and what he doesn't know, he'll really study. That's going to give him a major advantage, but you can't let guys get your hands, you can let guys take advantage of you in the pass game because when it's third and 10, you've got to be able to handle it when everyone knows what's coming, so I think that's where he's gonna be working and that's what he's got to do best to be able to be really successful at the highest level."