Highly-touted Seahawks veteran already struggling early in training camp

Reports from training camp on Friday hinted at trouble ahead for Seattle Seahawks offensive lineman Christian Haynes. The second-year guard from Connecticut did not take any reps during the main part of practice.

There may be an explanation for this, but thus far, none has been forthcoming. For instance, left tackle Charles Cross took no snaps either. But we know Cross just had surgery to repair a dislocated finger, so he’s going to get a couple of weeks off.

There have not been any indications of injuries linked to Haynes. He simply seems to have fallen down the depth chart. Fellow 2024 draft pick Sataoa Laumea, the player who took over the right guard spot last season, seems to have surpassed him once again.

Is it too early to declare Seattle Seahawks' Christian Haynes a bust?

With a season under his belt, new coaches, and a new run-friendly system in place, this was supposed to be a bounce-back year for Haynes. But it doesn’t appear to be going that way early in camp.

The same trio who shared right guard last year – Haynes, Laumea, and original starter Anthony Bradford – seemed destined to battle it out again this year. Last year, none were especially effective. However, apart from a couple of Day 3 draft picks, John Schneider didn’t bring in anyone new to challenge them.

Through the first week of camp, it appeared to be a showdown between Bradford and Haynes. But late last week, Jalen Sundell, presumably the backup center, began taking snaps at right guard. Now Laumea seems to be getting a longer look as well. Bradford has not been the one ceding snaps to these players. Those snaps have come at the expense of Haynes.

When he was coming out of college, scouts were universally impressed by the apparent completeness of Hayne’s game. He moved well. He diagnosed plays. His technique was sound. Everyone also knew that the level of competition he played at UConn was not anywhere near elite. The Huskies played just two top-20 teams in his final season.

They lost those two games by a combined score of 100-10.

Two of UConn’s three wins that year came against 3-9 UMass and 2-9 Sacred Heart. Of course, that doesn’t mean Haynes wasn’t a very good player. But it does suggest that subjective scouting, such as how he looked when lined up against opponents that year, may be unreliable.

Christina Haynes is not a dynamic athlete. His 40 times are excellent for a man of his size, but interior linemen never run 40s. On the other hand, his broad jump and bench press (drills geared toward assessing a player's lower body burst and upper body power) were mediocre at best. Technique and intelligence are great assets for a lineman but they tend to vanish if he is simply being overpowered by mammoth defensive tackles.

A few practices early in training camp do not make or break a player. That’s especially true if it is a younger player with potential On August 1, Haynes is not yet in serious danger. But this obviously bears watching. If Bradford, Laumea and Sundell continue to take right guard snaps in place of him, then his future in Seattle is not very bright.