Christian Haynes NFL Draft Overview
Position: Offensive Guard
School: University of Connecticut
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 317 lbs
Arm: 33 1/2″
Hand: 9″
40-yard Dash: 5.03 seconds
Wait hold up! I was told UCONN was a basketball school. Well, I was told wrong before there was a prospect on their football that blew me away. Christian Haynes was a two-star guard prospect out of Maryland and committed to UCONN. Haynes was very raw coming out of high school, but by his senior year, he had become an NFL prospect. Where should he go in the NFL Draft? Let’s dig into the film!
2024 NFL Draft: Christian Haynes Scouting Report
Haynes’s Strengths
- Has lots of experience, with 49 consecutive career starts at right guard. He got better every year, ending his career with two third-team all-American selections seasons in a row.
- He is explosive out of his stance and has great technique in all facets of the run game. He’s at his best in the wide zone scheme runs where his athleticism and technique shine.
- Exhibits great quickness, cutting off backside defenders and reaching play-side defenders, creating lanes—easy climber to the second level, engulfing the second level.
- Haynes has good power in his upper body that jolts defenders on contact. Seeks contact on combo double-team blocks. Easily displaces defenders with strength and technique.
- He plays to the whistle in the run game. He dominated the competition and loved to talk about defenders in the dirt.
- Good football IQ on passing off stunts. Displays good power and awareness, disrupting the timing of initial engagement, then slides to the other defender with ease.
- He recovers well after being beaten and Has a good base and set in pass protection.
- Has good Scheme versatility in power scheme or zone. He is a perfect fit for a wide zone scheme.
Haynes’s Weakness
- Did not play the highest form of competition. Faced a lot of scrub football teams.
- Below-average arm length hurts when projecting pass protection at the NFL level.
- Not the best athlete with no elite measures.
- Can he handle sub packages when elite Edges with supreme athleticism bump inside?
- Would not fit pass-happy offenses due to lack of consistency.
Projection: Mid-Second Round Pick
NFL Comparison: James Daniels
Best Fits: Cincinnati Bengals. Tennessee Titans, and the Detroit Lions.
Bottom Line
Christian Haynes is a day-one starting right guard in the NFL. He has incredible technique, impressive agility, and strong hands. Elite upper body strength and strong hands jolt defenders, knocking them back. It easily displaces linemen and second-level defenders. Haynes is perfect for the West Coast wide zone scheme overtaking the NFL. He also can fit a gap power scheme team as well. Christian Haynes’s NFL comparison was James Daniels of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Like Daniels, Haynes can fit any scheme and works best in a scheme that showcases his athleticism. Daniels will be under Arthur Smith’s wide zone this upcoming season, just like hopefully Haynes will be. If so, Christian Haynes could be one of the top guards in the NFL.
Main Photo: Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports
